This story won’t lead the local 6 p.m. television news but this month is the 10-year anniversary of David Shama’s Minnesota Sports Headliners.
During the first several months of writing this column, readership consisted mostly of family, friends and wayward viewers from cyberspace. A cantankerous sportswriter used to greet me with this welcome in locker rooms and at news conferences:
“Nobody reads you.”
Today, I can say somebody does. Sports Headliners has recorded millions of page views since its beginning in 2006. Along the way many people have been interested enough in what is reported and opinioned here to keep returning to the website.
For that I am grateful. It’s been feedback from readers that is valued as much as anything experienced during this 10-year journey. “You just keep turning them out,” one reader said in an email. “I don’t know how any fan can consider themselves well informed about Minnesota sports without reading Headliners.”
Another reader suggested something I wrote was “Pulitzer-prize worthy.” Those are ultra kind words but so far no notification about my Pulitzer from the accrediting organization.
Not all readers, of course, have appreciated my efforts. A few folks refer to me as a “moron.” Others prefer “idiot.”
I have made mistakes but I don’t believe my intelligence quotient has sunk to single digits—yet.
Most weeks during the year I try to post the best three columns I can. More often than not the content is mostly notes because that’s the type of sports column I most enjoy reading.
To scoop other media rivals is fun and professionally rewarding. Sports Headliners scoops most recently were about the announcement of the new Gophers athletic director, and Bud Grant’s precarious small plane landing in Canada. Then there is the trivial get-it-first stuff that is fun to come up with—like where a local athlete is going to play overseas, or the latest on a dating relationship.
Sports Headliners was a one-man startup back in 2006. Today the whole effort remains pretty much the same. That means developing story ideas, covering events, shooting photos, doing interviews, transcribing audio tapes, writing first drafts, editing multiple times and posting the column on the website. The “advertising department” is also in my office where I have lists of prospective advertisers and files on current advertisers.
When I started the blog I didn’t realize how much time it would consume. It is a busy endeavor but it’s also a source of pride and satisfaction. I had a passion for writing this column 10 years ago and still do. I have also had the support of my wife who has provided encouragement and helps with editing.
The realization of Sports Headliners fulfills an ambition I had for a long time. Back in the 1970s I was a Twin Cities sportswriter with assignments that included covering the Vikings and Twins for a wire service. While with the Sun Newspapers I turned down an opportunity to join the Pioneer Press sports department. That is a decision I second-guessed over the years, but I also fulfilled another goal—to have a career in sports marketing.
After having positions with the North Stars, General Sports, Jostens and the United States Tennis Association, I decided to start my own communications business with Sports Headliners as the flagship effort. Technology made the website possible but I couldn’t produce this product without my education as a journalist and relationships with Minnesota sports organizations.
Over the years Sports Headliners has been referred to by various names including blog, column and newsletter. A friend and former coach has labeled it “a missile.”
That’s a head-scratcher but it sure helps not to take yourself too seriously. I know I don’t represent a media giant like the New York Times, or the Star Tribune. I realize my writing “touch” isn’t the cleverest or best delivered in this town. So far there are no journalism awards displayed on my office walls.
But I enjoy what I do, and just as rewarding is that many of you do as well. I often tell friends that I have received more compliments for postings in this space than anything done professionally in my life.
That’s very rewarding, and so, too, is the endorsement of advertisers. Murray’s has been with me almost from the beginning. Van Clemens, Manchester Companies, Goldy’s Locker Room, LZ Automotive, Family Dentistry and many others either are or have been advertisers. Their advertising helps make this effort possible and I encourage every reader to patronize them. These are quality businesses operated by great people.
It’s been 10 years of growth and personal satisfaction writing for you. I have been reminded almost weekly how challenging it is for the Minnesota sports public to be upbeat about local teams. The Super Bowls, Rose Bowls, Final Fours, NBA Finals, Stanley Cups and World Series years for Minnesota teams were long ago.
There has been an occasional dance with glory in the last 10 years including WNBA championships won by the Lynx. Favorite memories for me also include the 2009 Vikings’ flirtation with the Super Bowl. That season was mostly defined by the brilliance of then 40-year-old quarterback Brett Favre. The gunslinger from Mississippi by way of the Packers and Jets brought his magic show to Minneapolis and had perhaps the best season of his life.
To be around the kind of greatness showcased by Favre that season is rare—especially in these parts. Yet, fans here seem to remain mostly optimistic. No matter the team, or often the year, fans predict that next season the results will be better, records will improve. Often those aren’t realistic views, but these are attitudes that define what fans are all about. When fans aren’t optimistic, their interest can be near life support status and they may be close to deciding it’s time to move their passion to another team or pastime.
Of all the teams in town, the Vikings seem like the most realistic choice to have major success in the near future. They have good personnel, with even better coaching and resources including the right ownership and facilities. Maybe they soon will wake up the echoes of 2009.
There are other bright spots in town including the Timberwolves with their talented core of players young enough to be playing at Williams Arena instead of Target Center. The ballyhooers have them soon contending for championships but first it would be nice to see the franchise qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
I like several of the team leaders here. Paul Molitor has a high baseball IQ. Mike Zimmer is already included in conversations about the NFL’s better coaches. Bruce Boudreau looks like the Wild’s best coach since Jacques Lemaire. The Wolves Tom Thibodeau’s defensive coaching skills are admired from Rochester to Rio. Gophers AD Mark Coyle and football coach Tracy Claeys have their hearts in the right places working with student-athletes.
The next 10 years could provide an entertaining and perhaps even successful ride for at least a few of our teams. I know some of what happens will be unpredictable, and that too will make things fun.
I am looking forward to the next 10 years of Sports Headliners. In the meantime, keep the comments coming, and if you’re inclined to label me a moron or idiot so be it.
Just part of the job.
A Great Big Congratulations to you, David on your 10th Anniversary! You have made sports writing entertaining and educational. I love how you write without an agenda and let your piece speak for itself.
Good luck on 10 more years and good health, buddy!
Heartiest congrats, Dave. You have done one heck of a job. Many of us sports nuts look forward each week to receive your fresh and insightful inside coverage. Here’s to another decade of sports journalism success.
Dennis cGrath
Congrats, David. You probably agree that 10 years goes by quickly, but I know first hand it’s not easy to keep generating columns with fresh takes and good information. I’ve always liked the variety in the notes you put together, and enjoy the mix from the pro teams to the small colleges and high schools. Keep up the great work. Here’s to 10 more years (and maybe more).