Posted 5/16/08 - Kellex


I'm guessing that many of us can attest to dropping a jaw here or there to the numbers posted by "Pro" bloggers. We've seen their earnings, their guest appearances and the tons of free schwag they receive, but answer me this: Is it really better to be a "Pro" blogger than a "Sports" blogger?

Here are the 5 reasons as to why I'm going with the sports side.

1. Press Pass Baby!

How many "Pro" bloggers out there can put in for a press pass to a major sporting event and actually get one? When was the last time Shoemoney chummed it up with professional athletes in a locker room after a game? (MMA is not really a sport, so that won't count Shoezie.)

I'm guessing some blogger will say that one of those blogging events or conferences is better than a sporting event and I'll just shoot that notion down now. You may not be a sports fan, but anytime you have a group of goofballs running around with laptops and cheesy Corsair t-shirts tucked into their pleated khakis, you are not topping the list of happenin' events.


2. The Real Fans!

"Pro" bloggers have risen to a sort of celebrity level depending on their niche, but does anyone really care about anything they write? They preach methods and spam affiliates without ever actually teaching anyone anything, but continue to keep you hooked by posting their $30,000 per month earnings.

"Sports" bloggers keep their readers hooked by writing about real life events. They come up with interesting insight, interview star athletes and insiders, and flat out keep it real. A "Sports" blogger's initial goal is never to announce their earnings to the world. (In fact, has this ever happened?) Instead they'd rather be the first to tell you about LeBron laying into some mother or whether or not Will Leitch has officially been bitched slapped by Buzz Bissinger.

Their fans continue to comeback because they love the content and the opinions; they aren't coming back just to leave a comment in hopes of a couple more pageviews or linkbacks.


3. Respectable Mentors

How many MMO bloggers can say that they actually respect John Chow or any of his dot Com Pho posse? (By the way it's pronounced "fuh" not "fer" or whatever the hell he keeps saying.) At some point, you'd think a "Pro" blogger would feel a need to give back to their specific niche. Even some original thought would be nice from time to time. The absence of real mentors in this MMO niche will most likely be the downfall.

On the other hand, the sports blog world is filled with so many that I'll just cover the niche I know best, which is basketball. Guys like Henry Abbott, J.E. Skeets, and Matt Moore do what they do because they absolutely love it. They all produce fresh thoughts, solid research and still manage to have a great time. It's easy to look up to a blogger that shares their ideas and actually loves to see another fellow blogger succeed.


4. Who's Shady?

As nice of a guy as Darren Rowse may be, I still find it hard to trust a guy in the MMO industry. I think we've all seen enough Magic Bullet infomercials to realize what every big player in the MMO niche is trying to do. "Pro" bloggers have sign up codes, offer discounts, and give away nice little prizes, but isn't there always a catch?

Tell me a time when a "Sports" blogger ran you through a maze of contest sign-ups and RSS subscriptions to get you to the meat of their content? "Sports" bloggers lay everything they've got on the line because that is all they know.


5. What's Better than Sports?

The bottom line is that sports are just freakin' amazing! I may be a biased sports fan and I also understand that not everyone in the world enjoys sports like I do, but who cares? The basic principle is that we write about something fun, entertaining and meaningful. "Pro" bloggers write about "How to get a great Twitter following!" or which cool shirt some marketing company gave them this Friday. Is that s$&t really fun?

Go watch a live NFL game Mr. Corsair T-Shirt guy.


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