Fan Blogs

Big Ten fans love to follow their school's teams on the Web. So we set out to interview the passionate voices behind your Big Ten blogs.

Q&A: ELEVENWARRIORS.COM

How did you come up with the name for your blog? The name comes from a verse in Buckeye Battle Cry, one of Ohio State's fight songs. The song is especially popular among Ohio State bloggers as the names of at least three other Buckeye blogs got their name from the Frank Crumit tune. When was the blog created? The first post went up on August 20, 2006. The first Texas game was right around the corner, Ohio State looked like they were going to have a good squad, and Jason Whitlock needed to be called out by somebody for suggesting Iowa and/or Michigan might both upset the Buckeyes that year. What made you want to create a blog? When I moved from Columbus to Chicago, I soon realized that not every workplace around the country is populated with Buckeye fans just dying to discuss what Jim Tressel had for lunch that day. Even during the beginning stages of the blog, when nobody was reading, just writing about the Buckeyes filled that need to talk about them. How many hours a day do you devote to the blog? It varies. Obviously during football season, the number is much higher, but even during the off-season, we're constantly tweaking, thinking of content ideas and new features and at the very least, reading up on what other bloggers write or college football and basketball news in general. How many people contribute to the blog? Right now there are six of us working to keep the machine oiled. What is the best part of the job? It's a lot of fun to put down an idea or thought and then participate in spirited discussions and debate. Trying (and failing) to be funny has its moments as well, but really, we just enjoy talking about football and basketball.

BigTenNetwork.com editor Brent Yarina talked with Jason Priestas, one of the six contributors at ElevenWarriors.com, for an e-mail Q&A to discuss his Ohio State blog, which enters its fourth season of covering Buckeye athletics.

BigTenNetwork.com: Your blog is rather popular, but with so many blogs out there, how do you differentiate yours from the others?

ElevenWarriors.com: First, I think we work pretty hard at it. We post nearly every day of the week -- and multiple times per day during football and part of basketball season -- so readers can usually stop by and catch something new. We also like to think the site's pretty easy to use and the open commenting policy (no login or email address required) adds a certain amount of spice -- especially when the famous chime in.

BigTenNetwork.com: In your humble opinion, what is the greatest thing about Eleven Warriors?

ElevenWarriors.com: Though we have our own opinions, we try to reflect the voice of the fan base at large. If by some off chance, someone from the football program checks in every now and then, we like to think that our constant chirping to open up practices might actually lead to something. This is really just a reflection of what most of the readers/fans want. We also like to pride ourselves on our objectivity. When the program deserve praise, they get it in heaping doses, but when something needs to be called out, we're not afraid to do that either.

BigTenNetwork.com: What do Ohio State fans get from your site that they wouldn't necessarily get from other Ohio State blogs?

ElevenWarriors.com: The size of the community is a real plus. Fans can come to Eleven Warriors and know that when they comment, they'll be part of a larger conversation. Another aspect that might highlight our differences with other Ohio State blogs is the amount of attention we pay to the basketball program (often to our readers' dismay because football is and will always be king in Columbus).

BigTenNetwork.com: What has been your favorite topic to cover/analyze since you started the job?

ElevenWarriors.com: Football is a lot of fun just because of the passion and emotions it brings out among Buckeye fans. We've also all probably learned a lot more about other aspects of the game than we normally would have. For instance, recruiting, foes, the huge role of money in big-time college athletics and other areas we had cursory knowledge of prior to this endeavor are all things we now know a great deal more about.

BigTenNetwork.com: As far as traffic, what's been the most read post?

ElevenWarriors.com: Some of our more popular posts from a traffic perspective have included tales of Todd Boeckman's love life, Carson Palmer running some Buckeye smack, and five unforgettable versions of The Game. Closing fast is the photo of the Iranian Buckeye protester, which just might be the coolest photo ever taken.

BigTenNetwork.com: A lot of people question blogs, saying that it's just some loser in his parent's basement, so how do you try to make yours credible?

ElevenWarriors.com: While it's true that we could write a post about Jim Tressel shooting steroids, we've all worked too hard to waste any type of credibility we've managed to build up over the past three years. To some degree, a good blog is only as good as its word and that's just not something we're looking to squander just so we could be the first to drop a rumor.

BigTenNetwork.com: That being said, what's the most controversial post you've published, and how did the readers react?

ElevenWarriors.com: We took some heat for questioning Beanie's toughness right after the Illinois game last season. This was way before it was fashionable for NFL scouts to do so. While, that piece provoked some strong reactions from the readers, it's not something we regret publishing. Calling Terrelle Pryor an "Attention Whore"  during his recruitment is something we regret, however. But once it's out there, it's out there.

BigTenNetwork.com: During the busy seasons, the football and basketball year, how much time is dedicated to the blog and how many people are contributing?

ElevenWarriors.com: All six of us are going pretty hard during football season. Especially when the seasons overlap, it's not uncommon for some of us to put in 10-20 hour weeks on the blog. Sometimes more. Luckily, we're either at a point in our lives where we can devote that kind of time or we have understanding spouses and girlfriends.

BigTenNetwork.com: You mentioned your blog's comments earlier – tell us a story about the craziest tangent readers have gone on in response to one of your posts?

ElevenWarrirors.com: I caught some good flak for typing "out of hound" when I meant to have typed "out of hand" in a post discussing the team's injuries just ahead of the Michigan game last season. The phrase quickly took on a life of its own and lives on as the name of the NFL player of the week award given to former Buckeyes. Former greats are now eligible for "Houndies". Some of our caption contests have veered into the surreal at times as well, especially when an old Woody photo is involved.

BigTenNetwork.com: No matter what business you're in, people always look to others for ideas – which blog/writer did you pattern your blog and its qualities after?

ElevenWarriors.com: There are a lot of great writers out there. Just within the college football blogosphere, if we try to emulate and learn from Matt Hinton at Dr. Saturday, Spencer Hall at EDSBS and Brian Cook of MGoBlog, we'll be better off from it.

BigTenNetwork.com: If you weren't writing about Ohio State athletics, what would you be blogging about?

ElevenWarriors.com: I'd love to write more about politics, but growing up in a truly purple state, it's not something you really do if you want to keep all of your job or business prospects open down the road. Plus, that corner is saturated with great writers, so I'm not sure if there's much I could really add to the conversation. We have a couple of Yankee fans on staff and other guys that love golf and other sports, but we're better off sticking to what we know best.

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