Recently, Ace Anbender announced on Twitter that he was resigning from MGoBlog. While he did not go into much detail about the reasons for his resignation, I have some assumptions. (I will keep those assumptions to myself.)
I feel compelled to post about Ace since he was such an integral part of MGoBlog, a place that has provided a platform for Touch the Banner and my Michigan fandom in general.
You can hit the jump for more.
Ace joined MGoBlog after writing for The Ace of Sports and The Wolverine Blog, both of which I believe were his own creations. As far as I recall, he was largely brought on to cover recruiting, a gig that eventually expanded into covering a variety of aspects of Michigan sports, primarily Michigan basketball.
I had numerous run-ins with Ace over the years, and I can't say they were anywhere close to all being positive. I found Ace to be prickly - much like one of his predecessors, Tim Sullivan - and resistant to criticism or differing opinions. I discovered that early on, and as the years went along, that became clearer and clearer to others. He became somewhat notorious for blocking people on Twitter, many of whom claimed they never even interacted with him; frequently, I have seen claims that people think he blocked them on Twitter just because they happened to "like" a tweet with which he disagreed.
Ace also outlined numerous personal struggles, including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). CFS and its treatments are still being explored with no clear path to recovery, as far as I know. If I remember correctly, he went as far as flying to Alabama to see a specialist for this chronic ailment. Due to being unable to work and the cost of treatment, he set up a crowdfunding campaign that resulted in bringing in over $100,000.
And here's where I come to the defense of Ace. After an initial outpouring of support - and a few Negative Nancy types - it seemed like a large chunk of the crowd turned on him. There were two main angles I saw:
- Ace bought podcasting equipment. I have no idea how much a microphone and some headphones might cost - even some high-quality ones - but just because someone crowdfunds an issue doesn't mean they can't purchase anything ever again that might be extraneous. Even if we accept the notion that podcasting equipment for a podcaster is extraneous, Ace should be able to go on a vacation or buy a nice dinner or attend a concert without fearing his donors/detractors will turn on him. Accepting a donation does not mean a person is beholden to the donor's whims for life.
- Ace was rude to me after I donated. As a person who has a bunch of commenters, readers, and donors that I have never met and will probably never meet, it's hard to keep track of every faceless human on the internet. Full disclosure: I did not donate to Ace's campaign. But I saw plenty of claims that Ace was not sufficiently thankful or acted rude toward people who donated to him. In a perfect world, we're kind to everyone we encounter, whether in the real world or on the internet. In real life, @MichiganFan1985 is indistinguishable on the internet from @MichiganMan_1986. A poor encounter on Twitter or MGoBlog - of which, as I mentioned at the top, there were probably many - means Ace is prickly, not that Ace was necessarily saying, "Thanks for the $100, chump. Now eff off."
I feel sorry for Ace. Some of his wounds are self-inflicted, but he also has some issues that are not his doing. We all have personal struggles and demons, some worse than others. Just like all of us, there are many layers. I hope he's able to deal with his struggles successfully and can continue to grow and improve and heal.
As for MGoBlog, personally, I stopped reading Ace's posts years ago. Not only did he move more into the realm of basketball - which is not my primary focus - but his writing did not inspire me. And that's okay. There's a lot of content on the internet I don't read, and I can guarantee you Ace doesn't read my stuff, either. I think Ace's departure - and his vocal detractors' hopefully fading complaints - will improve the atmosphere at MGoBlog. Will someone fill the void created by his absence? It seems the site is never short on content and has a few willing contributors, including creator Brian Cook, Seth Fisher, and MattEM. I imagine the blog will keep running along pretty smoothly, and hopefully somewhat less controversially.
I actually a big fan of his writings and analysis. I enjoyed listening to him on the podcasts. I think on a personal level I would not like him if I met him. He came across to me as intolerant to anyone who disagreed with him. I also think Brian was very tolerant with him and was very supportive of him in dealing with his health issues. I was stunned when Ace pressured him to remove the Roundtable discussion on the Anderson scandal to the point that Brian caved.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the opposite end of this. While not a fan of MGoBlog, I do listen to their podcasts. Ace (IMO) had the least to offer, and was the most sensitive to differing opinions
DeleteAs for the crowdfunding, I didn't follow the story, but if an individual puts their life & situation out to the public, they should expect & accept the internet's criticism along with the generosity. Otherwise, stay private & figure things out alone like so many who do not have the audience. Just my opinion, of course
Why do you listen to a podcast you aren't a fan of?
Delete-LANK
I'm a junkie for MICHIGAN info & discussion. I don't care to read their prepared material, but listening is a different experience - a lot of the "cuteness" I find annoying to read doesn't show up when speaking among their group. Some does, but not all. Ace IMO, brought the least. His own podcast was boring and uninteresting, even for a MICHIGAN fan who takes in almost anything out there
DeleteI never listen to the MGoPodcast, but I do listen to the MGoBlog roundtable on WTKA. Ace usually isn't on there, but yeah, I agree that a lot of the deep humor is removed. I guess it's probably a little harder to think of jokes off the cuff than it is when they sit down to write.
DeleteI agree with these takes in general but if you like the Mgoblog podcast I think you can say you like Mgoblog - even if some of the written stuff isn't for you.
DeleteI'm with Thunder in liking the roundtable. What I like is that it is people who aren't just going to line up to agree with Brian. They're all respectful but there are different views. The podcast with just the mgocrew are needlessly long and trying to hard to make insider jokes.
-LANK
I wrote on the other site that Ace would be missed. I think he will, although, I have come to think that, maybe not so much by fellow staff over there.
ReplyDeleteAnd, Brian has demonstrated a real sound ability to replace talent with more talent, so there's that.
But, while Ace could be "prickly", I thought he could come up with stuff worth considering.
I was mildly surprised at the animus directed against him. Although he has such a controversial thing going on in him and nobody really knows for sure if it's a physical thing, or mental. I wrote the first time Ace dusted up some drama, that it doesn't matter if it's "Real" in the sense of an honest to God physical malady or not, it's real damn real to Ace.
I also feel sorry for Ace in that it's so hard to be pleasant when you never feel well.
You're definitely right about that last part. I know I'm grumpy when I'm sick, or I just don't want to talk to anyone.
DeleteI was never a fan of his stuff and stopped reading years ago like Thunder. Didn't donate to the go fund me or track the details of that drama but it seems like enough people feel mislead that there was some issue there.
ReplyDeleteI do think the Michigan "money cannon" is taken for granted sometimes. Ultimately these are still real people who make a decision about how and where to spend their money.
The bigger issue, and I think it's a bit of a cultural thing across mgoblog, is a building resentment between the creators, the program, and different factions the fanbase, especially the small group of commentators. Ace is his own self but I think he bought into that culture and exacerbated it. Just a lot of entitlement and bad energy in there in many ways.
Feels like people need a step back sometimes to appreciate how nice it is to have a big diverse community of shared interest among alums and those with SE Michigan ties. It can be a very cool thing, but it can also be taken for granted and even dissolve.
The "I don't want to talk about football when things are not great" approach is very off-putting to me, as a fan interested in diagnosing the good as well as the bad.
Anyway, wishing Ace nothing but well even though I wasn't a fan he's part of the larger Michigan community. Well put Thunder, regarding everyone facing struggles of some kind and Ace's being way more public than most.
My 2 cents.
-LANK
There's just an overall air of contention at MGoBlog. Rude happens there as a matter of course. I think MGoBlog gives Michigan sports, in particular the term "MGo", a bad image.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a matter of maturity, a lack of maturity, on the part of the people that run MGoBlog that is the problem-- the continual reference to muppets and the overuse of the term unverified voracity, being prime examples of that immaturity.
Because of the level of hostility there among some commenters, and moderators,
I don't like to go there.
Also, it has a reputation for being a source of insider information. Other than the very few and far between commenter in the comments that actually tells some insider stuff I have found nothing that props up the idea insider information resides there. Some posters on the MGoBoard seem to have better information than the front page, and better writing.
Brian has been mostly clear about NOT wanting insider info to maintain objectivity. I think that's a good stance. He's gotten in trouble a few times mgoblog has tried to be an insider source, so I guess I disagree they are seen that way. Seems like more of a well-informed outsider to me.
DeleteI stopped being involved in their message board many years ago. It's been on a downward slide for over a decade now. I don't think of it as a maturity issue necessarily - some people are just ninnies by nature and will never change. I hope whoever they hire brings a different perspective - maybe a bit more energy and a little less likely to by a sycophant.
FWIW the "unverified voracity" still strikes me as mildly amusing though most of the self-referential stuff is weak. The muppets have never done anything for me, but people should celebrate however they want to.
-LANK
The ninnies, as you call them, go unchecked. That is a reflection of those who run the blog. What is seen at MGoBlog is what it is, sophomoric. It brings shame to the MGo lettering.
DeleteCan you imagine if a major Alabama blog used muppets continually? It would never happen. How childish it would be. But some Michigan fans can see the forest for the trees when it comes to MGoBlog.
Yeah, the website is a bit much. The owners - minus Seth - try to out humor each other, almost like a childish application of tropes & snark. The message board is a bunch of guys who have probably never had an in-person disagreement, as they combine "keyboard gangsta" talk with attempts at getting even more cute than the owners
DeleteOn the podcast (with Sam), it's just a group of dudes (fans) talking MICHIGAN sports. Doesn't matter if I don't agree, the conversation is sound
I'm glad we don't have any ninnies here on this blog.
DeleteMy problem with MGoBlog is that they go into a funk when Michigan is doing poorly. That is precisely the time the fan base wants to read analysis, to find out what is wrong and what can be fixed. I actually think Ace had opinions that were independent of Brian. I think Seth is very good but always struck me as intimidated by Brian. I don't think Ace was.
DeleteInteresting to hear the different perspectives on this.
DeleteI 100% agree on the comment about bailing when things go bad. Just because YOU don't want to talk about it, doesn't mean others aren't interested anymore. I feel like it's roughly 50/50 between people who want to diagnose the problem (or at least vent about how terrible everything is for a while) and those that are more fair-weather and would rather just think about something else when things are bad.
Not making UFR's after OSU is, IMO, a black mark on the otherwise stellar reputation that Mgoblog has earned.
As to the mgocast - I think Ace and Seth were both sycophants. Ace became more independent over time in part because he wrote about basketball (where Brian is relatively uninformed though he has gotten much better recently) but that took many years. Seth is sharp and has more to say but his writing is so mgo-self-referential that's it's barely readable to me (e.g., "nefarious eduardo).
If I was the Mgoblog ombudsmen I'd tell them to find someone who offers a different voice - who can balance out the negativity and not be so fair-weather. I think that is present with guys like Sam Webb and Craig Ross, which is why the roundtable works as well as it does.
-LANK
I’ve been a lurker there and here for a long, long time. This post and the comments finally said something out loud I’ve thought for years. Thank you for that.
ReplyDeleteMgoblog has went from probably my main internet stop to a site I begrudgingly check when I can’t find info elsewhere fast enough. It’s just the underlying malevolence and sense of superiority that got tiresome. Here’s hoping they’ve learned something but I’m not holding my breath…
Anonymous. I'm glad to hear of different perspectives about Mgoblog. Because I don't personally know anyone who posts, I sometimes thought I was the only one who questioned anything about the blog at all. Yes, there are excellent posters, but at times it seems to be homers, sycophants, and juveniles seeking to fight. I've shied away from the page due to Brian's comments about local politics. Even he's stated politics has no business here. It certainly isn't why I come to these blogs and pages. In fact, leaving politics behind is what I do at all of the blogs/pages I follow for particular
ReplyDeletetopics. But that's far from all. Insider jokes and comments, and lack of explanations/definitions about terms, new and old, has often kept me in the dark. Most writing is good, but some is poor. Alex is getting better. Yes, the tendency to go in a shell when things are bad for our teams, has bothered me too. I want the facts. When the Mgoblog writers are on, they're good. I like Seth and Craig the most. But Seth is intimidated by Brian. Anyway, at the outset of my discovery of Mgoblog, it was one of my favorites. I attended a few of their gatherings. Now, it's an afterthought, an occasional take. How does Mgoblog add professionalism without removing the personal side? I'm not sure. PS: Craig is the wise old man and Seth is the enthusiastic wanna be jock.