All About the Jersey Wants You to Preview & Recap Devils Games

Nov 24, 2022 - 2:00 PM

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Opportunities come whenever they open up. In hockey and in sport and sometimes in life, you can help to make those happen. This is one of those opportunities that outside issues led to a change. As you may have noticed over the past month, Jared went from writing up game previews and recaps to writing weekly. This is because Stephen agreed to a mutual termination as he has good things going outside of the site. What that means is that a spot in the All About the Jersey roster is open and it is ready to be addressed by one of you, the People Who Matter.

The Position

The position is to help provide game preview posts that prepare the readers for matchups on gamedays and game recap posts that summarize what happened in a game along with your thoughts about what happened. This is a role that is currently shared between Chris, Matt, and myself. The person to take the position will be responsible for identifying which dates you can preview and recap a game, communicating if you need any guidance or support, and providing the previews and recaps in a timely manner. The position will be compensated with a small monthly stipend.

The Requirements

#1) Be a New Jersey Devils fan. Again, this is a Devils blog for Devils fans by Devils fans. Therefore, be a Devils fan.

#2) Be a registered and non-banned user. If you haven’t registered for AAtJ, then please, sign up as soon as you can. It’s free, it gives you access to join roughly 300 other blogs on the network, and add to their respective communities. If you’ve been banned, then this will not likely work out. If you can’t follow the rules, I don’t see how you can follow directions on how to make a post or when things need to be up on site.

#3) Write reasoned and write well. You don’t have to be a perfect writer - I’m definitely not - but you will have to take this seriously to a degree. No one comes here to read what standard clichés any mainstream reporter comes out with, or hear from some lame pundit espousing the same narratives over and over. One of the big reasons why AAtJ is as highly regarded as it is because that the posts are written well enough, arguments are backed up with facts (link to your sources / references), the writing is respectful to the reader (and the player, you notice it’s not just “the defense sucks,” it’ is “the defense sucks because...”), and the content is regularly posted. You do not need to write exactly like me, Chris, or Matt. We want your voice in your posts. We do want an effort made to ensure whatever we state is based on something.

#4) Commit to the schedule. I do allow Chris, Matt, and past previewer/recappers to choose which games they want to cover next month in the middle of the month. This allows for everyone involved to pick dates that fit their schedule. Any spots left open are either assigned or asked separately closer to the next month. It is expected that if you take a date for a preview or a recap, then that you do it barring any emergency.

#5) Be willing to be active with the community. Unlike many other platforms on the Internet, the comments section is not your enemy or akin to a sewer of feedback. The readers are willing to argue in good faith and behave in doing so. Likewise, I would like the writers to be willing to be involved and interact with the other People Who Matter about their posts and other people’s posts. We all may not agree on much beyond wanting the Devils to be great, but we generally get along. That’s what makes a site like this so different than just a series of essays.

#6) Be able to communicate. Since you’ll be a part of a blog on the Internet, it is vital that you’re easily reachable by e-mail and you’re able to keep open communication with me and the other writers. Occasionally, there may be matters to discuss among all writers or perhaps there’s something I or someone else want to pass along your way. Maybe I need to tell you something, so I need to know if you’re going to see that and recognize it. Maybe something’s come up and real life requires that the blog gets ignored (which I would understand), so I’d like to know you’d actually tell me instead of skipping out on a commitment.

#7) Be ready to put your real name on your posts. If you’re selected for this position, then I want you to write under your real name. If you write something worth reading, then it’s worth knowing who wrote it. Better to have the world appreciate your work by name than by some pseudonym. Don’t worry about your account, changing the user name is easily done.

How to Apply

My goal is to have the position filled quickly with a start time in January at the latest. This will allow enough time for me to consider all entrants, get whoever I pick set up, walk them through the process, and have them hit the ground running. As this a position for previewing and recapping games, that is how you shall submit an entry for this opportunity.

1. Pick a game of your choosing in the 2023 portion of this season and write up a game preview for it. For any stats, injuries, commentary on current form, please feel free to use current information as this submission will be for my eyes only. (Tip: Writing “As of this writing,” will help your cause)

• In the preview, make sure accurate broadcasting information is included.
• You can and should link to any sources of data, tweets or articles referenced, and so forth.
• As it is a game preview, the goal is to educate the reader of a Devils blog about the match-up. I do not want to tell you how exactly to write it; but as you do write it, consider that goal in mind. Would this preview prepare a Devils fan for the game that night? Does this preview help me understand who the opponent is, what I should look out for, what should the Devils do / do not well do against from them, etc.?
• I would recommend reading some of the other game previews in our archives for inspiration.

2. Email the preview to me with the following subject line.

2022-23 AAtJ Game Previewer/Recapper - (your username at All About the Jersey) - ( headline)

My e-mail address is in the site’s masthead. Please follow the format, otherwise I may miss your submission.

Please use the same e-mail address for your account here so I am able to cross-reference the account to confirm your standing at All About the Jersey.

Also: Please do not send me any attachments. Keep the preview within the email. If your preview is in an attached file, then it will be rejected.

3. I highly recommend that you do not delay because I could very well take the first submitted game preview that impresses me and the person confirms their availabilty. But I also do not want to just take the very first one I get either. To that end, I will not review anything until November 27, so you all have a little time to think about whether you can and want to do it.

I do want to thank everyone in advance who does make a submission. Even if you do not end up getting selected, I do appreciate your willingness to want to join us at All About the Jersey. That is yet another reason why I call you, the readers, the People Who Matter. Thank you and good luck to all those who apply. For those in America, have a good and grateful Thanksgiving.