Twenty-five years ago this month, I had a decision to make.
In June of 2000, I stumbled into creating written content for NFL Talk, a long-defunct website I had discovered a few months earlier. I didn’t get paid for it, but it was fun. And I had a strange feeling that there was a chance that maybe, potentially, something could be done. One day. Somehow.
As the 2000 NFL season unfolded, I started doing more and more without compensation (they got their money’s worth). I had time for this because I had left the law firm where I had become a partner and started my own practice. By spring, the tech bubble burst, NFL Talk and its related operations collapsed, and ESPN bought the corpse. Through a series of events that still seem strange in retrospect, I ended up being hired by ESPN.com to write a daily news and gossip column for the ESPN Insider service. The six-month contract paid $18,000.
It wasn’t a lot of money, but it was $18,000 more than I had made in almost a year. And I was amazed that anyone would pay anything for the things I was writing.
Life however became very complicated. I would get up early, spend 4-5 hours on the side job, and then go to the law office and put in a full day. As the legal practice became busier, the days grew longer.
The six-month contract was set to expire on October 31. After 9/11 happened, I took a step back and thought about why and how I had gotten to the point where I was spending 14-18 hours a day at two different jobs. (ESPN never asked if I had a second full-time job, and I never volunteered that information.)
I was also frustrated that after submitting my daily content, it took 2-3 hours for it to go live after going through several internal editorial hoops. I knew it would be better if the content could be posted immediately.
In early October, ESPN offered a one-year, $36,000 deal. Through another series of events that still seems strange at first glance, I decided to give up the bird in my hand and put down $500 (plus $50 a month) to create my own place where content could be posted as soon as it was ready – and where I didn’t have to worry about others messing up my words.
On November 1st, ProFootballTalk.com went live. I still remember it”grab your butt“I felt like it was just before the switch was turned. There was no real plan, no mission statement, no balance sheet, nothing. I remember having a loose goal (which seemed very unrealistic at the time) to make the $36,000 a year that I had given up when I went through the ESPN renewal.
For years, PFT didn’t make a cent. After almost a year, I left. (It lasted a day.) On January 1, 2004, I decided that if it was ever going to be anything, I had to post content every day. It’s the only New Year’s resolution I’ve ever kept. Nearly 23 years later, the streak of posting new content every day has not ended.
Next Sunday is the 25th anniversary of that “hold your butt” moment from November 1, 2001. I don’t know how to feel about that. Longevity in any industry ultimately means “you’re old.” In this specific industry, the phrase “25 years” looks like 2,500.
Regardless, we’re just getting started. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m going to keep doing this until I physically can’t, either through weakness or a blind date with the Grim Reaper. It’s part of my routine and I have no idea what I’d do with my days if I didn’t.
It would never have lasted if it wasn’t for people like you (if you’re still reading this) who take time out of their busy lives to read a little of what we write or listen to a little of what we say. We appreciate you trusting us, especially when you have so many options. And while some will insist on social media that it’s a “hate read,” I’ve been on the block enough times to know that the far more troubling emotions are ambivalence and indifference.
We try to give you something to talk about. To learn about. To react to. Your passion for pro football often spills over into announcers pointing out the possibility that your favorite team may not be the greatest collection of football talent ever assembled.
Regardless, as we close out 25 years, it only strengthens my commitment to keep it going. Next stop, 50 years. And probably much more than that.
When the anniversary officially arrives next Sunday, I’ve planned a little token of appreciation. It’s something that people who have been in the audience since November 1, 2001 will understand and hopefully enjoy. (AWLs of Pardon my opinion I already know what it is.)
More details on this to come soon. Right now, as I think back to those last days of free planning and haphazard organization and reluctantly writing a $500 check to the local tech company that continued to honor its quoted price of $50 a month even as the operation consumed more and more space on its servers, it’s the perfect time to say thank you to everyone who allowed this thing to survive the lean years.
Even if you still don’t know what it really is.
Either way, get behind your butt.
