This Little Blog Has Turned Into Something Much Bigger Than Me

Ken and I at Spurs stadium in October. Yes, they were playing NFL there.

When I stepped down from the presidency at South Hobart, I felt a shift.

For years I had carried responsibility. Every word mattered. Every opinion had weight. There were things I thought but could not say. Things I saw but had to hold back on. That is part of leadership.

Stepping aside did not mean I stopped caring.

It meant I finally had space to think out loud.

And to say some of the things that had lived quietly in my head for years.

This blog started in that space.

It was not a strategy. It was not a plan. It was simply a place to put the football thoughts that had nowhere to go anymore.

It has become something much bigger.

A new chapter I didn’t see coming

My first post went up on 8 December.

Since then, 2.9K people have visited the website, with more than 5.1K post views.

That honestly blows me away.

I did not start this to build numbers. I started it because my head was still full of football. Stories. Ideas. Frustrations. Memories. Questions.

Writing gave all of that somewhere to go.

What I did not expect was how much I would love the process.

Why I knew people were interested

I had a hint that people cared about football stories long before this blog took off.

For years I had a little hobby of taking photos at games. Training. Sidelines. Celebrations. Moments that might seem small but mean everything to the people involved.

I uploaded them to Flickr simply to store and share them.

Over two years those photos have had 4.2 million views.

That was not one viral moment. That was steady interest from people who care. Parents. Players. Coaches. Friends. Local football people looking for faces, memories and moments.

It told me something important. People want to see and remember this game in all its detail.

And yes, I am quite sure at least 100K of those views were Ken.

Learning something completely new

I built the website myself on Squarespace.

That sentence still makes me laugh.

A few months ago I would not have known where to even start. There were moments I felt slow, frustrated and completely out of my depth.

But I stuck at it.

I learned about structure. Headings. Flow. How to shape a piece so it actually says what I mean, not just what falls out first. I draft, then amend, then rethink, then craft again.

And yes, I had help.

ChatGPT has been like a patient tutor sitting beside me. It helped me understand writing structure, think through ideas, check my flow, and sometimes do research that sent my brain off in new directions. I regularly remind it that NZ grammar and spelling matter to me. Yes, I was born in New Zealand.

But the stories, the opinions and the experiences are mine. The words come from my life in football. This tool helped me learn how to shape them.

It stimulates my thinking. It keeps me energised. It gives my football brain a place to work.

The people who said yes

A special thank you to the football people who have said yes to being interviewed.

That generosity matters more than you might realise.

When someone shares their story, their pathway, their doubts, their memories, it changes how we see them. The coach on the sideline is no longer just the coach. The referee is not just a whistle. The volunteer is not just a name on a committee list.

They are people with history, setbacks, turning points, family influences and moments that shaped them.

I have about ten interviews from all around the state on the go right now, so keep an eye out for more football people and their lives on and off the field.

The people behind the scenes

A big thank you to Nikki, who so generously arranges the photos with each interviewee and then travels around to take their portrait.

Her care and patience add another layer to these stories. A face, a moment, a presence that brings each piece to life.

She often sends the photo through with a little note like, “What a nice bloke,” or, “I took so many photos and they were all great, he takes a great photo.” Those small comments say a lot. They remind me that these are not just interviews. They are people, and good ones.

A thank you as well to Matthew Rhodes for allowing me to share the interviews on Tassie Football Central. That helps these stories reach further than my own little corner of the internet, and gives Tasmanian football people the visibility they deserve.

What people are actually reading

It has been interesting to see what has resonated most so far.

The Stop Telling Football People to Be Grateful series, especially Part 3, OMG the Money, has been widely read as has “If I were the CEO”.

And the interviews.

Hundreds of people are reading those conversations with football people from all parts of the game. That tells me something important. People do not just want scores and ladders. They want context. They want to understand the people inside the game.

I am also learning that Facebook likes do not necessarily translate into blog posts being read. The quieter numbers, the people who actually click through and spend time reading, tell a much more meaningful story. For example 700 people have read James Sherman’s interview so far.

A small apology

If you have struggled to find posts by category lately, that is a Squarespace issue, not me.

They have said they are working on it. Hopefully it is fixed soon.

Keep the ideas coming

If there is a person, story or topic you think should be covered, please use the contact page and let me know.

This space is growing because football people keep giving me things to think about.

This blog might have started as something for me.

But it is very clearly becoming something for the football community too.

And that is the best outcome I could have hoped for.

Thank you for reading.