The Vikings Gazette: Why Substack? Why Now?
Getting into some of my background and rationale for re-starting TVG.
A lifetime ago, I was working toward becoming an academic. More specifically, I was studying modernist literature, focusing on the writings of T.S. Eliot and James Joyce.
To be sure, that wasn’t the original plan. Neither of my parents had gone to university, so my brother’s foray into a small liberal arts university was a bit of a trailblazing, albeit planned and encouraged, move. I followed a few years later, getting accepted to a neighboring school that was a bit larger and with a few more classroom options.
The hope was to earn an English degree and then get accepted to teacher’s college. Doing so would allow for a reasonably well-paid profession – in Canada, anyhow – and some good time off (alongside the perks of benefits, a pension, being unionized, etc.). Being able to coach football was simply the cherry on top.
Those initial plans got undercut by some unexpected success. My grades ended up being pretty good, so I was invited to complete my MA. While doing so, I realized that I enjoyed working on large projects and doing research, so I ventured into a PhD at a different Canadian school that was a bit larger and in a different town. Add it all together and I did eleven years in university studying literature (with a side dish of history in my undergrad days).
While pursuing doctoral studies, I came to realize that the life of an academic wasn’t for me. What does one do with more than a decade of studying poetry other than teach? I still don’t know the answer. Write about football, I suppose.
My wife, God bless her, was advancing in her career at that time, landing a great job in the city that was starting to feel like home. By no means was I going to uproot our lives so I could do adjunct work while grinding to improve my CV just to have a small chance of landing a tenure-track job. Again, what to do?
Starting TVG
While all of those things were going on, COVID-19 was running amok on the world. In Canada, regulations could be relatively strict, at least compared to many of our neighbors to the south.
In search of a side hustle, my wife encouraged me to pursue blogging about the Minnesota Vikings. We read online that some bloggers did pretty well for themselves, so the idea of picking up a few bucks toward the end of grad school was appealing enough. There was some back and forth – debate and doubt – but the long and short of it is that I launched The Vikings Gazette in July of 2020.
Like most new sites, TVG was small. I made a pile of mistakes. I also learned a ton and I’ve always had a fondness for the name, especially the acronym. So, I set about building things up, embracing the daily grind that followed as I chipped away at my passion project during the pandemic.
In an effort to grow my humble site, I came up with the idea to start The Purple Blog Collective (an idea that never got off the ground). Essentially, get all of the little guys together into a network so we could promote each other’s work. Give us a fighting chance to gain new readers as we worked on our own individual projects (power to the people!).
Within that pursuit, I learned about someone named Joe Johnson. He owned Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD – leading Vikings publications – and was in the midst of building a Minnesota sports empire. He was always on the lookout for new talent; even better, he paid his people.
Intrigued, I emailed him and got…crickets. I emailed a couple more times and the crickets kept chirping (staying organized wasn’t always Joe’s strong suit).
Finally, I sent a fourth email and (as the old saying goes) it was the charm. Joe checked out my site and was effusive in his praise. He offered to promote my social media, my site, and pay me to write for his sites.
I was ecstatic.
After all, my initial six months of writing about the Vikings had led me to making a whopping … $15. No joke. Indeed, those early days were all about free labor, putting in a ton of work in the hope that one day I could pick up some cash writing about the Vikings, a team that I had fallen in love with back in Grade 10.
Working for Joe was mostly excellent. Was it ever frustrating? At times. The man was busy and sometimes hard to get a hold of. But he was a dreamer with an infectious, mischievous energy who made one stand a little taller after getting to talk with him for just a few minutes. Hard not to like someone with Joe’s gregarious personality.
As many of you will know, however, Joe tragically and unexpectedly passed away in the summer of 2021. The news walloped a lot of us. Even after a few years, that news still feels a bit surreal.
In the aftermath of his passing, there was the question of what would happen to the sites. Mike and Stef Woldum – brother-in-law and sister to Joe – ended up taking the lead on VT and P/PTSD as the family took ownership over the sites. Dustin Baker got snagged to be the managing editor for VT and I was snagged to be the managing editor for P/PTSD.
On a personal level, the timing was fortuitous. I was just getting ready to defend my PhD and my wife and I had our first child. All of those things – getting hired, defending my dissertation, becoming a dad – were swirling at the same time in what was a chaotic, anxiety-ridden, and sleepless time that I barely survived (with no shortage of support from my church and biological families).
Since the late summer of 2021, my full-time job has been to cover the Minnesota Vikings for VT and P/PTSD. The role has changed – I’m now the senior editor – but the overall tasks have a lot of similarities. Edit and write while keeping our readership up to date on all things Minnesota Vikings. Not every day is easy, but in so many ways, it’s an excellent job.
Why Substack? Why Now?
Working for the Woldums has been a blessing. They’ve treated me well.
In re-starting The Vikings Gazette, my hope isn’t to undermine what’s taking place over at VT and P/PTSD. On the contrary, my hope is that those sites keep growing, thriving, and putting themselves atop the pile of the various Vikings sites that are competing for clicks. After all, I’m still functioning as the senior editor over there.
The appeal of Substack, though, is strong.
Truth be told, I don’t know if anyone will sign up or subscribe. My personal brand is…basically non-existent. Social media is something I mostly detest and my personality is such that I feel far more comfortable lurking behind the scenes doing some quiet editing.
Substack, then, is an opportunity for uncomfortable, disconcerting growth. And, potentially, humbling failure. One never knows for certain until the adventure gets underway (and even then things can be murky!).
The timing isn’t particularly profound. Minnesota is about to start the 2024 season, which looks to be of critical importance even with J.J. McCarthy going down. Firing up a new publication to walk step-for-step with this critical turn in the franchise’s history is the only motivation.
The plan is modest. To begin, there’s going to be a weekly Friday Feature. That’s it and that’s all. If things go well and there’s demand, then the supply will follow and we can look into providing more content. But, as of right now, that’s the goal: offer one longer piece on Friday on a topic that’s (ideally) of interest to a lot of Vikings fans.
I’ve been covering the Vikings as my full-time job for a few years, which has been a dream come true. My Vikings fandom is long dead, but the sport itself — which is to say nothing of actually writing about it — is still something that brings me immense joy and satisfaction.
So, if you feel so inclined, follow along and spread the word. Every Friday there’s going to be Vikings piece. Genuinely, I appreciate anyone and everyone who follows along.
Eventually, the collection plate could come into the mix – the payment – to access all of the material, but that’s a discussion for a different day.
Today, just know that The Vikings Gazette is back.
Jude 1:24-25.