An Interview with Ziggy of BobcatsPlanet.com
09/13/2007
For any long time Bobcats fans out there (well, as long time as you can be for a 3 year old team), you probably already know the name, but for those of you who are a bit newer to the team, I'm here today to introduce you to: Ziggy. Ziggy is the man behind the epicenter of unofficial Bobcats content on the web, BobcatsPlanet.com. It is the place to go on the internet to interact with other fans, view multimedia for the team, and read articles from a variety of bloggers (of which, I am one). He's been gracious enough to answer a few questions I had for him, about the site, the team, and life in general. Without further ado, here's what he had to say:
First things first: How did you get the nickname Ziggy? (For your sake, I hope not due to a resemblance to the cartoon character.)
I use a few different names on different sites, but they are usually all based on a character from a TV show or a movie. This one was based on a character from season 2 of unquestionably the best show on TV (The Wire). Ziggy was an extremely interesting and sad character that tried his best to become a big shot but falls horribly short.
Another personal question: Could you tell us a bit about your background - as a basketball and Bobcats fan?
I've been an NBA fan all the way back to the days of the blacked out NBA finals of the early 80s, Magic jumping center when Kareem was injured and scoring 42 points and the 83 finals where Moses declared the Sixers were going to win in FO-FO-FO. When the Hornets came to Charlotte I was a huge junkie and gave them all of my support for their entire stay here. Once the evil George Shinn and company packed up and left, I still watched the NBA but I was more of a casual fan... Until the Bobcats came to town, now it's safe to say that my hoops fanaticism levels are at an all-time high.
How and when did BobcatsPlanet get started? Was it a personal blog that grew? Or did you set out to create a Bobcats community site?
BobcatsPlanet began in December 2005. It started based on conversations that a friend of mine and I would have everyday at lunch. We were both in Information Technology and we would gripe about some of the "less than enjoyable" programs and websites that we've had to create as part of our job. We talked about building something fun and enjoyable. As a result, he built something that he was passionate about and I built BobcatsPlanet.
When I created it, my goal was to create the web's best Bobcats community. I had no idea how hard it was going to be or how much time that I'd have to put in, but its all been extremely rewarding.
What kind of problems - technical, audience, content, or other - did you encounter in the early going?
The biggest technical problems that I've had are all related to godaddy hosting. About 6 months ago I switched hosts and the world has been a much happier place. For those that are thinking about starting a website please take my advice and avoid godaddy.....godaddy.com is the Antichrist... seriously. From a content/audience perspective, if I had it to do all over again I would have invested in some advertising or possibly some guerrilla marketing to get the site significant traffic sooner. Speaking of which, about a year and half ago I had a couple of ladies that mistakenly thought that we were the official Bobcats site contact me attempting to get details on where to show up for Bobcats dance team tryouts. I thought about telling them to show up at lunchtime on the Square with shorts and a BobcatsPlanet.com T-shirt (which I would've provided... In an extra small of course), however my conscience wouldn't let me do it.... Damn that annoying conscience.
Now with some of the problems detailed, was there a moment (or moments) that made you say "We've arrived"? I know that as a blogger just starting out, my first link from TrueHoop was a big deal to me, as was the first time someone asked me to write for their site (which would be you): Both made me feel like I was getting somewhere and that people were noticing what I was doing. Did you experience something similar with BobcatsPlanet?
There were probably 2 points... The first was getting linked on Deadspin when they voted us the top Charlotte Bobcats blog back in 2006. The traffic that I received the days following thatDeadspin link was completely ridiculous. The second was doing a preview in Dime Magazine. It felt really cool, even if it was just a paragraph or two to actually have something in print.
After the talk about the past, let's look at the future: Any big plans for BobcatsPlanet going forward? Any changes we should be on the lookout for?
We've discussed possibly doing a weekly BobcatsPlanet podcast. Also, be on the lookout for a couple of fun contests that we have in mind.
Time for some fan stuff: Have you got a favorite player on the team?
My favorite is Emeka. There are others on the roster that are more exciting and flashier, but without #50 this team goes nowhere.
Any predictions for the coming year?
46-36, 2nd in the Southeast, #6 seed in the playoffs with a 1st round upset of the vaunted Celtics... Bet the mortgage on it.
Of the 3 final names for the team, Flight, Dragons, and Bobcats, which would you have preferred? I have to say that DragonsPlanet sounds like a cool site. It wouldn't work quite as well for Flight, but then we could call Matt Carroll the "Great White Flight".
I think "The Spiders" were in the mix too, that was the one that I was pulling for, but I'm cool with the Bobcats.
Time to wrap up, but as a movie guy, I have to ask: What are some of your favorite movies, or any recommendations you would make from something you've seen recently?
My favorites: 300, Gladiator, The Usual Suspects, A Soldier's Story, Contact, Harold & Kumar go to White Castle (twice as much fun after heavy drinking).
(Queen City Hoops and Bobcats Planet do not condone underage drinking. Ziggy is an adult over the drinking age and as such has the legal right to engage in such activities as denoted above. This message brought to you by the legal department of Queen City Hoops)
Anything you want to add that I didn't think to ask?
2007-2008 is going to be the season that people decide to jump on the bandwagon. As hardcore Bobcats fans we can feel good in knowing that supported them in the truly lean times.
Ziggy, I thank you for your time answering these questions and the time you've put into Bobcats Planet. I'm looking forward to the coming season and the chance to discuss it with everyone at the Planet.
| RayRay Says: | |
Get on board the bandwagon! Thanks to both queencityhoops and bobcatsplanet for all your hard work. Us few Bobcats fans really appreciate it, the Spiders would have been a cool name though... |
|
| Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:06 pm |
| DWS44 Says: | |
Glad they didnt choose Spiders...can't stand the real things, so I doubt I would want to go to an arena or wear clothing with them all over them. I do root for the Bobcats, but I still hate that name too. I was always a big proponent of them becoming the Charlotte Cougars. Alot of folks talked up that name, but I dont think it was ever seriously considered. Could have tied in nicely with the Panthers too. |
|
| Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:30 pm |
| Pruf Says: | |
Kinda like the Spiders. Might have made for a better color scheme. Love the team, but man, hard to get down with the orange (I like the blue unis though). Cougars would have been an awesome name, and during retro nights we could have made Vincent wear those outlandish suits Larry Brown use to rock: |
|
| Fri Sep 14, 2007 1:41 pm |
| Andy Says: | |
For those at espn.com, spiders are not insects--so no, the Charlotte Bobcats were not almost named after an insect. Among other things, creatures within the class Insecta (insects) have six legs (three pairs) whereas spiders have eight legs (four pairs) and are in the class Arachnida (arachnids). Nice try though. |
|
| Sat Sep 15, 2007 8:36 pm |
| Onic Says: | |
I actually don't mind the color of their uniforms, what i really like about them bobcats is they're really playing and competing hard every game, and they would have been in the playoffs last season had they stayed healthy.. Matt Carroll and Emeka Okafor are my guys on this team, i'm really hoping that J-Rich can help them make the playoffs.. I wonder if he's already interested in playing with this team, can you guys give me an update? Would really appreciate it.. |
|
| Sun Sep 16, 2007 8:53 am |
Leave Your Comment
