Hey guys – thanks for reading. It feels a little self indulgent to make an official announcement/statement, but I do feel I owe it to the high volume of people that have supported me in this endeavor. I’m calling it quits. Something really resonated with me when my friend Dave Cariello retired from blogging a year or so ago. He said “blogging is a young man’s game” and it’s true. I’m 36 and I’ve often found myself wondering why I’m still doing this. It’s a grind that only a few are really cut out for. There is no pay and so it really comes down to a lifestyle commitment of consistency that I tried to apply for almost 10 years. I made sure Saints Nation had posts every single day (with very few exceptions) for the duration of my time doing this. But like most things, it has run its course. When I first started, Twitter barely existed and I felt there was a need for a voice like mine in the Saints world. The local writing media didn’t know a ton about football at the time (in my opinion) and the only other blog out there was Canal Street Chronicles which was posting different content from what I had in mind. Since then, dozens of Saints blogs have popped up (some of them are very good) and guys like Nick Underhill, Mike Triplett and Larry Holder changed the landscape of football knowledge and writing quality. That, and sites like Pro Football Focus have made fans more educated than ever about football. Less and less I feel like my opinions stand out and that’s a good thing… I’m just another fan.
Somewhere along the way this started feeling like a job. I tried to hire a staff to lower my responsibilities, but it’s hard to blame them for getting distracted during the offseason. Life happens. It made me realize no writer is ever going to come in and do what I do unless it’s their baby. Now feels like the right time to call it a day. I’m really looking forward to being a fan again where I can just focus on the games without being glued to Twitter 24/7, paranoid that a piece of news would hit and I wouldn’t be connected. Now, if I find out about huge Saints news 3 hours late – it will be ok because my OCD brain won’t be telling me that I need to post a story about it. Thank God for that.
I have some people to thank. First of all, I want to thank Marijn Pessers. He was the #1 fan of this site from the beginning and he never stopped. Honestly when I was first started doing this it was a lot of fun and he was a big reason why. His enthusiasm made me realize what I was doing wasn’t just for me and it wasn’t a complete waste of time. So thanks Marijn – whenever I think fondly of Saints Nation – you’re the first person that comes to mind and it always gives me a smile. Ralph Malbrough, my podcast buddy. Over the years I feel I can really call Ralph one of my best friends. We talk for hours about the Saints. One of the big reasons I started the blog was because I had no friends in Virginia to talk Saints with and I was sick of posting in forums laden with idiots. I figured if I started a blog, I could talk Saints with more educated fans. I plan to continue doing the podcast, so don’t worry, I won’t be completely extinct. Ralph has made this journey more fun than I could imagine. I also want to thank Dave Cariello, who was a mentor in the early years… and Kevin Held who teamed up with us to make what I think is the best Saints podcast out there. Or at least the 7th best.
I want to thank Brian Pavek and the whole Saints Nation writing staff. You guys probably prolonged my interest in continuing this site by lightening my load for a couple years. Brian is the only guy I was ever able to find that had my passion and ethic for grinding. I value our partnership greatly and I encourage you to stay plugged in with him – he knows his stuff. I plan to talk to Brian about the future of this blog, he may be taking the mothership over, we will keep you posted on that.
The radio guys, Sean Fox from ESPN (Kevo and Tabor too, I love you guys!), Ben Mintz in Shreveport, Alan Michael in Lafayette. I’m still available to the extent you need me for your radio shows. Thanks for the platform and faith in my abilities. Coming on your shows has been the most fun part of this experience. And I can’t mention radio guys without mentioning Mark Cramer. He’s really the guy that believed in me and went out of his way to boost my confidence and give me an opportunity. I’m eternally grateful to him. His mentorship, selflessness and guidance is something I hope to lean on for many years to come. Without Mark I never would have made it on any of these radio shows and I’m confident Saints Nation wouldn’t have half its following. Thanks man.
I also want to thank Nick Underhill and Ramon Vargas. Those two reporters in particular were never too good for a lowly blogger like me. In fact, getting praise from real legits that are making it in the biz is the highest honor I could have accomplished doing this.
I have to thank my family. Elizabeth, Cullen, Lila Cate, my mom, my dad and many others that have supported me and made an effort to read/listen and encourage me. Some time is freed up now to spend more time with you and I’m really looking forward to that.
If you’re still reading, I lastly want to say there’s so many personalities that interact with my blog and I think about all of you. There’s really way too many to list but I appreciate every interaction. Thanks for your interest in this blog. My hope it that it can keep going in a quality way without me with Brian leading the charge. This was all about the Saints and it was a fun ride. I’m still a diehard and I plan to stay very connected, although a little less obsessively by the minute (hopefully!).
Who Dat!
Andrew Juge
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