meta: How did you find out about/become addicted to mgoblog

Submitted by Mr. Elbel on

We're officially in OT season and there's not much going on 'round these parts if you don't pay that close attention to SB or BB. So, as we all anxiously await the next region in the GIF tournament, let's remiss about how we all got hooked on mgoblog to the point that we end up clicking on/creating threads just to have something to talk about.

 

I started using mgoblog regularly in 2014 while I was studying abroad in India for a semester. We didn't have strong enough of an Internet connection for me to actually watch games or anything. In fact we only had electricity for 4 or 5 hours a day, so streaming video or even getting a gif to load was a hassle. At that time it was basketball season and mgoblog was really my only connection to what was going on back home. The newspaper there had some type of sports section but they didn't even include the Superbowl score the Monday after, much less report on B1G play. So I kept up with it religiously, especially when I got homesick for American culture and needed an outlet for that. Once I came back I was hooked and don't think I've missed a post or a thread since.

Edit: as I read some of these, I think it'd be really interesting to hear from some of the users who are fans of other teams, especially the ones who have been around for a while. Gotta be a cool story behind it, right?

DJEasy12

April 25th, 2016 at 4:58 PM ^

I discovered MGoBlog in the aftermath of the Hoke firing, but only started really following it when I kept incessantly checking on the potential for Harbaugh to come. I felt that the info on MGoBlog was A LOT more credible than the other sources out there regarding the subject, and I genuinely enjoyed the back and forth. So, after Harbaugh signed on, I created my MGoBlog Account. 

pz

April 25th, 2016 at 11:34 AM ^

Easy...

mgoblog.blogspot.com

Back in the early/mid-2000's there were really only a couple of options. I think the other board that was around was "umgoblog.com" - but eventually mgoblog became the premiere destination.

Plus haloscan was just a joy.

slaunius

April 25th, 2016 at 11:42 AM ^

Pretty much same here. Been an almost daily reader since my senior year of high school back in 2005-06. Wish I could remember why I first came here. It may have just come up in a Google search or something, because I certainly wasn't reading other sports blogs at the time.

I've thought about it before, and I think I may have read more words written by Brian than any other author. I should try to run the numbers on that some time.

I too miss the haloscan.

ken725

April 25th, 2016 at 12:39 PM ^

I discovered mgoblog right at the end of the haloscan days. 

Early mgoblog/mgoboard was what got me addicted. Mgoboard is great now, but there was something different about the early days with the WLA guys.

Just a side note. Couple weeks ago I saw that our old friend em0 has resurfaced over at the 247 sight. He was back to his old self putting up a depth chart for discussion. 

mgobleu

April 25th, 2016 at 2:37 PM ^

Co-signed. I was a pretty casual mgoblogian until Lloyd retired, then it became a necessity in order to find info on the replacement search. The original flight tracker experience happened while I was off work from surgery and was what got me truly hooked.

The early haloscan regulars were quite a fun crowd until the WLA rose up. Then it just got...how do I put this?...F**king WEIRD for a while.

mGrowOld

April 25th, 2016 at 11:35 AM ^

I "discovered" blogs back in 2008 or so and for the first couple of years was a pretty avid reader of MaizenBrew.com.  I'm pretty sure there was a link back here on an article or something that I read and I set up a user name two years before I started actually posting (was a lurker for my first two years).  

I do remember one day finally having the courage to actually say something and by then I had completely forgotten my original user name so I created MgrowOld (seemed appropriate) and made a comment.  I also remember it was kinda scary not knowing how that comment would be recieved by others but I've obviously gotten over that fear.

MAccLA

April 25th, 2016 at 11:35 AM ^

Word of mouth

I was fortunate to attend UM when Brian first started MgoBlog (02-06). It felt like a small grassroots movement that was in contrast to other main stream corporate recruiting services (like Rivals). I like that the blog still has the same feel, even over a decade later.

Huma

April 25th, 2016 at 11:38 AM ^

I found out about it maybe in 2005 or 2006 but I really became addicted during the Lloyd retirement / new coach search fiasco in late 2007.

EGD

April 25th, 2016 at 12:19 PM ^

An old friend mentioned it to me around maybe 2006 or 2007. I think I glanced at it once or twice, decided I ought to come back to it later when I had more time, and then forgot about it until sometime around the Rich Rod reconstruction era. I lurked for a few weeks before creating my account around mid-September 2009.

Edit: I should add that it was reading a UFR for the first time that pretty much hooked me on this site.   I was truly in awe.

mich_hockey_6

April 25th, 2016 at 11:39 AM ^

It was after The Horror. I couldn't understand how it happened, my world was shattered and I needed help knowing what to do next. Then my buddy told me I could find the answers I seek at mgoblog.com. All the shared suffering and catharsis helped me to pick myself up and go watch them right the ship against the Oregon Ducks... Fuck.

maineandblue

April 25th, 2016 at 1:24 PM ^

Yep, me too. I was living in Bangor Maine at the time, and drove down to Boston to meet up with some college buddies to watch the season opener (with super high expectations for that season) and hang for the weekend. After the Horror most of my friends went to Fenway for a Red Sox game, but I was too depressed. Drove home, stopping at the New Hampshire highway liquor store on the way, and drank whiskey and watched Magnolia by myself that night. 

One of my buddies told me about MGoBlog that weekend, and on Monday the emo cat pictures were the only thing that gave me some comfort. 

InterM

April 25th, 2016 at 1:41 PM ^

I pretty much rage-quit the mainstream media after that game, and the words of wisdom offered on MGoBlog (eventually) helped to restore my sanity.  Little did I know of the head-asploding moments to come in Michigan football, but MGoBlog has gotten me through all of it (mostly) intact.

Tuebor

April 25th, 2016 at 11:40 AM ^

Senior year of college.  Saw some guys browsing it in the CAEN labs so I started lurking in the fall.  Signed up in the spring and the rest is history.

randyfloyd

April 25th, 2016 at 11:41 AM ^

I was a regular poster on mlive, someone put a link to mgoblog, I clicked it and the rest is history. I haven't posted on mlive in years...

It took me 3 years to create a profile

ItsHarambe

April 25th, 2016 at 11:44 AM ^

For me it happened gradually over time. In 2011 I found a link to mgoblog through "maizenbrew" then I would read an article once a week, usually a preview for the next michigan football game. Then it became reading two posts a week, then three and so on until I got to the point I'm at now where I read every post.

Just recently I discovered this board after reading mgoblog for the last few years, then I realized I wasnt allowed to post threads until I got to 100 points. So thats what I'm working toward now! 

Sgeeding

April 25th, 2016 at 11:42 AM ^

Never posted on here before but this made me think back to when I started reading and following this blog. It was after Lloyd Carrs last year the summer we had RR.... I kept up with the blog and recruiting heavily because I was like many of us excited to see what type of high speed athletes RR would be to the big house ..... I was always watching West Virginia highlights from 06-07 imagining what our offense would look like under him..... Took about 2 years for the offense to look somewhat like what he had at West Virginia but never had a all out offense or explosive running back like Steve slaton or Noel Devine ..... And out defense gave up 700 points a game

Bando Calrissian

April 25th, 2016 at 11:42 AM ^

I used to hang around a message board Brian's brother ran back in the day, mostly music, but we'd talk a lot about sports, too. One day he sent me a PM (I think) saying "hey, my brother just started this Michigan blog last week, he needs readers--you should check it out." I did. It was MGoBlog. And I'm still here.

Viva Haloscan.

Stephen Y

April 25th, 2016 at 11:43 AM ^

Back in 2006 or 2007, I was looking for some sort of season preview, recruiting info, and anything else that would quench my thirst for Michigan football during the offseason.  Did some googling and stumbled across this site.  I miss halo scan.

ypsituckyboy

April 25th, 2016 at 11:47 AM ^

UMHoops. Things were pretty sparce here on that front a while back, so I spent more time on UMHoops. As the team got better under Beilein,  it seemed like basketball content here picked up. I also started reading more about football on here and got into it more than I had been in the past.

borninAnnArbor

April 25th, 2016 at 11:48 AM ^

I googled "Michigan coaching search" when they were looking to replace Lloyd Carr. I read several articles on ESPN and others before finding Mgoblog and realizing that Brian's content was far more informative and better written then what else was out there.

SpaghettiPolicy

April 25th, 2016 at 11:48 AM ^

Used to go to umgoblog.com and someone linked to this site. Thought this one looked like crap compared to umgoblog and just kept going there. The commenters over there were terrible for the most part and the content wasn't great. Sucked it up and started coming to this site. Still don't like the look and feel of the site but the content is tough to beat.

MGo Virgin

April 25th, 2016 at 11:49 AM ^

I've been a lurker since the Rodriguez hire. However, my true obssessive compulsion to check for new threads on mgoblog was never too strong until our Tremendous leader won the Sugar Bowl in his first year and was pulling in one heck of a recruiting class for the next year, and the year after that. There could be four new 4* hello posts in one day back in that era at any given moment (pre-trainwreck). Every time I checked it was instant gratification.

 

Then I became very indifferent about the program (and sport, for that matter) in the years following.

 

But now the good times are back, and the obssession is thriving! Viva Harbaugh.

gwkrlghl

April 25th, 2016 at 11:50 AM ^

Back in 2007 or 2008 I was in one of the ME CAD classes in one of the computer labs and saw a kid in front of me surfing mgoblog during class. I checked it out and the rest is history

Erik_in_Dayton

April 25th, 2016 at 11:51 AM ^

How naive we were to think 2005 would be rock bottom. 

I think I just looked for Michigan sites on Google and found Mgoblog and others.  Mgoblog quickly stood out as the best of the bunch.  Brian also promised to take me to Disney World if I read his blog for ten years.  I haven't heard from him about that yet, but I'm sure I will. 

goblueram

April 25th, 2016 at 11:51 AM ^

Your username reminded me of the glory days of roller hockey out at Elbel.  I'll always be bitter that they turfed over that glorious blacktop.

With that said, I joined the blog while in school during the Rich Rod days.  Those were different times...

WolverineHistorian

April 25th, 2016 at 11:58 AM ^

Some dude named Brian Cook kept consistently embedding my videos to some site called MGoBlog. Eventually, I just followed them here, looked around and decided to stay.

The timing was perfect because I had grown tired of rivals.com and we were one year into RichRod...I needed the emotional support.




Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

Unsalted

April 25th, 2016 at 1:49 PM ^

I can't remember exactly how/when I found MGoBlog. I think I probably googled Michigan football recruiting. It was while Carr was still coaching, and I think Brian was still at AOL as well. I used to subscribe to the Wolverine, the print edition, so I was looking for content after that ended. I was hooked after my first UFR.

However, I know exactly how I found WH. It was from here. Thanks WH for all you do!

MGoViso

April 25th, 2016 at 11:58 AM ^

My English teacher senior year of high school suggested MGoBlog to me, but I didn't think much of it until that August, when I was a lonely freshman and the Freep jihad was underway. My first time on the site was shortly after one of Brian's takedowns of the Freep reporting had been posted, so I stuck around out of bloodlust.

hailtothevictors08

April 25th, 2016 at 11:59 AM ^

A buddy turned me onto mgoblog within my first few weeks of college with a "Bro, you gotta read this site" and sure enough, I was hooked immediately. I have never been a huge poster myself and I would guess that at least half of my mgopoints are from the 2010 World Cup.