Some questions for y’all on a Friday…
A. Who won the Gateway Conference title in 2015 at 160 pounds?
B. Who had the first pin of the 2021-22 season?
C. When was the last Five Star tournament held at Raines, and which team won it?
Answers at the bottom of this post…they can all be found on my website with just a few clicks.
Ten years ago, I told my (then much-smaller) coverage area that I would not paywall this site. I didn’t think it was fair to paywall it when I had employment that paid my bills (and a portion of me still believes in the validity of that thought) and the site was very much a part-time part of my life, a way to become a part of this community to which I had moved to, a place where I literally knew no one other than one person.
The site being a small part-time part of my life is no longer the case.
It’s the only reason I’m still in Florida now — that, and a promise I made my youngest son, that I would remain here while he was in college.
Ten years ago, we started covering around 40 teams, mirroring the Florida Times-Union’s coverage area. We’re now at around 130, in two states, doing so much more now than what we were doing then.
Just last night, I spent four hours working ONLY on Knockout Summer Slam box scores. Each #TheSeason wrapup recap that I do — and there will be one on every team, no matter the size and success of that team — takes at least four or five hours to do. And that’s just a tiny snapshot on our off-season commitment, which is dwarfed by our in-season commitment.
I know times are tough right now. That’s why I appreciate so much the donations that I receive (I got one just last night). Here’s a list of our donating folks since my last post noting and honoring my donors back in March:
- Conrad Bishop
- Michael Kerns
- Kevin Glavin
- Donald Maurer
- Matthew Braddock
- Tonya Hawkes
These donations are very generous, and I’m grateful these folks chose to think of our work. Money’s tight everywhere, including here; I no longer am freelancing for the Florida Times-Union.
I don’t want to have to take on a second job. I’m not young anymore. But I’d be lying if I said I don’t have to think about it. A second job would probably kill the site.
I am not able, under current reality, to make this work and this site my sole source of income. I need the health insurance I have, the 401k (in whatever tatters it currently finds itself) I contribute toward, and the salary I draw.
In the absence of advertising (which I am able to accept for my Florida site), I can only accept donations. They can be sent via Venmo at shannon-heaton-6 or via PayPal (you should be able to find me if you search for my site’s email address, nefloridamatmen@gmail.com).
I wrote this post this morning; during the course of the day today, I’m putting together second-day results from the Osceola event and working on another #TheSeason post. The work never stops. And it allows for…
Answers to our quiz:
A) Daniel Folkner (who was at Sandalwood that year).
B) Wolfson’s Max Lewallen, in 1:02 (his match was also the first match of the 2021-22 season for the coverage area).
C) 2016 (I helped announce that tournament), and Florida High ran away with the title, scoring 361.5 points.
North Florida Matmen 