If you're a regular here, you probably spent at least some time as a frequent reader of Off Tackle Empire (and if you're old like me, maybe even The Rivalry, Esq. before that). Most of us came here as OTE refugees when the powers that be at SBN made a few too many "improvements" to the site's appearance and commenting system. That was what did it for me, anyway. Well, that, and a desire to write things that people will loudly and proudly not read.
On August 10th, we learned that an era in the life of our little shared community was officially coming to an end.
MN Wildcat
Pour one out in memory of OTE. And then pour another one out in thanks to the writers and staff (particularly MNW) who kept the place running for as long as they did. Fortunately, AlmaOtter had the foresight to set up the Republic as a secret rebel base home away from home for the members of our community just in case something went pear-shaped with SBN.
There's been some conversation and questions in the comments here about what features, if any, will be migrating to the Republic. Most of that will be up to the determination and resourcefulness of our writers and commenters (so keep your expectations low realistic, is what I'm saying...). But one feature that will be making the move, in some form, will be the PowerPolls. By longstanding tradition, you're only allowed to curate the PowerPolls if you're a history professor, so if we look through our current roster of authors, that means that the one who's going to be in charge of handling that is....
Aw, fudge.
In the spirt of setting low realistic expectations, I want to be clear that we/I are NOT going to be releasing a PowerPoll each week. There are eighteen fucking teams in the conference, and seventeen rabid fanbases that need to be appeased (Have you ever seen a USC fan here? Me, neither). I am not BRT, and I do not have her bottomless well of creativity to dip into. So the pace for these offerings is going to be humble.
My plan, right now, is to shoot for maybe five or six of these things this season. I'll aim for one preseason PowerPoll, other polls approximately every three weeks through the season, and then a wrap-up PowerPoll toward the end of bowl/CFP season.
I also want to use this column as a public appeal to anyone who's ever felt tempted to scratch the PowerPoll itch. This is a feature that lends itself very well to guest contributions (I wrote only two articles for OTE during its entire existence--one of them was a PowerPoll). So if you have an idea for a topic you'd like to try out, please reach out to AlmaOtter, and he will steer you in my direction.
No reasonable suggestions will be rejected. Many unreasonable suggestions will be accepted, as long as you're willing to keep it (somewhat) classy. If it would get a YouTube video demonetized, it's probably best to avoid it. Otherwise, no topic is too esoteric. And I really do mean "no topic" – in the past, there have been PowerPolls about tornado sirens, locomotives, roller coasters, Lifetime holiday movies, Food Network celebrities, and even characters from the Sweet Valley High book series. If you're thinking "my PowerPoll topic is too weird," I've got news for you, somebody's already done something far weirder.
We should also figure out what we're going to call these things. As a generally non-creative person, I'm fine with just keeping the "PowerPolls" name, but if anyone has a burning desire to suggest something better, I'm all ears.
I've also got to come to grips with how to collect and tabulate "writer" votes for the PowerPolls, but most of that will happen behind the curtain.
As silly as they typically were/are, the PowerPolls were always one of my favorite features at OTE, so I want to make sure that we do what we can to keep them alive going forward. If you've ever felt a burning desire to know which song by the 1970s/1980s Swedish pop group ABBA pairs most naturally with each of our schools...well, you'll get the answer to that question in a few weeks.
How wise an idea is this? Merely bad, or utterly terrible? Have a good name for this feature that you'd like to see adopted? Offer it in the comments.
Thank you all for helping to keep the community alive, and long live the Republic!
