A Fond Farewell

I'm sure a few readers out there have probably guessed what's coming.

It's time. Time to shut down Sideline Views. This blog started because I was trying to prove the viability of soccer content that wasn't just news or commentary, but little extra bits of info here and there. I wanted to link it to a soccer site that I was working for at the time. That job didn't work out, but I got attached to the freedom blogging provides - the instant outlet to what I wanted to say and share with the world.
Luis was not only a good sport to go along with my idea of a blog, but he also became a big reason why I kept it going. From the start, it made our blog unique, because we had different points of view (though a surprising number of readers never seemed to figure out that I posted in green, while his posts were blue).
Luis' insightful, provocative posts would inspire me to take the time out of busy days to try to add what I could to the blog. Many of our faithful readers also helped keep us motivated to maintain the blog. Your comments, criticisms and praise really meant a lot to us.
When we could, we experimented with what innovation we were able to wring out of our limited technological talent. We put up audio clips of our interviews, videos, features, and more than a few photos.
In some ways, working on the blog helped prepare me for what I'm moving on to do now. I'm the new writer/editor for Goal.com USA. This new job is also why I left my position as contributing writer for espn.com.
Some of the ideas I have in mind for the Goal.com site in the future are things that I tried out on Sideline Views first. I'm not giving up reporting about soccer - far from it. With Goal.com, I think I'll be able to do a better job of that than ever. It just won't be here anymore.
I offered the blog to Luis to run on his own if he liked, but he declined, saying the fun of the whole thing was working with a partner on the project. Maybe he'll write his own farewell message later.
I'm not going to take the blog offline just yet. I'll leave it up here for those who want to search the archives (or steal our pictures).
For new material, though, I'll be writing exclusively for Goal.com now. Check out my daily feature article!
Luis' latest writings can still be found at Sports Illustrated, MLSnet and the Press Enterprise.



This is LB. I'll just jump in here since this should be the final post. As AC mentioned above, the whole fun of this was having a partner to work with. It wouldn't be Sideline Views without AC. I never felt like it was my blog, but I never felt like it was her blog. It was truly ours and we inspired each other and the loyal readers did as well.

I thought it was great to put audio links on the blog, take time and money (10 bucks a month, not that much, but still...) to put up things that nobody else was putting up and we got some awesome stuff. That Frank Yallop post-game presser about how f-ing knackered they were last year was classic. Truly awesome stuff. And you readers got to hear all that, unedited, raw, and that made it great. And I felt honored to be able to take that to you all.

We weren't trying to scoop people, though we had the Brad Guzan move to England first. And we weren't necessarily trying to bring you breaking news. We just had thoughts and could formulate opinions and such. And we enjoyed working for the readers, even if it meant taking a little extra time to work on something that we knew we weren't going to get paid for.

But now, AC is moving on in her career and if anyone deserves anything grand, it's her. She has been an inspiration in so many ways and will continue to be one I'm sure. So this blog, her brainchild, one I was fortunate to be a part of, is no more.

As AC mentioned, you guys can follow us through our various outlets. It's not the same, but this blog wouldn't be the same without Andrea.