by Chris Harris
The Strange Geography of Blogging
It has always baffled me how my annual stats insist that people from eighty different countries read my blogs. I never set out to be international. I write because I enjoy it, because the subjects matter to me, and because it helps me make sense of the ongoing circus that is Lewes FC. Obviously, if you read this diary, you will know I am branching out into other topics, but Lewes FC is still the main driver of traffic. But somehow, that’s the strange magic of blogging: you tap away in your corner of Sussex, and for reasons you’ll never fully understand, someone in Peru or Japan or Estonia ends up reading your thoughts on fan ownership in a small English town. That’s one of the reasons I blog, the mystery of it.
For years that felt amusing but abstract, like some algorithmic accident. But recently, it has started to feel a little more real. Surreal even.
The Journalists Start Calling
A few months ago, totally out of the blue, I was contacted by a journalist from the Daily Telegraph wanting to talk about Lewes FC, Equality FC, and the club’s financial meltdown. I was happy to help and ended up speaking for an hour. I didn’t get a mention in the article, but I came away feeling strangely buoyant. It’s not every day a national newspaper cares what you think about your local football club.
Then, about five or six weeks ago, When Saturday Comes got in touch. Anyone who grew up with football writing knows what a big deal WSC used to be, and even now it remains one of the most famous football magazines in the country. To be quoted in it, with my fanzine name included, genuinely mattered. Predictably, it upset plenty of people. Even more predictably, some at the club managed to convince themselves I’d written the article, despite the obvious clue that it didn’t bear my name. Not very bright some of them, the obvious sometimes a bit of a challenge. My wife ended up intervening on social media to point out the obvious, while I stayed out of it. If there is one lesson I’ve learned, it’s that the loudest complainers at Lewes FC rarely trouble themselves with reading comprehension or facts. I digress.
The Moment Things Turned Surreal
Two weeks ago an email arrived from 11 Freunde magazine. I had never heard of it, so I initially brushed it off as a faff I didn’t have time for. But when I looked it up, I realised it is the largest football magazine in the world, with nearly a million monthly readers in print and online. Suddenly, this wasn’t a minor enquiry. This was the biggest platform in global football culture wanting to talk to me, at length, about Lewes FC. The Rights of Fans!
Andreas came round last Saturday night, and we spoke for two hours. The next morning, a photographer, an effortlessly charming young woman, arrived at my house to take photos of me and my wife for what is going to be a four-page feature. The whole experience was deeply surreal. I’ve written countless blogs that sink without trace, but now I’m about to appear in one of the world’s most widely read football magazines. To say it feels validating is an understatement.
Why I Keep Writing
I’m not someone who seeks the limelight. I don’t need the applause or affirmation. I write because I enjoy the process and because I believe passionately in my subject matter. Lewes FC has, for years, suffered from a conveyor belt of unfit directors who have steadily eroded the spirit, purpose, and integrity of fan ownership. If I can shine a light on that, even to a small audience, I will. If I can shine a light on it to a massive global audience, then all the better.
I get asked to do podcasts and other bits of media, usually by smaller local organisations I genuinely admire, but I run a busy business and can’t say yes to everything. My writing has always been primarily for myself. Yet every now and again, something like this happens, someone big, someone unexpected, comes knocking, and it suddenly feels as if all the unseen hours of typing were worth it.
#Lewes fc #11 Freunde #Football Blog #Content Creation #Building A Blog
The Rights of Fans. 