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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The Auburn Realist: Overview


You can find links to all of my Auburn Realist Blog posts here.
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I have been talking about doing this for a long time at the behest of a lot of friends (and foes) who are fellow football fans. You don't have to look very far to find out where my allegiance lies. I am an Auburn Man through and through, of that, there is no doubt.

I guess it's the 25% genetic makeup from my maternal grandfather, retired lawyer, who causes me to take a  subjective look into even my greatest passions....Auburn Football.

Part of my every day routine is reading the articles, blogs, and other multi-media avenues regarding all things Auburn Athletics. And while good journalism is always subjective journalism, it also lacks the dissected substance that REAL fans want. I use the term "REAL" lightly. There are fair weather fans. There are apathetic fans. There are football season fans. There are rabid fans. Then there is us.

What do I mean by that? Well, fans that are in it until death. Have real connections to the University. Are vested into the team and the community. Know the intricacies of the game. Know most of the 2-deep on both sides of the ball. They care about losing and winning, but care much more for the how and why. These type people want more substance in their reading. They want to think. They want to ask questions.  I know I get tired of the skin deep reporting. I don't want to read about the every day things the players are doing. I dont' want to hear about how so-and-so knows this year will be different. I don't care if Coach says practice was good or bad. I want to know who is performing.  Who is making moves. Why is this player here. Why isn't so-and-so getting reps. Why are certain choices made. Why is the play calling this way. These things are important to me.

No fault to those writers, but sometimes I don't think the right questions get asked...probably because they won't get answered. What separates me from them is that they are there, on site. Initially,  I avoided sports writing, mostly because....hey, there are there and I am not. How can I deliver something people want to read that is better or different from these reporters? Yet, their writings are for a more generalized audience. They can't afford to be specific. Most football fans don't care about the Xs and Os. Only the Ws and Ls. Nor do readers care for opinionated sports writers in newspapers. And, opinionated sports writers are frequently outcast....and that's a bad thing if you are getting paid to do it. Unless you are Scarbinski.

I want to read about Xs and Os. I want to talk about technique and strategy. I want to talk about real world recruiting. These are things you won't read about because of the reasons listed above. So, if I can't read it...I can certainly write it. And since I have a great job and don't make any money (yet) writing a blog, I can afford to speak my mind on the game. I am secure enough in my Auburn Fandom that I can and happily will question things.

Blogging (and my related social media like my FaceBook Page and Twitter) make it possible that similar and like minded fans can interact. That's what I want. Interaction. I want questions asked and opinions shared. This isn't a new concept, even for Auburn football. The writers themselves do a GREAT job using their Twitter and Facebook as well. But, again, they are getting paid to not be opinionated fans.

Again, I have great respect for my Auburn beat writers. I encourage you to read their articles. In fact, I will be using their articles as the base for most of my articles.

So, let's talk football.

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