If there was ever a person who needed a blog, it’s Curt Schilling. Schilling is a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He is most known for delivering Red Sox Nation a World Series with his unforgettable 2004 postseason performance. In the future, however, he may also be known for being a trendsetter in blogging.
Schilling recently started his own blog, and it is everything an athlete’s blog can be. In his entries, Schilling is very detailed about his performances in Spring Training, taking readers batter-by-batter through his outings. He writes about how he felt on the mound, which pitches were working and which ones were not. Schilling thoughtfully waxes about the inspiration he gets from seeing his teammate John Lester come back from cancer. Schilling even interacts with his fans by answering questions by the bunch.
Through his blog, Schilling is creating content that only he can provide. And you know what? People LOVE it. His fans are flocking to his site to read his take on everything going on with the Red Sox. And they are taking the time to leave comments by the hundreds.
Think of how incredibly powerful that is. A player sharing information that devout followers like a sports team’s fan base cannot get anywhere else. Even if they are not a fan of Schilling, they can get an exlcusive look at what’s going on with their favorite team.
The best part is that Schilling seems to have caught on that his blog is now an official source of news for the Red Sox. Today, he actually broke a news story about the decision the Red Sox front office made to move pitcher Jon Papelbon to the bullpen. Think of how significant this is! A baseball player is becoming the go-to source for content about his team. Other leading news sources in Boston are having to site Schilling’s blog as a source.
Curt Schilling’s blog is the perfect example of how an athlete can take out the middle man and speak directly to the consumer. What he is doing is brilliant, and we here at Brand5 applaud him for that.