Cups of coffee. 10-Day contracts. Practice squad players.
All anyone can ask for is a chance to prove themselves. It's the reason why seventh-round draft picks and walk-on players intrigue us so much. Some folks view these stories as underdogs shocking the world against the establishment. However, if you ask those perceived underdogs how they stack up, they'll tell you that they already belonged in the first place, they just needed a chance.
With that in mind, TSFJ's looking for some new players to join the squad as we continue to grow our little corner of the internet as we try and take over the world. We're specifically looking for folks who can contribute with daily posts, interviews, commentary...all while pushing the boundaries of what we can cover on our site.
Benefits for joining the TSFJ Family include:
- The Sports Fan Journal is a partner in the Fox Sports Engage Network, who in turn syndicates and creates bylines for your created content onto high-profile platforms like Yardbarker, MSN and Fox Sports.
- Potential access and media credentialing to various sporting events
- Potential compensation for special projects
- Editorial support and social media promotion for all written content
To get the call, send an email at ed AT edthesportsfan DOT com. Please include the following:
- ONE ORIGINAL PIECE that can be published immediately, this allows us to get an idea of your voice and introduce you to our readers.
- LINKS/SAMPLES OF PREVIOUS WORK, if you don't have any that's okay too!
- YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS, because we want to promote your work and give credit, and hopefully you'll share your work as well.
Something to note. Our writers have gone on to write and work for ESPN, The Undefeated, GQ, Sporting News, Fox Sports, Comcast Sports Net and Rolling Stone. Come join our movement. For more specifics and particulars on what we're looking for, peruse the fine print below.
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We’re looking for writers interested in covering the following:
- Traditional coverage, like: NBA, NFL, College Football, College Basketball, MLB, NHL
- Non-Traditional coverage, like: Sneakers, Uniforms and Style in Sports, Sports and Tech, Sports Business, Video Games, Music
- Second-Tier sports, like: Boxing, MMA, WWE
- Advanced Analytics (Can you make big data fun and easy to understand?)
Who were looking for to join the team:
- Writers with a witty, conversational tone and distinct voice/style
- Familiarity with HTML and image editing
- An understanding of RSS feeds, Twitter, Google Alerts, etc.
- People with intellectual curiosity: Do you have interest and/or knowledge of sports from different eras and perspectives; understanding history, milestones, fan bases, etc.?
- Do you self-edit? Fact-check? Follow existing formatting guidelines, style and procedures?
- For Bloggers: The ability to contribute with several posts (5+) per week with a focus on updates, top plays, current events, etc..
- For Writers: The ability to contribute columns, interviews, op-eds, long-forms and think pieces one to three times a week
- For Creatives: Are you looking to showcase your video content, graphic design or other fresh ideas with a slant toward sports? Let’s collaborate!
- People with active accounts on Facebook and Twitter
Who we aren’t interested in for our team:
- AP-style dry journalism (though we follow some AP style rules for consistency)
- Long-form entries that take days to complete
- Long-windedness and/or blathering
- Writers with ONLY a penchant for reflection and/or nostalgic posts. We’re looking for the right now
- Humorlessness
- Someone lacking self-discipline or motivation
Hit us up if you have any questions or concerns, we're looking forward to hearing from you.
Eddie Maisonet is the founder and editor emeritus of The Sports Fan Journal. Currently, he serves as an associate editor for ESPN.com. He is an unabashed Russell Westbrook and Barry Switzer apologist, owns over 100 fitteds and snapbacks, and lives by Reggie Jackson’s famous quote, “I am the straw that stirs the drink.”
