A Second Chance

Like Tiger Woods, I've been given a second chance.

...On second thought, factoring in the number of affairs Eldrich had, he's on his fifteenth chance. Okay, so maybe I'm more like Jesse James.

As most of you know, I've been writing for www.lastfanstanding2010.com (registration required to read my article, but it's totally worth it. I guarantee it or your money back!). Temple lost this weekend and that should have ended my time on their site. Not so fast! Someone contacted me from Last Fan Standing and because they enjoyed my first article and interview, they've asked me to continue to write for the website, though I am no longer eligible for the contest.

There's a lesson here.

First, I never cared about the contest itself. Yes, it would have been an amazing opportunity to have my blogs featured on cbssports.com (which is the grand prize). But this was not a writing contest. I was given a team to write about at random and in the NCAA tournament, randomness rules. I could not win the contest because my writing was better than other anothers bloggers and so I can live with one and done.

Second, several of the bloggers involved in the contest were upset with some of the proceedings even before the tournament started. They were very vocal about their feelings assuring that every one of their fellow participants not only knew about how they felt, but included us as compatriots in their tirades, without our permission. While there have been a few bumps in the road for this contest, all of these concerns have proven to be premature and unfounded.

Why am I telling you this? It's simple. It's easy to complain when there are things beyond your control, but if you acknowledge that you can't control these things, you stop complaining and you start working.

I knew this going in. The only thing I was responsible for and in turn, could control, is my content. This contest was the first time anyone (outside of my encouraging friends and family) recognized my writing. I did not take this lightly. I wish some of my fellow contestants felt the same way. Regardless, I've been given a second chance to provide content for www.lastfanstanding2010.com and I intend to take full advantage of it.

I'll link to my new article in a separate post as soon as it's published.