Canzano: Monday Mailbag deals with big plans, big dreams, and me... working for you
Questions, answers and celebrating two years of JohnCanzano.com.
It’s been two years since I took a leap, bet on myself, and launched JohnCanzano.com. I will never forget posting the first column. I was in Las Vegas covering the men’s basketball Pac-12 Conference Tournament.
I wrote. Then, met my wife at the hotel. On the elevator ride to the lobby, I looked down at my phone and saw the first wave of subscribers signing up to read.
“This is going to be great,” my wife told me.
My eyes were glassy.
Working for you is still working for me. I promised to deliver in-depth, sourced reporting and commentary that readers can’t get anywhere else. Your support doesn’t just allow me to tell important stories and seek the truth. I have three daughters. You’re helping support my family.
So thank you.
In the last two years, I’ve talked with a line of entrepreneurs and small-business owners who went out on their own. They understand that exhilarating leap of faith. It’s joyful and meaningful to find myself in a 1-on-1 relationship with readers.
Your support and readership allow me to break news, tell heartfelt tales, pursue answers, and get on airplanes to cover games. It also provides resources to hire great photographers and invest in expanding coverage.
In the last year, I traveled to a tiny courtroom in Colfax, Wash., and wrote about the hearing that decided the fate of the “Pac-2” Conference. I published a personal story about teaching my 7-year-old daughter how to ride her bike. I wrote about a couple in their 90s who live in a senior living center and read my work every day.
Some JohnCanzano.com facts:
It featured 401 posts in the last year, more than one per day.
It had more than 14 million visits and ranks alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s publication as one of the top two most popular sports-related entities on Substack.
The publication was honored in the last year with three Associated Press Sports Editors awards, in column writing, projects, and the short feature categories.
In the last year, I wrote a column about Bill Schonely’s funeral, another about the “empty gun” that commissioner George Kliavkoff was packing, and told the inspiring tale of a 4-foot-3 shooting guard named Lexy.
I published a three-part series (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) on the woes of Pac-12 men’s basketball, and visited with a church pastor whose congregation lost when the conference imploded.
I covered more than a dozen college football games in places like Eugene, Corvallis, Pullman, Seattle, Salt Lake City, the Bay Area, and Lubbock, Texas. I was on the scene in Houston when Washington played Michigan for the College Football Playoff championship. And I’m back in Las Vegas this week for Pac-12 college basketball.
There’s no telling where the next year will take us, but I’m committed to bringing you with me on the journey. If you already have a paid subscription, thank you. You won’t miss a thing. I’m grateful for your support. If you’d like to do something kind for someone else please consider giving a gift subscription or donating a subscription to a senior on a fixed budget.
Thank you for being here.
Onto the Monday Mailbag…