The Ghost is back
The Ghost is Back!: Well, kinda. I got something like 80 or 90 emails this summer asking if Girmindl's Ghost was going to be following Shaker hoops again for the 2006-2007 season. This really breaks down into several different questions. I'll take them in logical order:
1. Are you going to be going to Shaker games this winter?
Please. Aside from the short period of time when I lived away from Latham, I can't say that I've ever not been a regular at the Shaker hoops games during the last 25 years. Trust me, I'll be there. Ten or twelve rows up, behind the Shaker bench.
2. Are you going to just continue on with Girmindl's Ghost, same as last year?
No. That's not really possible. I've told the story of the '79-80 team, so that really can't be done again. I've written thousands of words about the gyms, the concession stands, and the fans. That tap might be running dry. About the only thing from last year that I can easily duplicate is the game reports, since we'll have a whole new slate of games to go to and talk about this winter.
3. So, are you just going to publish game reports and nothing else?
No. I'm trying to figure out a new "hook" for Girmindl's Ghost. Last year I had a few hooks: the retelling of the '79-80 season was one. Another was the focus on the gyms and the student sections. But I'm not sure what to do this year. I have three really good ideas, but neither really fits in with my work situation right now:
A) Follow the team "John Feinstein"-style, and write a book about the season; use the blog as a drafting board for stories about the team that will go in the book. This won't work because I simply don't have the time right now. I wake up every day and kick myself for not doing this last year. I really feel like I could have written the basketball equivalent of Friday Night Lights if I had done it.
B) Do more writing about the psychology of being a fan. I'm considering this. If you go back and read my confessions of a Bison addict post, I think that's some of the best emotional writing I did all last year. Short of writing a Friday Night Lights-style book, the other high school hoops book I'd like to do someday would be about the psychology of high school sports fans. The problem with this idea is that it could be really boring.
C) Write a history of Shaker basketball. I'm seriously considering this. The positive feeback I got about the diary of '79-80 was tempered by a lot of peoples' interest in learning more about the rest of Shaker hoops history. The downside is that this might take more time than I can afford to invest right now.
If you have any killer ideas, let me know. Seriously.
4. Ok. So what exactly would you say you're "going to do?"
Ah. Who am I kidding. I'll probably just write more stories about the gyms, the fans, and the concession stands. And, of course, the beloved 6,000 word game recaps.
1. Are you going to be going to Shaker games this winter?
Please. Aside from the short period of time when I lived away from Latham, I can't say that I've ever not been a regular at the Shaker hoops games during the last 25 years. Trust me, I'll be there. Ten or twelve rows up, behind the Shaker bench.
2. Are you going to just continue on with Girmindl's Ghost, same as last year?
No. That's not really possible. I've told the story of the '79-80 team, so that really can't be done again. I've written thousands of words about the gyms, the concession stands, and the fans. That tap might be running dry. About the only thing from last year that I can easily duplicate is the game reports, since we'll have a whole new slate of games to go to and talk about this winter.
3. So, are you just going to publish game reports and nothing else?
No. I'm trying to figure out a new "hook" for Girmindl's Ghost. Last year I had a few hooks: the retelling of the '79-80 season was one. Another was the focus on the gyms and the student sections. But I'm not sure what to do this year. I have three really good ideas, but neither really fits in with my work situation right now:
A) Follow the team "John Feinstein"-style, and write a book about the season; use the blog as a drafting board for stories about the team that will go in the book. This won't work because I simply don't have the time right now. I wake up every day and kick myself for not doing this last year. I really feel like I could have written the basketball equivalent of Friday Night Lights if I had done it.
B) Do more writing about the psychology of being a fan. I'm considering this. If you go back and read my confessions of a Bison addict post, I think that's some of the best emotional writing I did all last year. Short of writing a Friday Night Lights-style book, the other high school hoops book I'd like to do someday would be about the psychology of high school sports fans. The problem with this idea is that it could be really boring.
C) Write a history of Shaker basketball. I'm seriously considering this. The positive feeback I got about the diary of '79-80 was tempered by a lot of peoples' interest in learning more about the rest of Shaker hoops history. The downside is that this might take more time than I can afford to invest right now.
If you have any killer ideas, let me know. Seriously.
4. Ok. So what exactly would you say you're "going to do?"
Ah. Who am I kidding. I'll probably just write more stories about the gyms, the fans, and the concession stands. And, of course, the beloved 6,000 word game recaps.
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on Friday, September 14, 2007 at 5:13 PM.
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