Preaching To A Choir Of Heathens
Jun 23, 2008 Bloggerating, Ranting, Self-Referential Stuff, The ghost of BFD, Vince Young can't read this post
As I’m sure most of you have seen by now, Will Leitch took The Big Lead to task (kinda) in response to this LA Times article about how Buzz Bissinger’s [likely drunken] tirade against Will made bloggers change their tone and become more serious. Will’s article was well-written, even if (as other’s have pointed out) it’s a little ironic for him to be complaining about blogs changing, given the number of writers, many of them horribly shitty, who have guest slots on Deadspin now. After all — and I’m paraphrasing a number of comments and blog posts — selling out is selling out, no matter what the impetus, right?
But none of that is why I mentioned this whole thing in the first place. Honestly, I don’t care about the fallout from Bissingergate at all because I don’t see that it’s had any affect on what we (or other Texans blogs) are doing. Nor do I care about whether other sports blogs are changing their tune because, honestly, other sports blogs don’t cover the Texans enough to really draw more than a passing interest from me. (Honestly, unless the material is (a) consistently hilarious or (b) extremely well-written, I might go weeks without reading a given blog.)
No, I bring this whole thing up because of Will’s final sentences in that article. In a piece of advice to all bloggers, Will opines:
Just take care of your own business, figure out what you do best, pray everyone just stays out of your way and then start ripping shit up. Fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke.
If I were trying to sum up the mindset of DGDB&D in one sentence, that part in bold would come pretty close. I hope BFD doesn’t mind me speaking for him here, but our goal has always been to entertain first and inform second, and I feel like we do a pretty good job of it. There aren’t too many blogs, Texans or otherwise, that do in-depth Xs and Os talk sandwiched between fake conversations and jokes about sodomy. Do we go a little over the top at times? Definitely. Is it possible that we are offending some people, including families of some of the people we write about? Sure. But so what? No, seriously — why does that matter at all? I mean, for Christ’s sake, I have a photo essay about Richard Justice that begins with a rhino having explosive diarrhea. Do you really think there’s anything here you shouldn’t take with a huge grain of salt?
Now, I realize that, as with anything, tastes vary when it comes to blogs. For instance, I love half of the KSK writers but can’t stand the other half, I find With Leather nearly unreadable, and I happen to think that Deadspin was best when it was just Will and Rick on a daily basis. Your opinions may (and likely do) vary, which is totally fine by me. Which is why I don’t understand people who feel the need to comment or email to tell me that what I’ve done is “offensive” or “rude” or “stupid as shit” or whatever. You feel that way? Great, more power to you…but your opinion means less to me than, apparently, mine does to you. Why waste your e-breath writing something that is just going to get ridiculed or, more likely, ignored? It’s not like you are going to change anything at all on this site.
I guess my point is that DGDB&D is never going to please everyone. First, that’s more or less impossible, and, second, that would incredibly boring. What we try to do is entertain the people who do like the site and just forget about those who don’t. More accurately, what we try to do is bring something to the Texans blogosphere that you can’t get anywhere else. To my way of thinking, that should be everyone’s goal. For example, Battle Red Blog, the gold-standard of being entertaining while being informative, has cornered the market on doing in-depth features, hitting on breaking news first, and creating a comment section that is friendly and often hilarious.
Now, as a blog with a similarly-sized readership base, we could attempt to do the same thing as them or we could find another angle and try to make our site different, which is exactly what we’ve done. By doing this, to paraphrase SOLIS, we’ve created a place that is like a local bar, where you recognize most everyone, you bullshit with your friends, you revel in the constantly stupidity, and you get into the occasional sports argument.
If we can entertain you while providing the occasional nugget of actual football insight — and if we can accomplish the whole thing through some well-written pieces — then I feel like we’ve succeeded in reaching our goal as a blog. It may leave some things to be desired and it sure as hell ain’t for everyone, but no one is making you read it. If you don’t like it, read something else; if you do read it, then realize that this site is the way it is for a reason.
And fuck you if you can’t take a joke.
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June 23rd, 2008 at 2:30 pm
I’m pretty sure the “Vince Young can’t read this post” tag should be applied to all posts.
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June 23rd, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Definitely. It just got used today because I was scrolling through the categories and thought, man, I haven’t used that one near enough.
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June 23rd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
“More accurately, what we try to do is bring something to the Texans blogosphere that you can’t get anywhere else. To my way of thinking, that should be everyone’s goal.”
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Good point. It’s all about finding a niche. Something you feel good about.
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And I don’t want to derail your post at all, because blogging is all about saying what you want to say without The Man telling you what to do. That being said, do you ever question your direction at all? I know that this is probably a silly question, because clearly your self-editor is different some other peoples.
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But you know the type of person that DeMeco Ryans is. Did you feel more free to be more vulgar when Ryans’ name was off the name of blog? Do you ever wonder, not just what families might think about what you write, but what DeMeco Ryans, stud linebacker thinks about it.
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I’m not dogging you for this at all. I’m just wondering if you think about it any. Or worry any about having your name associated with some of this stuff as far as being dooced (now or in the future) over this stuff. Everybody has to pick a tone that they are comfortable with, and I’ve always wondered how those people who are more uh expansive in their writing, if they ever get concerned about those sorts of things.
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June 23rd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I’m still convinced that Ufford/Captain Caveman ghost-wrote that post…
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June 23rd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
@Steph: I had a longer comment written, answering your questions, but I deleted it because I found it really dull. So, the short answer is “no, I don’t ever think about it.” I write this site in this manner because it is an online extension of my sense of humor and it seems to resonate with enough people that I don’t feel a need to change it. (Hell, part of the reason I asked BFD to be my co-blogger is because his sense of humor seemed to be in line with mine, so there wouldn’t be a glaring difference between his posts and my own.)
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As far as changing the name went, I did it because DeMeco and his lawyer were nice guys and I was doing them a solid. I made it clear here and to them that I reserved the right to change back at any time. I still refer to the blog by its full name when I am telling people about it and it is still linked under that name by most people who’ve linked to it. Plus, I think if you look at my posts pre- and post-name change, you won’t see much of a difference.
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For all the dumb shit I’ve done here — and there is a ton — I’ve also done a number of posts that I am really proud of. I feel like it is those posts that give this place an air of credibility. “They are some filthy bastards, but they know football” would be about the best compliment we could receive here. And for the people who don’t feel like complimenting us, I direct you to the final sentence of the post.
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@ grungedave: If so, he should try that tone more often and not always come across as a smug, condescending cockrag.
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June 23rd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Okay, for the followup question. Do your parents read your blog? (Oh, and the dooce question).
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June 23rd, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Yes, both of my parents have read it, though neither reads with any consistency because neither really likes football. (It was a hard childhood.) Neither was offended, however, because I get my sense of humor from my dad and my mom owns a redneck bar, so she’s immune to vulgar language. (She found the Travis/Pope post especially hilarious.)
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As far as being fired, I don’t worry because I work in a backwater state and none of the people I work (who would care what I am writing) is especially tech-savvy. They were amazed by Google street views…last week. Best I can tell, they email, they look for Cardinals’ scores, and they Google large words they don’t understand. Besides, my name is so common that someone would have to be looking specifically for me to find me.
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June 23rd, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I don’t remember how I originally came across the blog, but what grabbed my attention right away was way it was written. In the New York area, as you all know, we are mean-spirited, potty-mouthed, abrasive pricks. I’ve said it to Matt before, but I cut my teeth on Howard Stern and Dice Clay. I enjoy, no love, that slant on things. Take that with my passion for football, roll them together, and we have DGDB&D. I don’t want journalistic integrity here. I want to bullshit about football and make some off-color comments. I have to temper my language and comments all day (apparently, cursing in front of a class of police recruits is not professional). The time for self-edits and taking your foot off the gas should be appropriately tailored. A blog about football is not the place for that. The NY Daily News, LA Times, Washington Post, etc., can worry about who they are offending. We want fake, dirty conversations and detailed, mind-blowing 4-3 theories that some “journalists” can only dream about. SOLIS’ bar analogy is dead on, only we’re not like the bar at Ruth’s Chris or Friday’s. We have substance.
@ Steph
The parents question comes across mother hen-ish. Adults use dirty words and make dirty jokes. Moms and Dads have to realize that at some point. As long as the rest of your life is in order, parents should be proud if all you do is use cuss words and make innuendos, from a Fourteenth Amendment point of view.
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June 23rd, 2008 at 7:25 pm
A good comedian, Emery Emery, was once offered a spot on HBO…IF he would “clean up his act”. He told them to go “fuck” themselves. To this day, Emery has never been on any cable show, but he has managed to make a name for himself doing other film works.(The Aristocrats…if you’ve never seen the “movie”, you must! Sickest damn joke in the world) I happen to love Lisa Lampanelli. She is the nastiest broad in the universe. She claims to be two things, “An Equal Opportunity Offender”, as well as the “Queen of Mean”. I find it amusing that it is only when a few select people become offended, that we are forced to edit ourselves, or made to feel somewhat ashamed of our works. Funny how our 1st Amendment right to speak however, whenever, and about whatever we damn well feel like is continually challenged. Guess you could say that about a lot of our supposed “rights”. Not to get anyone’s panties/boxers/briefs in a ruffle, but I’m sick of people telling me what to do, or how to act. For example…The last time I checked, I didn’t have “Property of the US Government” tattooed on the inside of my vagina, so why are they constantly interested in what rights my vajayjay has?
Considering that I participated in a comment link that involved fisting, hamsters, gerbils, etc…I have nothing but support to give! I say FUCK THEM ALL IF THEY CAN’T TAKE A FUCKING JOKE!
Long Live DGDB&D!!!
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June 23rd, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Wait are you trying to say that Travis Johnson didn’t really ask the Pope to bless his cock? Cause I assumed that was why he was out of camp with “groin problems/inflamed vagina”.
I love this site because of the humor and the fact that Matt has a hatred for someone or something new every week and we get to read about it in great detail.
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June 23rd, 2008 at 7:35 pm
@ James: I never thought of it that (re: my hatreds), but I think you are on to something.
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June 23rd, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Ufford is a smug cockrag at times that also hates TBL with a passion…
that article seemed right up his alley.
I used to read WithLeather regularly, but now it’s nothing but lowbrow hooker and child molestation jokes written by a guy who should be a hell of a lot better than that.
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June 23rd, 2008 at 9:04 pm
@8- I didn’t mean to be mother hen-ish whatsoever. Imagine as though I wasn’t asking it as being a snide-like person, but rather a curious person who has met Matt, likes Matt, and who doesn’t have the life experience of a mom owning a redneck bar. I like finding out people’s thought processes.
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I’ve given a lot of thought about blogger voice, and I’ve asked a variety of bloggers I know about their comfort level with some of the uh out there stuff they write. It is hard to be totally honest to your particular voice as a writer because you know people will judge. (including current and perhaps future employers).
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So my comments were more of a curiosity nature. I can’t be a total mother hen as I directed a movie reinacting the birth of the Titans involving incestous doll porn. I just have a harder time crushing Texans players than I do peeps from other teams. Sort of a “with fans like this, who needs enemies” sort of thing. But everybody makes their own choices.
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Choice is what makes America cool. For me, choice involves some responsibility because of the decisions I’ve made with what I want my blogging to do. There’s a lot of freedom in blogging with no responsibility to anyone but whatever crosses your mind. (well, and most bloggers feel that responsibility to readers who want them to write more more more more on that blogging hamster wheel).
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I just think this is an interesting topic. Interesting topics are worth follow ups conversation like in a sports bar. Yeah, you watch your sports and you talk about the sport, but you talk about random stuff too.
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Clearly this was an issue that Matt felt strongly about, or else he would have left this as a brief Hell Yeah, What Will Said sort of post.
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Okay, another question for Matt. What does your wife think about creating historical records of David Carr’s imagined fantasy life?
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BTW, I think Matt would like Ufford better if he knew him. It is easier to *get* someones writing better if you know them as a person.
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June 23rd, 2008 at 9:07 pm
@9 The Aristocrats is one of my favorite movies I’ve seen in recent years. The recent Don Rickles movie was less funny, but still worth watching.
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Lisa Lampanelli is genius. Culturally, it is hard for a female to get away with having her sort of really abusive schtick. It might be a northeastern thing that helps her.
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June 23rd, 2008 at 9:53 pm
@Steph:I like you already! I haven’t seen the Don Rickles movie, but will check it out. I believe that you have a point about the NE part. Just expected from those folks. I wonder what happened to corrupt a nice KS girl like me?
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Since we are on the topic of freedom of speech…
I’d like to take a moment to bow my head in honor of George Carlin, who passed away yesterday. I hope that he and Lenny Bruce are giving the finger to the Blog-Nazis…while sipping a nice scotch.
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June 24th, 2008 at 7:43 am
Right on, Matt, right on.
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See, that’s why I love this site. Honest analysis of topics that are relevant to me. Texans football-ck, beer and bbq – ck, dope music – ck, fake conversations laced with wit and imagination – mother-fuckin’ ck.
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At BRB, I had to reign it in a bit when I went from the peanut gallery to the playbill. It was one of the conditions of signing on. But it didn’t mean I lost my identity. I’m in the service – I cuss all day long… but when I have to give briefings at the 1430 production meeting, I mind my p’s and q’s. Same with my writing style.
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Now with all said, I’ve read things on this site that makes me fear for Matt’s safety. “Blogger found beaten to death outside Reliant Stadium… in related news, Travis Johnson will play with a cast on his hand for the rest of the season.” Not that I wish that on him… I’m just saying that he takes risks that I wouldn’t, but that’s what I respect most about this place – the ‘everything is fair game’ attitude. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Keep doing what you’re doing Matt – Fuck em if they can’t take a joke.
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June 24th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Amen Brother!! What I like about this blog is that it involves intelligent discussion about football and a passion for the Texans. At the same time, you understand that this whole football watching thing is supposed to be fun. Too many sites think that sports are supposed to be serious and that sports sites are supposed to reflect the values that we hold in society. Fuck ‘em.
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Also, there aren’t too many Texans fans in my corner of the country and most of my friends lean more towards the college side of the game, so it’s nice to get the occasional chance to talk about pro football.
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Keep up the good work dude and fuck em even if they can take a joke (especially if they’re hot).
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June 24th, 2008 at 9:40 am
I completely agree with the post and its comments. It’s almost like people spend time TRYING to find things that piss them off. To those people i say: See that white little bar at the top of your screen? Type something else up there (cuddlybears.com will probably do it) and get the hell out of here. And that’s exactly the point. Why bitch about content on the internet when there is sooo much of it out there? Hell, you can even do it on a smaller scale and just skip the posts you don’t like. I’m a case in point: I love this site enough to have it set as my home page, but I normally skip over the fake conversations. Why bitch about them? Other people like them, true, but that’s not the point. This is Matt’s (and bfd’s) site. And that means they can and should do whatever they like, not what a random Joe Blow wants. But with all that said, i’m more in steph’s camp on the internet. I can’t know what might happen down the road and i’d hate to have one internet posting come back and haunt me. But that’s a surely personal choice and my own decision should have absolutely no bearing on your’s. Bring on the Filipino tranny porn!
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June 24th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Matt–
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So you’re saying that both your mom & Tim’s mom own a bar? Is that a freakin pre-req for starting a Texans blog these days?
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Oh, and you guys are some filthy bastards, but you know football.
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June 24th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Matt: You and BFD are doing some great work. You’re entertaining AND informing the masses. Whenever someone has something harsh to say to/or about me, my standard answer/response is “probably a good thing your/their opinion isn’t important to me.” Life is too fucking short to worry about what other people think. As long as you’re not out there writing shit to intentionally hurt people, fuck ‘em. Take what you want and leave the rest. Rock on, my brother.
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June 25th, 2008 at 7:05 am
@ SOLIS: At BRB, I had to reign it in a bit when I went from the peanut gallery to the playbill. Tim is such a fascist sometimes.
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Now with all said, I’ve read things on this site that makes me fear for Matt’s safety.[...]Not that I wish that on him… I’m just saying that he takes risks that I wouldn’t, but that’s what I respect most about this place – the ‘everything is fair game’ attitude. That last sentence really sorta sums up my feeling about what I am doing. Everything IS fair game, at least with respect to being the butt of a joke. It’s not like I am stalking TJ and posting about what he REALLY does, Gawker-style. I am making shit up and using him as the punchline because he does stupid shit on the field and I think it’s funny to translate that to real life. If that is taking a risk, then I guess I am, but I see it more as just trying to be entertaining and working with what people give me. I’m glad it resonates with at least a few of y’all.
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@ stacy: Well said.
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June 25th, 2008 at 7:59 am
@ Matt: Only when I’m sober.
@ SOLIS: You’ll pay for that disclosure, pal. Consider your vacation time cut entirely. Keep it up, and I’ll take Christmas away too.