How I want to see Fear the Sword grow

Here are what I envision as the next steps for the site as I officially sit down in the lead chair.

Fear the Sword was my personal gold standard for Cleveland Cavaliers coverage when I first started blogging in 2014. The team’s beat was exceptional during the time, but I always gravitated more to a site like this that was honest in their analysis while also being unashamed of who they were pulling for. It was the first website I wanted to visit after a big game and the place I eventually wanted to write for.

The media landscape was vastly different then. There was more traditional written coverage and so many options for good, long-form stories from the perspective of neutral journalists. Blogs like this were where you could get your excitement or disappointment as a fan reflected back at you in a thoughtful, witty way.

The community and analysis people used to seek in blogs have heavily shifted over to podcasts, YouTube breakdowns, and other forms of social media. While those are positive developments, this and other societal factors, have left a void in traditional sports coverage while simultaneously creating more competition for sites like this.

My goal as stepping in as editor is to continue the role the site has always served: This should be a place fans want to check out after games to get their feelings validated while reading thoughtful analysis. How you do that now is just occasionally different than it was ten years ago.

There’s also the lack of options for good, in-person journalism in sports. The relationship between writers, players, and teams has shifted. All players and teams are corporations in a way they weren’t even a decade or so ago, which creates a need for both to control the narrative as much as possible. This change, and the shrinking lack of traditional media outlets, has been to the detriment of fans trying to get an honest peak at what’s happening behind the curtains.

My hope is that those two ideas can be brought together. This is a fan blog, but we also want to provide strong written content with the access we’re allowed. This means more of an emphasis on getting the best, free postgame coverage for home games and better utilizing the opportunities we’re given with covering the Cleveland Charge. This would be on top of the regular analysis and coverage you’ve grown to expect from us.

I began blogging during my senior year of college as a way to improve my writing before going to law school. Sharing questionable takes about my favorite basketball team in the process seemed like the most fun way to go about doing that. Little did I know that nearly a decade later I would still be doing this and enjoying it more than ever. I hope that love never fully extinguishes and shows in how I approach this next chapter.

Chris Manning has left this site in a great place. I continue to be grateful for how he’s helped me grow as a writer and for bringing me onto the staff five years ago. I want to pick up the baton and continue to leave the blog in a better place than I found it.

Fear the Sword has held a special place for me as a fan. It’s been the gold standard for Cavs blogs. For it to continue to be that way, it will need to continue to evolve with the ever-changing landscape. That is what I hope to do.