Welcome to Runner-Up!
As many of you know, I’ve been keeping a weblog called Consolation Champs since 2000. The name was one that would have been my band name had I had any musical ability. I’ve always been fascinated by so-called “losers” and found the stories of the runners-up and the also-rans often more interesting than those of the “winners”. They’re stories that don’t often get told, though.
Enter Runner-Up! On this site, I plan to draw your attention to things that often get overlooked by the victory-hungry media. These stories didn’t receive any acclaim or even attention, but I’ve found them fascinating and thought you would too. They won’t all be sports stories, though a fair number of them will be. I also want to draw your attention to films, books, historical figures (yes, even politicians) that didn’t “win” anything but who are still worthy of a look.
In the next few months, I’m hoping to grow this site into a team effort. If you have any ideas, get in touch with me! And welcome again to Runner-Up: Where 2nds Count!
Brian said,
May 12, 2006 @ 5:31 pm
Are you looking for contributions? I love the site and whole idea. I’m a big believer that just getting to a Final is pretty damned good and just because you don’t win it all does not mean you are a failure. Hell, the most fun we ever had in Vancouver hockey-wise was the 1994 Stanley Cup run (even better than 1982 because it went down to a Game 7 in ‘94 ) but the Canucks “lost.”
Anyway, I am a freelance writer and have done stuff mainly on Japanese pro sports since I lived there for over 15 years. If you want to see some samples before you even contemplate letting me throw some articles your way, just ask.
A couple of great runner-up teams I have a fondness for are the Chicago Blackhawks of ‘71 and ‘73 and the Phoenix Suns in the Barkley era…you can throw in the Dutch national team at the ‘74 and ‘78 World Cups too as they are a great story.
Yours,
B.