Some of you have been waiting more intently for the announcement of the new site manager than for opening day. I’m the guy, and I thought it prudent to introduce myself. I have made my living as a writer and editor for more than 25 years. I’ve written for national magazines, various websites and have published more than a dozen books. I have been a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates my whole life. Here are a few of my fandom credentials:
- My parents did not attend Woodstock. They did, however, attend game 7 of the 1960 World Series. They grew up in Pleasant Hills, and attended Clairton High where my father backed up Ron Lancaster at quarterback. Ron went on to become the Johnny Unitas of the Canadian Football League. My father also played baseball at Clairton and was offered a minor league contract with the Pirates. He turned it down, attending Westminster College on a football and baseball scholarship.
- I remember watching a game or two of the ‘71 series in my first grade classroom in tiny Stahlstown, Pa. in Westmoreland County. I remember watching every game of the ‘79 series. I remember where I was when I heard Roberto’s plane went down, and where I was (visiting a dear friend in North Versailles and fellow Bucco fan) when Sid slid.
- Remember when you were a kid and you wore the same shirt every day, if your mother let you? My shirt was a replica of Manny Sanguillen’s jersey. When it started to get too small I pulled apart the hem to get another half-inch out of it. He has always been my favorite Pirate, and happily, we are now friends on twitter.
You will learn more about these kinds of things in the coming months because it is my habit to wax nostalgic from time to time. Just recently, in fact, I posted a story at Behind the Steel Curtain, SB Nation’s Steelers site, about the time I met Lynn Swann. I’ve been writing for BTSC since last summer, so if you’d like to get a taste of my writing, head on over and check it out.
I suspect that the curiosity about the new guy, however, was less about my credentials, less about my writing, more about what changes I might be bringing. If you’d like a picture of those changes, just take a glimpse at the community guidelines. My job is not to re-write the rulebook. My job will be to follow the rulebook, and work to make sure that everyone else here does the same.
I have work to do acclimating myself to the technology. I have work to do interacting with our writers. I have work to do getting a handle on deadlines. What you can expect moving forward, however, is that this will be a place where the Pirates can be freely discussed in a PG-13 environment. You can expect to be informed and entertained. My hope is that any excitement or disappointment, however, will fall in the lap of the Pirates.- RC Sproul Jr.