The economy is down and you want information about your favorite team. Don't waste your money at a pay site. Use a couple of simple research tricks and find the information for free. It's out there! I'll show you how, using Notre Dame as my example.
There's a problem with pretentiousness among some Notre Dame message boards. They're negative, aloof, and holier than thou. Where should you go if you want to find out about Irish football or Irish recruiting without having to pay a monthly price and be berated for your views?
We'll show you.
First, we'll tell you where you shouldn't go. You shouldn't go to a site that requires a payment, because there are plenty of free boards out there that make their money the right way—through advertisements.
You don't need to charge a monthly fee if you can show that your site brings in more traffic than the next guy's site. You simply need to have a good business plan and have marketable value for your patrons. There are sites that don't trust that model, however.
Irisheyes with Mike Frank, a Scout.com affiliate, and Irish Illustrated, a rivals affiliate, are two sites that violate the cardinal rules of a well-run website. They rely on their subscribers AND advertisers to generate revenue when they should rely solely on advertisers. If they have valuable information, they wouldn't need to charge their readers.
They do, however, and lose traffic in the process. You can find everything rivals and scout offer with a few simple mouse clicks. How?
First, every press conference with Charlie Weis or Mike Brey is published on the Internet at Notre Dame's Web site, with questions and answers from every reporter at the press conference. You can watch the press conference or you can read the transcript. These press conferences are the source of almost any article you'll read about the Irish.
Secondly, you can watch the game and make your own conclusions about the Irish. How did the line play? Did the defense look good? What about the playcalling? There are multiple ways to analyze the game.
You can rely on your first impression by watching the game, you can re-watch the game at NBC.com, you can read an article by the Associated Press for free, or you can do all three to formulate an opinion about the most recent Notre Dame game. Your impression will be based on the same set of facts as any scout reporter or rivals reporter. Why pay?
Do you need more insight? Visit a message board. Free message boards are everywhere, so there is no need to pay for information you can glean from fellow Irish fans and alums elsewhere. You do have to be careful which boards you visit, because you will find a different taste for the Irish at each; but you can find everything talked about on pay sites at free boards, from how the game went to recruiting. In this day and age, information travels fast.
Now, you must know a few things about the free boards. I will start with the most infamous, yet most negative board I've experienced: NDNation.
NDNation is a great site if you want to read numerous articles about the Irish from across the country, but beware of the discussion boards entitled "Rock's House" and "Cartier Field." NDNation's boards are filled with pretentious posters who are disgruntled that they are not coaching the Irish, but doing something else with their lives.
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about 1 month ago
A much better article. But, I have an issue with you giving away all the information that we site owners use. But, you have hit the nail on the head - if you use your brain, you really don't need pay sites to gain "inside information," unless, of course, you have an obsession with recruiting all year round and need to find out what the latest and greatest high school sports "star" said about their recent football game.
Furthermore, I agree with your assessment of these Notre Dame sites. Usually these sites fall into one of three categories:
1. Good content but horrible layout
2. Good layout but crappy content
3. Good layout and/or content but poor moderators
To be honest, I've actually never been to UHND.com, so I'll have to take your assessment at face value. My experience with Irish Eyes, however, has not been similar to yours. They have a pretty decent layout, but I find that there's a lot of numbskulls that run rampant on the site. Maybe I'm wrong (I usually am, ask my wife).
POTD.
about 1 month ago
Great information. I am mostly satisfied with the information I can get for free from all of the sites. As the signing day approaches in February, I get antsy and want up to date information on recruits, so I have in the past got a one month subscription to a pay site.
about 1 month ago
My progression has been similar - UHND, DomerDomain, IrishEnvy and now Gold Helmet. NDNation and Blue-Gray Sky are staples and deserve their recent accolades. For those who have to have the inside information, Irish Envy's Varsity Club for $12 a year is affordable. Gold Helmet's Gold Club is $24 a year.
about 1 month ago
Or, you can just go to domerdomain and get it all for free. NDNation is a great site barring some of the discussion.
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