Well, well, well! When I joined Bleacher Report way back on April 28th of this year I would never have thought that seven months later I'd still be writing.
If I'm honest, I only really started writing for this site to humour my friend, Sam Langley who seemed to want to take this seriously, and saw it as a chance to get working on his journalism skills.
I fully expected, after writing my first article, to never come back on this site again.
But, while writing that first article, I began to think about journalism as a possible career path for me. And, as I wrote more and more, I realised that I enjoyed writing about sports, and my opinions on it.
Now, imagine getting paid to do that! Journalism is now what I plan to do at University.
Bleacher Report has given me a chance to hone my writing skills, and I think I have come a long way since that first article.
Lots of people have taught me lots of lessons that have helped me along the way, and I am grateful to all those who have done so.
I first hit the 1000 reads mark with my second article, and have been lucky enough to have gone on to hit that mark a fair few times in my writing.
By far my most successful article in terms of reads, however, was "The Top Five Weirdest Olympic Events", which topped 50,000 reads.
In my 250 articles to date, only one has become an Article of the Day, but I am proud to have had even one! They certainly aren't easy to get!
There have been a few articles that I have been particularly proud of, most of which coming inside the past month, most notably "The Power of Sport", "Jogo Bonito: The Beautiful Game", and, from a few months ago "The Poisoned Chalice of the Manager and the Devolution of Football".
In the inaugural Bleacher Report World Football Rankings, I was awarded the Most Controversial Writer award (probably solely for my article on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer), and in the second edition came second in both the Most Consistent and Most Creative Writer categories.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Looking back through my archives, one thing I have also noticed is the amount of series' I have produced!
Most, I would like to think, have been quite successful, such as the "Player Duels", "Great Quotes", "The A-Z of...", "Liverpool Legends", and "The Great Debate" series, but some have been note quite as successful, notably "The Great Bleacher Report Quiz", which I thought was a good idea but it never really caught on!
The three series I am particularly proud of, however are the "Greatest Ever" series, in which I count down the greatest members of the history of different sports, my "A Tribute To..." series where I look at legends of various sports, mostly football, and my "Unofficial World Club Championship". Click here to see the latest installment of that.
I am also incredibly proud to be the Liverpool Community leader for Bleacher Report. What's better than being the community leader for the best club in the world? (Oh no, wait that's Fulham at the moment!)
After 250 articles in 222 days, 724 comments posted, 2207 received, 100 Pick of the Day votes received and 236,446 article reads, averaging 945 reads per article, I have worked my way towards the top, and now sit snugly in 17th place on the entire site Writer Rankings.
But enough about me, and on to the most important thing—you readers! I thank all those who have read any of my articles, commented on them (whatever you said), or picked any as their favourite.
But a special thanks to those 51 who have become my fans. Apologies for the long-winded nature of the following, but I am going to name all of you in order to thank you all individually!
Thomas Leemon, Farooq Ahmed, Michelle Alves, Salaar Shamsi, Ismail Ayub, S B, Rahul Basu, Nithin Bekal, Trey Bradley, Justin Bruce, Isreal Butson, Myles Cameron, Alex Dimond, Isaac Elyacharshuster, Yoosof Farah, Dave Finnocchio, Zander Freud, T G, Willie Gannon, Baris Gerceker, Michael Griffin, Chris Griggs, Long John Silver, Simon Johnson, Jeremy Kaufman, Andrew Kearney, Sean Kelly, Miles Kenton, Anthony Kern, Jermaine Koko, Sam Langley, Jon Marum, Liam McLintock, Alan McGuinness, Illya McLellan, Andrew McNair, Guido Merry, Tanade Mohamed, Jon Naylor, Karen Patel, Jessica Potter, Benjamin Rogers, Steve Saquella, Brad Simkulet, Saraswathi Sirigina, Harry Smith, Bryan Trafford, Jamie Ward, Rosie Woolnough, Peter Wright and Alby Jnr, thank you all so much.
Wow that was long! For all of you who aren't on that list - why not?! Don't you want to join that elite group of people?! Become my fan, what's stopping you?!
Only joking! Only become my fan if you think I deserve it. That's the way I hand out my fan adds, so that's the way I expect it in return.
Other great writers who I have not yet gained the fan add from (grrr!) include Shyam Parthasarathi, Ricky O'Neal, David Gore, Maire Ofeire, Anthony Sanchez, Joe Guarr, Danny Penza, Marzia Hazra, Callum D'Souza, and Mark Andrew. There are many more top writers out there, but I'm tired and it's getting late!
Special mentions have to go to Salaar, who has helped the World Football community grow into what it is today, S B, who brings a South American view to B/R, and has had great success writing in a niche market.
Alex Dimond is one to whom I am eternally grateful. There is no doubt in my mind that he is the best editor I have come across on this site. He edits to a high quality, gives useful, constructive feedback every time, and adds tags to help the articles get more coverage, a far cry from some editors who just remove relevant tags, leave no feedback, and don't do anything else.
Writers such as Willie Gannon, Illya McLellan and Andrew McNair are among the best I have encountered during my time here. That's not to say, however, that no others are up among this quality, as many other writers are.
Jamie Ward is a highly under-rated writer on this site, who has helped out a lot in the Liverpool Community, as is David Gore.
And, of course, a huge thank you to Zander Freud, Dave Finocchio, Bryan Goldberg and Dave Nemetz, without whom this site wouldn't exist. They continue to do a great job day after day after day, and they are never too busy to ignore a writer asking for help or a request to read their articles.
To all those I have and haven't mentioned, you're all doing a great job, and helping this site evolve, so keep it up!
Here is to the next 250!
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about 1 month ago
Well done mate, you are a fantastic writer and amazingly consistent to reach this amount of articles. You joined this site the same day as me, and we both want to make a career out of this, and I am sure you will mate.
Congrats again pal, I'll get smashed in your honour haha!
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Michael! Did we really join on the same day?! I'm sure you'll make a career out of it as well! And thanks for getting smashed in my honour, it means a lot to me! haha!
about 1 month ago
Congrats, Barney...special occasion indeed.
Keep the good stuff coming.
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Dave, I'll try!
about 1 month ago
good stuff Barney, you diversify your subject matter well, enjoyed your tribute to Lomu as an odd one out from the football. thanks for the mention, appreciate any form of acknowledgment, I think you have set yourself in good stead to attain your goal of writing as a profession. Consistency is important and you have demonstrated a healthy desire with yours.
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Illya, means a lot coming from a quality writer like you!
about 1 month ago
Congratulations Barney, I really am new on this site and do not have a wide scope of authors in this site but you are in my top three together with Anthony and Guido. And even if my favorite authors list gets more crowded you will always hang in there in the top... Keep up the good work, great job so far. Right now I am reading the articles you quoted in this article, it's possible that I will leave comments on those older ones too, don't be surprised :)
from about 1 month ago
Haha yeh I saw you left some comments on my old articles! Top three really? Wow, means a lot thanks Baris!
from about 1 month ago
lol, as I said, I am so new on the site my list of authors do not go far :)) nevertheless, I really enjoy your articles, so congratulations one more time :)
about 1 month ago
Congrats on a fine 250.Love your stuff. Great diversity. Look forward to reading more. Thanks for the mention.
from about 1 month ago
Cheers S!
about 1 month ago
' gratz on your 250 , Barney!
Great articles, and great work as Liverpool's community leader!
Keep 'em coming!
cheers x
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Michelle and keep up the great contributions to the Liverpool community! I'm proud to be your community leader!
about 1 month ago
Well done mate always Nice to read anything you write because its always interesting, Player duels are my favorite.
To the next 250
Benjamin
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Ben. To the next 250 indeed!
about 1 month ago
Congratulations on a very impressive 250,
You definatly provide some intriguing and diferent types of articles which are always worth a read, very well written as well, you definatly have a professional touch.
I have posted a link at the bottom of my SPOTLIGHT article in thanks for the mention in yours, means alot, thanks.
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Jamie, and thanks for putting a link at the bottom of your article! Keep up the great work for the Liverpool community!
about 1 month ago
Well done mate and keep it up. Thanks for the mention.
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Andrew!
about 1 month ago
Hats off to you Barney and thanks for the mention..
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Salaar!
about 1 month ago
u aint done that much
joking barney well done on your 250 and i hope u continue to write
from about 1 month ago
Haha cheers Harry!
about 1 month ago
Good stuff Barney!
cheers
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Rahul!
about 1 month ago
Nice one Barney , 250 not out eh .........its a cracking amount of articles an 50, 000 reads for one article is massive , i think my most is 2000 :0( .
Anyway , I would of added you as a fan a long time ago but i either never thought about it or i forgot and in the very rare events that ive been fuming with you in the rivalry debates its gone over my head , but i cant fault you as a writer , you got talent , even if you are supporting the wrong reds , theres room for one more red devil if you want , you will see more silverare , ha ha jokin .
from about 1 month ago
Haha not in a million years Mark! Besides, if it's silverware you want, you may wanna jump ship to Anfield now! haha! Cheers for the kind words Mark! And yeh, that 50,000 article did take off a bit better than I expected! Haha! And thanks for the fan add!
from about 1 month ago
Nah , its not about the Silverware i know , if we stop winning the trophies tomorrow , i cant complain , ive seen about 22 up to now , its not a bad amount .
No worries , like i said we have our differences over United and Liverpool but your a decent kid and at 17 your well on the road to being a writer to look for , in fact do me a favour and take over from that rodney marsh in the sun paper , he does my nut in . Its ok about the fan add , I am going to add myself to Jamie wards too , even tho we had a huge spat on my Gerrard diving article , he done one about MUFC and the ticket saga and it was a worthy article . I dont hate Liverpool people or even the fans , just hate the club when we are losing to them , I guess for me it started when Fowler lobbed Schmeichel in the 90's , it was too easy to lob the Dane like that :0(
about 1 month ago
Great stuff Barney.. congrats on the 250 and thanks for the mention.
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Shyam!
about 1 month ago
well done barney, congrats on reaching 250 articles. keep up the good work!
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Yoosof, I'll try!
about 1 month ago
Congrats on the 250 Barney, keep it up and thanks for the mention.
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Mary!
about 1 month ago
250 — amazing scenes Barney, a great effort after only 7 months on here. Thanks for the kind words, it has always been a pleasure to read your work. I expect big things of you in the future!
And if you ever want any advice about uni choices etc. (or maybe you've done those already?) I would be more than happy to give you my two cents worth...
from about 1 month ago
Haha cheers Alex! All those words are deserved, I'm sure I'm not the only one who owes you a lot for your edits! And Uni choices are being put on hold for a gap year first, but any suggestions for journalism would be greatly appreciated!
about 1 month ago
well done on your 250 barney :) you are one of the best on here, perhaps even the best, and a worthy community leader for the best club in the world :P
from about 1 month ago
Haha best club in the world indeed! Thanks Jess, means a lot!
about 1 month ago
Congrats Barney! Here's to a successful and enjoyable next 250!
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Andrew! I see you're nearing that mark yourself!
about 1 month ago
Yes congrats mate, well done and a fine 250 if i do say so.
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Myles!
about 1 month ago
Okay I know I'm getting on this one a little late (apologies Barney) but I just wanted to speak up and say how proud we are of your success Barney and thankful for your wonderful contributions.
The fact that you choose to highlight the great work of so many of your contemporaries in your 250 celebratory articles speaks measures about your character.
Keep up the great work—300 awaits!!!
from about 1 month ago
Cheers Zander! Much appreciated coming from the don of this site!
16 days ago
Even though I am quite late on reading this wonderful piece of self narration of a Writer's own history.(i.e. play by play according to B/R) it's very well written Barney and hoping for the next line of 250 to continuously amaze us with your crisp style of writing.
My wishes for a good career and bright Future mate....
But for the moment KEEP PUBLISHING !!!!!!!!!!!!
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