08-11-2019, 08:52 PM
After taking the whole off-season off (bed-rest and psychoanalysis after the 2018 sports year results), DSE and I are back for another year. First started this site in 1998; can't believe it's been 22 years. I'd figured that eventually the internet would foster more and more independent sources of Rice football information, both verbal and visual, and it's come around to that, pretty much, at last. The thought was that eventually Ricefootball.net would turn into what was mainly an aggregation site, pointing people toward multifarious Rice football info sources. Of recent, we've gotten Matt's roost site as an outstanding addition; on that I think we can all agree. Some have chided him as being a bit too much on the optimistic side, but I think he's pretty well right on target. Our recruits read this stuff. Our players' moms, dads and girlfriends read this stuff.
Also, Chuck's staff has gradually morphed into a news provider for Rice sports, rather than just the old SID cliche of stats and touts. It's really a huge task; I don't know whether all of y'all realize the effort that they've been putting in, being in the position of both news creation and general publicity.
(Slightly off topic, but do youall think that RiceOwls.com's current layout is a bit confusing and makes it more different to dig the meat out of the claws? It seems to be designed for smartphones as opposed to full-screen viewers. But apparently it's an imperative; it's a nod to the Millenials. (Matt says that typically a good 80 percent of views come from smartphones on sites like roost, but for roost itself, it's more like 60 per cent. That says something. I think it says a lot of us Owl fans of a certain age are becoming the Old Geezers of the internet world.)
Thing is, in all cases, we need to respond with clicks, clicks and more clicks. Same goes for Glynn Hill's stuff at the Chronicle. We've talked about this before on occasion, but we really need to click and comment. Matt wants comment as well; and I sense that's been his only significant disappointment in running the roost; that is, paucity of feedback and commentary.
So Ricefootball.net is trying to more into that more-of-an-aggregator role, including links to all significant stories and shorts that Matt and RiceOwls.com put up; while scouring the web for the occasional Underdog Dynasty-type story and the like, not to mention postings from media covering the opponent of the week.
Yet David and I plan to attend every road game, at this point, for the usual photos and postgame locker room presser. But the only time I'll plan to do a game writeup is when we don't have any kind of media coverage (other than RiceOwls.com). Instead we'll attempt a greater effort at digging and out and linking worthwhile media coverage from other sources. And will direct you to link conveniently and from one spot, to Matt's stuff and the SID staff's stuff (Chuck writes most of the football coverage himself, which is a labor of love because he's got, you know, like a few thousand other things to do as well.)
So if we can safely assume that we're at a critical crossroads or junction or whatever, regarding the future of Rice football, and Rice sports in general, this is just an invitation to be as active, and pro-active as you can. Not suggesting rah-rah pollyanna, just sayin' we all need to pull as much weight as we can....
And that's what Speed and I are trying to do...so let's come on and click away...
Also, Chuck's staff has gradually morphed into a news provider for Rice sports, rather than just the old SID cliche of stats and touts. It's really a huge task; I don't know whether all of y'all realize the effort that they've been putting in, being in the position of both news creation and general publicity.
(Slightly off topic, but do youall think that RiceOwls.com's current layout is a bit confusing and makes it more different to dig the meat out of the claws? It seems to be designed for smartphones as opposed to full-screen viewers. But apparently it's an imperative; it's a nod to the Millenials. (Matt says that typically a good 80 percent of views come from smartphones on sites like roost, but for roost itself, it's more like 60 per cent. That says something. I think it says a lot of us Owl fans of a certain age are becoming the Old Geezers of the internet world.)
Thing is, in all cases, we need to respond with clicks, clicks and more clicks. Same goes for Glynn Hill's stuff at the Chronicle. We've talked about this before on occasion, but we really need to click and comment. Matt wants comment as well; and I sense that's been his only significant disappointment in running the roost; that is, paucity of feedback and commentary.
So Ricefootball.net is trying to more into that more-of-an-aggregator role, including links to all significant stories and shorts that Matt and RiceOwls.com put up; while scouring the web for the occasional Underdog Dynasty-type story and the like, not to mention postings from media covering the opponent of the week.
Yet David and I plan to attend every road game, at this point, for the usual photos and postgame locker room presser. But the only time I'll plan to do a game writeup is when we don't have any kind of media coverage (other than RiceOwls.com). Instead we'll attempt a greater effort at digging and out and linking worthwhile media coverage from other sources. And will direct you to link conveniently and from one spot, to Matt's stuff and the SID staff's stuff (Chuck writes most of the football coverage himself, which is a labor of love because he's got, you know, like a few thousand other things to do as well.)
So if we can safely assume that we're at a critical crossroads or junction or whatever, regarding the future of Rice football, and Rice sports in general, this is just an invitation to be as active, and pro-active as you can. Not suggesting rah-rah pollyanna, just sayin' we all need to pull as much weight as we can....
And that's what Speed and I are trying to do...so let's come on and click away...