I caught up with Shay Roddy from the blog Phillies Phanatics. Here is the interview:What is your favorite Phillies memory of the 2008 season?
Shay: Wow! So many of them! There were so many things that really, really stood out. On the field the obvious choices would be Stairs’ home run or Lidge’s final pitch. But what really best demonstrates the joy, care, and even suffering of the Philly fans was the parade. That parade was magical. An entire city was united by a sports franchise. I never imagined it quite like that—the outpouring of support was just incredible. It was a day I’ll always remember!
Why did you decide to start your blog?
Shay: In early 2008, I started writing for BleacherReport.com, which is managed by CBS Sports. It went well, but I wanted a little more freedom and no affiliation. I opened the site in December, and haven’t looked back since. The blog has given me a platform to interact with Phillies fans and hopefully make an impact on them. There’s too many people to thank for making this all possible—Laura Nachman, Michael Barkann, Jason Weitzel, and many more local bloggers, sportscasters, writers, and friends.
What do you think of today's “blogosphere” and is it good for the sports community?
Shay: To be honest, before I started blogging I didn’t read blogs. Even now, I read the Daily News and Inquirer, and watch Comcast SportsNet for most of my news. There’s few blogs that are really well done, and I’ll read them—Beerleaguer, The 700 Level, The Zo Zone, and of course Swing and A Long Drive.
Thank you, Shay! Same goes to your site.
Shay: Blogging has a lot of pros and a lot of cons. One that fits on both lists is that it’s open to anyone. That works out well because you get passionate fans, who care just as much as the readers, writing. On the flip side, anyone can post anything. I could go out tonight and write that Charlie Manuel was fired and every member of the Phillies was killed in a bus crash. Anyone can make anything up and publish it… that’s a scary concept.
You interview a lot of people. Which interview was your favorite?
Shay: Wow, so many great ones—[Scott] Franzke, [Glen] Macnow, [Joe] Conklin, [John] Finger, [Jason] Stark, [Scott] Lauber, [Mike] Sielski, [Ray] Didinger, [Andy] Martino! The two that really stand out to me are Michael Barkann and Pat Gillick. Michael Barkann is probably the only reason I’m doing this thing. He was my biggest inspiration to get into covering sports. He’s also one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He’s helped me better my work in innumerable ways. He’s smart, funny, and hosts, for my money, the best sports show on the air, Daily News Live. He was a thrill!
Pat Gillick was also just amazing! To answer the phone and hear Pat Gillick, the man who brought a championship back to Philly, on the other line was surreal. He was sharp, and insightful. I was thrilled how that one turned out!
Do you have any special plans for your site during the 2009 season?
Shay: You can expect a lot of changes in the next few weeks. We’re currently designing a TV studio and are planning on having video of some interviews and other opinion and news based shows. Preliminarily it seems like a good idea, but we’re hitting obstacles rapidly. Another thing we plan on doing is having a call in radio show weekly. The show will air live over the Internet and will give readers another way to express their opinion to us. Our first radio show is set for April 3, on BlogTalkRadio.com. We’re also looking into a few things about the blog itself, I’d rather not discuss exactly what we’re planning, since none of it’s final. I can promise that changes will be made for the better!
Your bio says you did a postgame show with FOX during the playoffs. What did you do for the post game show?
Shay: I did a five-minute segment for them during the NLCS. It was live, so it was a get on make your point and get off type deal. That was before the blog was even started, while I was writing for CBS. It was neat and television is definitely something I’d like to explore in the future.
Check back for Part II of Shay's interview.
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