The Sports iBars
There are still a lot of people who dismiss the notion of going online to talk sports, but I think it’s become the best place to go. You can talk to all sorts of people you’d never have met otherwise, and can make new friends. It raises the game from chatting with just a few people sitting at a bar over loud music and overpriced beer.
I started online in 2002. I’d moved to Los Angeles, and was struggling to keep up with the Giants. And I found one of the most passionate and unique groups of people I’ve ever met . The Mules and the HF’s (Humorless F***s) were great. I also got started posting on SFDugout.com, which led to much more with that site. When ESPN began contracting an outside group to moderate that board, most left ESPN’s archaic forums and took up home on other boards, such as GiantsBoard.com and McCoveyChronicles.
It seems natural that fans around the Bay Area should be among the quickest to appreciate online technologies, but some still seem surprised. When preparing things for this comic, I was asked why I’d want to pursue a comic at such a limited market online, when many broad-audience comics have trouble making things work for themselves. Then I opened up McCovey Chronicles, and showed them where a single post would have hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of posts.
The online discussion boards are an emerging market, but it makes sense. It’s not like talk radio, where you wait an hour to get 20 seconds, and cut off before you can really make your point. It’s not like the limited group of people you meet at a bar. Embrace the forums. They’ll make you a better fan.
*****BLATANT PLUG***** The Lunatic Fringe comment threads and forums are hosted by SFDugout, where you can also talk with their community about the Giants (and anything else). If you haven’t done online forums before, give them a shot.
