(image via, yes, MGoBlog)
A couple weeks ago, I posted this question as a poll: Which Michigan football blog is your favorite?
I admit that the results might be a wee bit skewed, since I posted this poll on my very own blog. After all, anyone visiting this site must at least be willing to give me a little bit of traffic, if not spend a considerable amount of time here. But since no neutral site is going to post such a niche poll, here was as good as anywhere. Hit the jump for the results.
MGoBlog: 76%
This was no surprise to me, and I predicted MGoBlog would win by a landslide. Aside from being a top-notch writer with a good sense of humor, MGoBlog founder Brian Cook has done a good job of building a community that includes an active message board, giveaways, sponsorships, a season preview book, tailgates, and more. He has also hired several people to help him with various aspects of the blog, including multiple recruiting writers who have gone on to work for ESPN and Rivals.
Touch the Banner: 13%
Naturally, it would be great if this number were somewhere around, say, 100%. But I know my place in the world. This is actually a higher number than I expected. I was guessing it would be about 10%. Unlike some other sites – including MGoBlog – I take some pride in the fact that the vast majority of the writing and growth over the years has been by my own hands.
MGoFish: 5%
I’ve collaborated with MGoFish a little bit, and it’s a well designed, quality blog. It centers a little more around recruiting news, interviews, etc. than this site or some others.
Other: 3%
I know there are lots of other blogs that have popped up over the years. Which one(s) were these votes for?
GBMWolverine: 1% (7 votes)
I thought GBMWolverine might get a bit higher of a percentage. I’ve never participated in their online community and don’t read the site, so I don’t know much about it.
Maize and Go Blue: 1% (5 votes)
Maize and Blue Nation: 1% (4 votes)
I don’t know much about the final two blogs, but I have done link exchanges with them, so I went ahead and included them.
What’s your favorite Michigan blog and why?
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Thanks for the poll. I know people like MGoBlog, but I was surprised that this cane out so lopsided. I just figured most preferred the coach’s perspective a little more
Anyway, give yourself a little more credit: I’ve anyways come here for the twice a day postings, but now wonder over a lot more to see the latest comments
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I don’t know if it’s totally about the perspective of the writer. I think if you’re talking about a community as a whole, MGoBlog just has more traffic, more people, more activity on the message board, social meetups, etc. I think for some people it’s about the overall experience. If the poll had asked about the primary author’s perspective on football, maybe the numbers would have changed a bit…and maybe not. I don’t know.
But thanks. I’m not trying to diminish my own site. I just try to remain objective. But I am glad about the direction of the site, the growing community of readers/commenters, etc.
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“I just figured most preferred the coach’s perspective a little more”
This is why I like TTB … I’m looking for insights based on real coaching experience. And I like the (generally) respectful way disagreements are handled here.
MGoBlue’s discussion board is more active, but not always in a good way. A lot of the threads are just noise, and some of the poo-throwing that goes on in the comments is tiresome. The front-page original content is often very good.
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Give yourself and this board some credit, you are earning it.
Of course MGOBLOG gets the lion share of votes, because of it’s size, articles and humor. Even you post there and are respected enough to be linked and quoted often. I check in there everyday simply because of the scope of info available, but it is not my favorite site. Think of the number of votes in this poll that were probably generated by those from that site alone.
Most of us have a hierarchy of sites we visit most often to get our Michigan football fix and you are in it.
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Interesting results. I think this poll is tough to evaluate because fans tend to use different sites for different purposes. My experience:
MGoBlog: UFR and podcasts are well done, Brian is a good researcher and writer on a variety of topics (football, NCAA, Dave Brandon, etc.). Community and his staff often has an echo-chamber feel though and the other writers need to stop attempting to be funny. Could use a stronger #2 to challenge Brian more often. Also, a growing % of the content is only really of interest to their hardcore devotees/minions. Nonetheless, great core content.
TTB: Good site run by a knowledgeable football guy, who has pretty much the most honest talent evaluations anywhere (both recruits and current players). Avoids dogma and is not threatened by differences of opinion.
MGoFish: Format is a killer for me. The site takes bits of news and turns it into a bloated article, which kind of an old school newspaper approach. Clicks on posts usually are not worth it. If you are scanning for news, think it is better to look through a board like Victors Valiant (if you can block out the political garbage) and get some quick analysis or links to analysis.
GBMWolverine: Built on the MaizeMan insider info. Can have some decent threads during the season. Leaders can be a little dogmatic or overly defensive about their opinions. Too much dredging up of RR vs. Hoke. Also to much badmouthing about Scout and whoever used to run that site.
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Good summary. “Leaders can be a little dogmatic or overly defensive about their opinions.” – I would say that goes for Mgoblog too. Brian has gotten more sensitive as his profile has grown and hiring sycophants is either a symptom or cause of it continuing.
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I ranked this site first. i think i mentioned this before but the articles are easier for me to follow and enjoy the game better. I goto MGoBlog more often because they put out stuff to read frequently, but i always come here first. Also, the beauty that i encounter after hitting the jump on some of these articles are just wondrous to behold IMHO…
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For what it’s worth, I think this site has improved steadily over the years. The insights were always there but the writing in particular has gotten much better. The posts are more consistent in quality. IMO, The big difference-maker here (relative to other sites) is objectivity. Thunder isn’t trying to sugar-coat things and just tell fans what they want to hear. There’s a little bit of a DGAF edge to things that I appreciate.
I think comparing to Mgoblog is probably not a great idea. The popularity/traffic of that site gives them resources that are tough for any one-man operation/blog to match. Brian has a rare writing talent and that site has grown into something pretty massive.
Mgoblog has sort of gone in the other direction (in terms of quality) over the last 5 years or so. Even though they now produce a slick magazine and put out way more content, the quality is far less consistent than when Brian was the only author. I get why Brian would hire more people, and he might have moved on by now if he hadn’t, but I do miss the days when the message board was more thoughtful, GIFs rare, etc. To me, I’ll take quality over quantity any day. The noise on Mgoblog has dialed up while this site has hit a groove.
One idea for making the community a little more active is to get some discussions going based on the links. Maybe a paragraph reaction to stuff that makes the frontpage.
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I don’t have such a problem with original content on MGoBlog, but too many of the discussions degenerate into all manner of juvenile shit that has nothing to do with Michigan sports. The fanboys over there seem to get off on seeing who can post the cleverer gif, or drop the most pop culture references or whatever. Way too often, I find myself scrolling through that drivel and wondering if I’ll ever get to a post worth reading.
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Like many above, I like Mgoblog for the breadth of content. I come here primarily for recruiting evals and of course the yearly countdown! I think Thunder provides a unique perspective in those areas. I also enjoy breakdown sports, which is Space Coyote’s blog and includes breakdowns of schemes around the Big Ten.
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Like many above, I like Mgoblog for the breadth of content. I come here primarily for recruiting evals and of course the yearly countdown! I think Thunder provides a unique perspective in those areas. I also enjoy breakdown sports, which is Space Coyote’s blog and includes technical analysis of schemes around the Big Ten.
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First double post.
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I love MGoblog for content, podcasts and I really respect Brian’s opinions. I have to disagree on quality of his writing-I think it’s poor. I also greatly appreciate his sense of humor. I also think he has had tremendous influence on his underlings-they all seem to want to emulate him. TTB is second site I visit esp for recruiting
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I like Brian’s writing because I think it’s funny. I don’t think it’s accessible for some people, but I do appreciate his humor. I like good sports writing, but it’s nice to see sports approached from a slightly different angle than standard newspaper or Sports Illustrated styles.
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How about a poll for our starting QB?*
*it’s an election year, but I’m stuck trying to find something/someone worth voting for!
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