October 24, 2007
THE LAST POST
The time has come gents and ladies when I must pull the pin.
I have decided to commit to another project and I can’t devote the time and energy to do both jobs as well as they deserve to be done.
I have informed the plebian administrator (the guys who hosts the blog) and he has informed me he would be please to assist and guide someone else if they decide to pick up the torch for Tasmanian football. I believe it is a job that should be done and done as well as it can be.
Questions should be continued to be asked of the administrators of the game in a public forum, and not just from club presidents. The people ‘at the coal face’ (the parents, the players, the referees, even the kids playing for their school). It is for those, that this game is run in this state.
So if anyone feels they can devote a few hours a day to run a blog such as this please contact me at blackjack@plebian.net and I will put you in contact with the plebian administrator. A couple of new blogs would be brilliant.
One final word…
Club committees are the people who make our game run in this state. They do what they do not for financial gain but because they love the sport and their clubs with a passion most just can’t understand. Most clubs/schools etc. are screaming out for assistance as the vast majority of club committees now consist of a handful or people who, as the years pass, are wearing out and being ground into the grass of the grounds they tend with such love and passion season after season. If these clubs and schools don’t start receiving an injection of new blood the game as we know it will die. It’s all very well to register, pay your fees (even this is done with some incredible reluctance), play your game and then leave with no commitment & no responsibility. But who is the first to complain when the ground is full of divots and weeds, or when the nets have holes in them or the team strips look a bit worn and faded? It’s usually the one who has to have their rego squeezed out of them.
It’s time to turn up at your club and ask, “Can I do anything to help?”.
I have received over 3,000,000 hits on this blog since the first day back in November 2006. This equates to nearly 30,000 unique visitors to the blog. For sake of no one else but the kids coming up in this state, get your finger out of your proverbials and make a contribution to the game. I know a lot of you do already but far too many of you don’t.
For the sake of the beautiful game, get on the phone now and ring the club president and offer to run a fundraising event, to attend a sports trainers course, even do a grassroots coaching licence. The contribution might be a small as offering to wash a team’s shirts each week. How easy it could be if the many could take a load of the few.
As the Nike advertisement says, JUST DO IT!!!!
I thank you and bid you good health and happiness for you and your families. I sincerely hope to catch up with some of you around the grounds of Tasmania in the coming years.
Blackjack
PS. The blog will remain open to take posts for the next 14 days but no new posts will be forthcoming.
Thanks Blackjack for your efforts to generate some energy within the local football community.
Comment by Tommy — October 24, 2007 @ 3:22 pm
I would just like to say that Blackjack’s Blog has provided a rich and varied menu throughout the season. A quick check of the Blog each day has been a must do. Thanks Blackjack for the time,effort and enthusiasm.
Comment by hfm — October 24, 2007 @ 3:39 pm
good work bj. can you tell me now if you’re *********?
Comment by DJ — October 24, 2007 @ 3:44 pm
Blackjack , As one who is a members of thea handful of people who, as the years pass, are wearing out and being ground into the grass of the grounds they tend with such love and passion season after season I hope someone will take notice of your plea .
Congratulations on providing a public forun and my best wishes for your future.
Comment by Brian Roberts — October 24, 2007 @ 4:20 pm
I will miss you, you were my everything
Comment by t becks — October 24, 2007 @ 4:27 pm
Thank you very much for all the job you have done . You are an invaluable asset to tasmanian football! Thanks again for your time and efforts.
Hopefully somebody will take over to continue BJ’s effort and make sure his job is not lost.
Comment by motherafrica — October 24, 2007 @ 6:31 pm
Thanks for all the hard work Blackjack, I’m going to miss reading all the debates! Hope you enjoy your well earned rest.
Comment by Rob Hortle — October 24, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
Thanks for your contribution to football, be it local, national or international, Blackjack. You have done a marvellous job and this site will be missed.
I don’t know how you did it. It must have been a 24-hour a day, 7 day a week job. You combined the roles of editor, subeditor and journalist, and that is some feat.
You kept everyone on their toes and the newspaper just couldn’t compete with the speed with which you broke the news.
Sorry to see you go, but I fully understand your reasons. Good luck in whatever you choose to do.
Comment by Walter Pless — October 24, 2007 @ 9:53 pm
Thanks mate, you struck the nail, with your last comments, I hope we get some positive results from this. I also hope someone does take this blog on as i have found it to be a valuable resource for getting opinions on football issues, especially being so far from Hobart Town.
Good luck, keep smiling.
Comment by browny — October 24, 2007 @ 9:56 pm
Top effort BJ, thanks for the time and effort you put in. The blog has been a great way to catch up on the latest news and rumours in Tassie football (unlike the FFT website).
Will there be a revealing of BJ’s identity before the blog closes?!!!
Comment by Danny G — October 24, 2007 @ 10:06 pm
Oh well BJ it was great while it lasted..Your efforts have been greatly appreciated …I for one will miss the regular and accurate information you have supplied on teams,scores and news..Worst thing is I will now need to rely on the FFT website to find out whats going on..I suppose we will get the info in good time probably a week or so after its happened rather than the hour to two after you have been able to manage.
Comment by interested spectator — October 25, 2007 @ 6:25 am
This is a true shame BJ, the site has been a tremendouse sorce of information for the football public of tas, and I believe has indeed assisted in calling clubs to become more proffessional.
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I would not be in a position to take on a nother role without it costing me my job, but I encourage anyone who is contemplating giving it a go, to do just that, at least give a trial for a month and see how you go!
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Thanks BJ for putting up with us all, its been a good thing and I am sorry that it must come to an end so quickly. take it easy and I believe a fitting send of to the blog would be a final post with your picture on it!
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well done!
Comment by Captain Australia — October 25, 2007 @ 7:53 am
Many, many thanks BJ for all your efforts in providing this space for the local football communtiy to come together. Your patient, witty and generous moderation was the major reason this blog became such a success.
Good luck with your ‘other project’ and thanks again. Walk on.
Comment by ynwa2 — October 25, 2007 @ 1:44 pm
Well I’ll just have to ‘phone the one guy who was about to tell me who you are!
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We’ve had our differences on matters but the site has been the only way players, supporters, committee members and even refs to have a say on the Tassie game. Maybe the FFT will take it on.
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All the best for whatever it is you’re planning – another blog site for footy? (just a final stir BJ).
Comment by tasblue — October 25, 2007 @ 4:43 pm
thanks bj for all the support you have been able to provide Futsal on the site! it is very sad to see you giving it up as this is probably the first time the tasmanian football and futsal community has been able to access up to date information, news and results! as we know the mercury does not seem to value our sport as much as AFL, Cricket etc etc but this site provides that gap!! You have been incredibly fair and very much a god send in getting information out there into the football community!! thanks once again for all the support!! great job!!
Comment by Corey Smith — October 25, 2007 @ 6:13 pm
well where does one start , you discover something wonderful a place you can go to get all the news on our beautiful game , first thing you do in the morning, first thing you do when you get home from work, you are a true believer in this game we call football your wit ,sarcasim and ability to hit the nail on the head will be missed by all who have graced this blog. Thanks for everything you have done here B.J I just hope that this blog does not die but evolves like a phoenix .Farewell B.J but I hope it is not forever.
Comment by one eyed — October 25, 2007 @ 7:32 pm
thanks for all your work and effort BJ, have you heard if anyone will be attempting to do your job???
Comment by Hotshot — October 25, 2007 @ 7:48 pm
thanks sounds like everyone will need it up and going!!!
Comment by Hotshot — October 25, 2007 @ 8:19 pm
BJ, thanks for a wonderful blog site. It’s a pity you’re pulling the plug. I do hope someone takes over, or that FFT finally get their act together and make their official site what it should be, namely, the front door to football in Tasmania.
With half a dozen or so full-time and well-paid employees, FFT should be able to devote the resources to keeping their website current and relevant. Surely one person could devote 50 per cent of their time to this function. After all, FFT place great emphasis on electronic communication. They prefer to do business that way. If that is the case, the official website is vital. It should be accurate and up to date, with daily updates, not weekly updates. The website is often the first port of call for people interested in the game and so it should be managed professionally.
BJ, you have shown them the way. I hope they have learned from your example and that they do something about it for the sake of the local game. We seem to have full-time and well-paid administrators running a social league here. Your website has shown the tremendous interest there is in the local game and it’s up to FFT to make the whole local football scene more professional. They can do this by following your example, BJ. It’s no wonder you have called it quits. It must be a 24/7 assignment, and if you’ve got another job, it must be impossible. FFT has the resources. Let them devote some of those resources to showcasing the local scene on the Internet, as you have done so well all season. And, that includes allowing legitimate criticism and comment.
Thanks again, BJ. You will be missed. You really were a trailblazer. Good luck in whatever you choose to do in the game.
Comment by Scribe — October 25, 2007 @ 8:34 pm
Cheers Blackjack, I have thoroughly enjoyed your blog, it has given many of us a place to stir the pot and offer real opinions.
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I also think that you have offered many enlitening comments yourself.
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You have managed to give us up this end of the World a fair piece of your blog too and we truely appreciate that.
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Hope to catch up with you soon.
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Over and out…..Hugo
Comment by Hugo — October 25, 2007 @ 8:44 pm
P.S. Thanks for your part in the Northern write up each week C.A.
See you next year….
Comment by Hugo — October 25, 2007 @ 8:45 pm
I have not been a contributor for a particularly long time but this site will be missed by all that have read it. There is no doubt that the effort that you have gone to to provide a forum for us all to vent our spleens, make suggestions, keep an eye on FFT and, in many cases, to get news first, have been well received by all of us. The comments above reflect that fact. I really hope that someone can be found to keep it going. All the best for your future endeavours.
Thank you!
Comment by A Whisper — October 26, 2007 @ 6:58 am
Blackjack - as always passionate and speaking the truth, hope the “retirement” goes well, I feel sure that we will cross paths in the future, whether or not I know who you are or not matters little, the game needs people to care about the game and you do. Thanks
Comment by charlie white — October 26, 2007 @ 9:32 am
Thanks for everything, BJ. This has been a great initiative while it lasted, hopefully this is not the end, I think our football community has become more united as a result. We have you to thank for that and I have always enjoyed reading your blog.
Best of luck with your future ventures.
Stef
Comment by Stefanowicz — October 28, 2007 @ 8:54 pm
Blackjack, like all the other lads I can only reiterate on the strong feelings we all have on this blog closing. Reading between the lines here it’s a time issue and fully understand the preparation needed for all the info regarding Football around the world.
Have you considered running the blog with just Tassie’s results and comments? This would alleviate a large part of the time restraints you’ve mentioned. Most of the replies and interest comes from the weekend games at a local level, not from all the overseas results or build ups.
When I look at the information available on this blog it goes into a range of categories which I’m sure the lads wouldn’t miss as much as the game banter after a weekend of games around Tassie.
Regardless mate it’s just a thought, and I would also like to wish you well and thank you for an entertaining year.
Comment by Boots — October 29, 2007 @ 10:00 am