First column -- Any suggestions?

I recently received my first gig as a full-time sports writer for a 20,000+ circulation paper.. Since the community is fairly small, and I'll be closely associated with it, I'd like to introduce myself in a column without getting too personal. I already have a few ideas, but I wanted to get some suggestions.

Thanks!

 

Why don't you want to get personal? If you are introducing yourself, specific examples are better than general ones.

I played sports in high school -- doesn't say much.

On our 10-man high school cross country team I finished ninth once when our 10th guy was sick -- says a lot more.

 

Thanks!

 

Looks to me like the point of your column is the last five paragraphs, so you should find a way to get your point across at the beginning of the article rather than the end.

 

I agree. If you are introducing yourself to the community, I'd do that instead of preaching to them.

 

Alright, will do.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

 

Honestly, that bored me. I'm not a big fan of introduction columns, but if you're going to do one, this is not the way to go. OK, so you were a utility player in high school. But what are you bringing to this job? Where are you from? How did you wind up here? Why are you in this profession?
You say your goal "is to bring the game I love so much to you, the reader, in a way that has never been done before." How so? And do you only love basketball? I ask because you use "game" and not "games."

 

Make sure you end it with, "Go (INSERT LOCAL TEAM NAME HERE)!"

 

You joke, but I know of at least two writers at small-ass papers who have done columns with this as the theme.

On topic, was there a link earlier?

If you're going to do an introductory column, I would take a few shots at myself if I were you. It's endearing. Columns are like dicks, 99 percent of us aren't endowed with the god-given ability to write them, so we have to accept our fate, get by with the occasional giggle and improve what we have by maybe trimming our pubic hairs to keep people interested.

 

Write about visiting an old professor on Tuesdays.

 

I'd stay away from an introductory column about yourself and perhaps focus on the community itself. Honestly, nobody cares about the writer, where he or she is from, or their background. If you can't show that you belong and that you've got game through the writing of the column, you'll lose people early. Your best bet is to open with a column that people will talk about and say "who the hell does WooPig2K8 think he is?" After a few weeks, if people are curious, then, maybe, give up a little personal stuff. But honestly, the best sportswriters I know of don't have to do an introductory column. They open strong with a fresh take on a well-known local fixture that makes people sit up and take notice.