It began with that damn Tony Gonzalez trade.
[Cue soft montage-y music.]
I've been a freelance writer and editor for the last 17ish years. I've been a Chief fans for much longer than that (since I first watched Christian Okoye do things only Christian Okoye could do). As all of you know very well, if you have the internet and love the Chiefs, there's one site I checked 20x a day for the latest news and silliest comments. Then on that fateful day, when Scott Pioli gave up a future Hall of Famer and franchise favorite for a second round pick from the Atlanta Falcons, I knew I had to weigh in.
That was my first FanPost.
I woke up the next morning to see my story had been moved to the middle of the site. If I remember correctly, my inbox also had a short message from a guy named Joel saying "Thanks for the article." From there, more stories were highlighted in the middle (this is old-school blog format) and more messages with Joel were exchanged. At some point, I'm pretty sure I was offered $50/month to make sure I didn't go anywhere. Honestly, where else would I go?
As a writer, I was quite happy to write anything about my favorite team for free because, well, it's always been fun. Win or lose, it's refreshing to write out your joys and frustrations as a writer and to have others read and comment. There's also something meaningful about knowing you're all in this together, that whether we agree or disagree on a given subject, the bottom line is that we're all dying to see the Chiefs succeed year after year. It's a united front.
It wasn't long until was able to align my own writing interests and experience by climbing the SB Nation ladder. Joel and Chris Thorman were very instrumental in all of this, and I eventually became an Assignment Editor for SB Nation while maintaining an Editor role here at AP. It turns out the Thorman brothers were just two of the many quality folks at Vox, and my several years with SB Nation were wonderful. Two years ago, I received an offer I couldn't refuse to go back into the music world for a marketing/editorial job (where I got my start) but I've maintained my ties here. Unfortunately, the music industry is unpredictable, job changes have taken place and, as of last week, I found myself looking for new opportunities.
The good news: a new opportunity has opened up to be the new site editor for Arrowhead Addict. Many of you are already likely familiar with AA and will remember names like Matt Verderame and Patrick Allen. I'll be joining their network there, and I'm excited to bring the sort of news, perspective and passion with which Arrowhead Pride has become synonymous.
The bad news: a very enjoyable run of nearly eight years must come to an end here.
I just want to say how appreciative I am for all of the great folks here I've met over the years. I know I'm only a website away, but it won't be the same. A serious hat tip goes to Joel and Chris Thorman for the myriad opportunities they've afforded me over the years. To all of my fellow writers from the past and present, it's been a real joy and I look forward to reading more.
And if anyone wants to say hey, I hope you'll visit and bookmark Arrowhead Addict as we continue their efforts to meaningfully contribute to the greater conversation about the future Super Bowl Champs.
Maybe someday Joel will retire my number. (It is double zero, by the way, which represents the number of predictions I ever got right.)
Matt Conner