I’ve a question for the readership.
So as I mentioned at the end of the last TFC:, the other folks here at Riveting! had to step away, and with them went the podcast as well as the other recurring feature here, the prediction game (TPG).
I can’t be them – nobody could be, their depth and breadth of soccer knowledge and affection for the clubs is unmatched – but I could try and, at least, revive the prediction game as best I could, if that sounds like a good idea.
How would you feel about that?
Not to tell a story that’s not mine to tell, but one of the biggest reasons that we don’t have the game is that the general consensus of the rest of the Riveting! gang was that the lighthearted feeling that TPG embodied had been driven from the atmousphere around the club after the revelations of the previous year.
I’m pretty neutral on that whole issue. Impatient with the Yates investigation? Ohhellyes. We need answers. I’m not going to pretend to be happy about not getting some sort of restorative justice for Shim and Farrelly (and who knows who else..?)
But I’m not here for the Front Office; I’m here for the players and the game, and they’re still there and they’re still playing.
(And as someone whose EPL club is Newcastle? OMFG, the ownership horrors are a familiar background noise to the matchday goings-on; years and years of fan pressure and loathing for the loathsome Mike Ashley succeed in getting the little git to sell the club to…Prince Bonesaw and the Saudi oil sheiks? Well, fucketty fuck fuck!!)
But I certainly understand the feeling that this isn’t a good time to be playing happy games about the Thorns.
(And the current run of form doesn’t help – who wants to be the one to pick the “bigger goals-against number”? Ugh.
But…I’d like to make this site more than just slagging off on the gaffer every week, so, I’m gonna straight up ask; is there any interest in trying a return of TPG?
Or, if not that, any interest in any OTHER content that might be entertaining/fun/enlightening? I mean, I’m not Steph Yang or Chris Henderson, but I can try to do something to stretch my comfort zone if it means making the site more interesting.
Anyway…let me know in the comments.
Thanks, and let’s hope for a 6-nil romp Friday.
- Failing Upwards - April 18, 2024
- Thorns FC: Ippon-shobu - April 16, 2024
- Thorns FC: Near-Death Experience - April 1, 2024
First of all. Thanks for doing this website. As someone who is pretty new to soccer I have learned a lot from you and the others who frequent this site and STF.
I would be interested in playing any sort of game.
Here’s an example of how this prediction game worked in the past: https://rivetingpdx.com/2021/11/12/the-thorns-prediction-game-28/
Take a look and see what you think.
Looks like fun. I’d be down for that
I’d enjoy another round of TPG, although my tendency to be overly optimistic might be a real handicap this year. (How’s that for optimism?)
It might be fun to include some kind of starting lineup bingo, although the deadline for entries would have to be earlier. Maybe too complicated.
I like the idea of “guess who’s playing!” Let me think about that; maybe it’s a separate mini-game that opens right after the preceding match and closes when the IR comes out (assuming it DOES come out)…
Busy evening planned so I’m taking a bit of a risk with my picks. Thought I’d just put this out there even if we aren’t starting the game up yet.
2-1 PTFC
Weaver (Rocky)
Smith (Weaver)
Press (Endo)
YC – Endo
RC – McCaskill
The return of Mark Parsons is announced just prior to the game to the relief of many fans and makes……zero lineup changes
The risk is making the picks before lineups announced.
Looks like a goose egg for me this game
The prediction game was fun, no doubt. Not sure you should bring it back yet; I suspect there will be a lot of noise around the team when Yates’s report comes out, so it might be better to wait until after that. (Any more word on when the report is due? I thought it was going to be this spring….) That could make for a short run of TPG but it seems like the right thing to do.
An investigation like this is likely to have discovered further lines of inquiry, each of which needs to be followed up; there’s no way to know in advance how long this will take. If you had asked me last October, I would have guessed a year.
If the investigation is to be credible, there need to be no leaks and no suspicion of outside interference. I’d be surprised if we know anything about the timing of the final report until very shortly before it’s released. I would hope the last thing any of us want is a report whose honesty and thoroughness are questionable, especially since they will be questioned regardless.
I feel the same now as I did last year when revelations and coaches were dropping like flies…which is that I refuse to allow a few bad actors ruin what I love about the sport. I also refuse to punish the current players and staff by boycotting games, not buying concessions and gear, or abandoning activities that reinforce the positive nature of the sport and community, particularly when there is so much good momentum.
I’m always up for TPG in any form, although part of me would like to see changes that reduce the effort required to run and play the game, such as losing the crazy prediction part and making it more form driven (happy to research WordPress capabilities in this area). I completely understand that others may feel this kills the fun factor.
Regardless, I’m in support of anything that adds more fun and endears more fans to the best sport in the world.
As counterpoint, ill chime in that the crazy predictions were the BEST part of TPG, and often the only part I’d read.
I appreciate the way you brought this up . It’s a tough thing to talk about and I might not get it right here. Personally, I want to support the players, and women in sports in general. But, it’s also fun going to games and reading about them and I don’t really see TPG as a completely separate thing that should be excised. So I would enjoy doing it again. Having said that, I will understand and support whatever you decide. What happened took a lot of joy away from people and I respect how anyone responded to it. I really appreciate that you have continued to write your articles. THANK YOU
With a rueful nod to Timber Dave, I get the sense that the group feels much as I do.
I’m not going to let Gavin Wilkinson (whatever Yates finds out…) keep me from enjoying the game and the club, or caring about the team and the players.
The Prediction Game is (and was) a part of that…so I’m going to post a TPG for the midweek game in San Diego. Let’s see how we feel going forward. If we get enough fun out of it, well, we’ll keep on. But let’s give it a try.