I'm Done Writing About the Red Wings
I have rewritten this article many times. I have spent days working on this to make it as perfect as possible. The reason for this is because of what I have stated in the headline. I will not be writing about the Red Wings any longer. Well, that is, giving them special focus on this blog or on social media. From now on, unless something happens with the club that would be in the interest of the broader NHL audience, I'm not writing about it or commenting on it on social media. This doesn't mean that I won't post during games. That will still happen. That will not end. So, don't worry, you'll still see me posting during Red Wings games about the game. But, everything else is going away.
Now, explaining why this is happening is why I've had to rewrite this many times over quite a few days. Mainly because I want to be as professional as possible while making clear the hurt I have experienced, frankly, the fanbase sucks and it's gotten to the point I must protect myself. I do not feel safe or comfortable commenting on this team, whether it be on social media or in my articles. When I comment on this team, it's often met with harassment, mockery, or me being treated like a child. Frankly, I've had enough of it. This has been going on for a long time now, and earlier this year I nearly quit commenting and writing about the team, but someone who's rather prominent in hockey media encouraged me to keep going. So, I did. Having someone who I didn't know (and had no idea that they even knew I existed) who has the respect and following they did reaching out to me was enough encouragement for me to power through. For a while. This off-season is when it started wearing on me again, the constant disrespect and belittling I experienced, including from some people I considered to be friends. Now, we have come to the point that I've had enough. I realized it when I was working on an article about the upcoming season. I was on social media and realized while reading posts from other Red Wings fans touching on the topics I was going to be writing about, that I didn't feel safe voicing my opinions and I just couldn't bring myself to finish the article.
I'm not going to pretend as if I never receive mockery, or harassment, or get treated like a child for commentary on things that aren't related to the Red Wings. It does happen, but nowhere near as much. When I comment on other hockey topics, I get treated far better than I do when commenting on the Red Wings. Disagreements can be had respectfully when I talk about hockey topics that have nothing to do with the Red Wings. Disagreements cannot be had respectfully when talking about the Red Wings. Realizing this was the moment that cemented in my mind that I needed to stop. Frankly, receiving the treatment I have from Red Wings fans has destroyed my love for the team, the sport, and writing and commenting on everything to do with hockey. I had to force myself to watch hockey for the majority of the second half of the season. That's how much the poor treatment I was receiving was affecting me. During the preseason for this season that has just started, I realized that I was struggling to care. After making this decision, though, I have felt free. I have found my love for the sport and the team again. It genuinely came back instantly. It felt like chains had come off.
So, before we end, I have another announcement and to clarify something. First, I will write the clarification. This will NOT affect my coverage of the Blue Jackets. I will still continue to provide special attention to them on social media and this blog. Frankly, this is the only place I can get my thoughts out about them because I don't know any Blue Jackets fans offline. If I don't post them here, then I have no place to discuss them. At least with the Red Wings, I have my dad. Now, moving on to the second announcement: with me no longer giving special attention to the Red Wings, that means I have to find new topics to write about. So, I am giving you, the reader, a voice in what gets written about. I am genuinely asking for you to submit topics that you want me to write about. And this isn't a one-time thing. I want this to be a continuous thing where you get a voice in articles that get written. If there's something going on with a team, a specific player, or a league, and you want an article written about it, submit it to me. If I get too many submissions in a small amount of time, the topics will be put to a vote on social media, and I will abide by the results of the vote. If there's a tie, though, I will act as the tiebreaker. But seriously, I do need submissions continually, because frankly, if there are not there will be a lot fewer articles. I'm not creative enough to come up with enough articles to fill in the void where I once would've pumped out a Red Wings-focused article. I can come up with some stuff to fill the void, but not all of it.
For those interested: I am currently working on a News Roundup article that will be out either Saturday or Sunday (not sure which, yet because I'm having computer issues that are interfering with the article getting written, so I'm working through those at the moment) and an article about the Blue Jackets.
Also, if you are interested in whatever I have to say about the Red Wings, feel free to reach out privately. I'm assuming if you're willing to take that extra step or two that you're doing so in good faith. That, or you hate my guts to a terrifying degree and want to find something to attack me with. But, I'm going to assume that it's more likely to be the former. I'm done commenting publicly on this team outside live posting games.