There aren’t many 10-year-old blogs around these days. Mr. Irrelevant is one of them, created as A Cinderella Story in March of 2004.
Count the things I wasn’t born with that I’ve had for that long. My wife. Old friends. Boxes of baseball cards. Binders of CD’s. This one basketball that’s all scuff, no grip. An Art Monk jersey and a JMU sweatshirt. That’s about it.
***
The blog started on a whim and became a career. It spurred the Sports Bloggers Live podcast and Blog Show, FanHouse and the Yahoo! Sports blogs and For The Win.
It allowed me to collaborate with my brother. Chris doesn’t write much now, but he used to. His wife says the humor he showed back then pulled her in when they first started dating. Think about that.
So many friends and family and readers have contributed to the site. Many are talented in ways they may not know. I don’t take it for granted.
***
I think about the changes in my life. Marriage. My dog Otis. Pregnancy. The beach. Three beautiful children.
I was 26 at the start and had more time to watch and read and write about sports just for fun. And it was.
The Skins were flipping from Spurrier to Gibbs. It was Year 1 of the Arenas administration. Sidney Ponson led the O’s in innings. John Gilchrist led Maryland to an ACC title. Ovechkin had n’yet arrived. The Nats were still Les Expos.
I hadn’t heard of Deadspin or SB Nation or BuzzFeed or Facebook or Twitter, because those things didn’t exist. They didn’t distract.
Those and others distract me now. They take time and energy. They’re daunting. How am I going to write something better than Dan Steinberg?
***
The time just isn’t there. I thought I loved sports, but family is love. I’m lucky to love my job, too. These are priorities. After that, when the kids are in bed, I’m on the couch with good beer, the DVR and the iPad.
(In ’04 there was no iPad, and I had no DVR. The beer and couch were shitty too.)
Mr. Irrelevant isn’t what it was, and it wasn’t much to begin with. I’ll go days and even weeks without posting. I’ve gone seven years without updating the design. Don’t hold your breath.
I’m holding onto the site, though, even if it twists and turns along the way. This is my place for whimsy and a place for you too, if you like.
It’s a dusty old blog, but it’s our dusty old blog. And it’s a big part of me.
Happy birthday, old boy.
ThisGuy
February 21, 2014 at 9:21 AM
Feelin’ a lot of pressure to say something profound with the first comment here, but all I can think of is to say thank you for this blog.
Jdobs2
February 21, 2014 at 9:35 AM
I was going to go straight snarky on y’all and say “Mr. Irrelevant blog celebrates 10 years as a blog by posting first blog in 2 weeks”… but then I read the blog and you pretty much say as much, dang it!
Thanks for posting! Mr. Irrelevant and DC Sports Bog are my two favs that I HAVE to read every time a post comes up. Keep it up (when you have time, haha).
Skins Trance
February 21, 2014 at 9:42 AM
Thanks man. I guess I’ve been checking it daily since I was a freshman in college (6 years ago now), this and the Bog have probably taken up more internet time than everything but facebook and porn
JDP
February 21, 2014 at 9:42 AM
“Mr. Irrelevant and DC Sports Bog are my two favs that I HAVE to read every time a post comes up.”
Same for me. Top two must reads on anything D.C. sports related.
Keep up the good work Mottrams
kip
February 21, 2014 at 9:48 AM
Thank you!
Dan Steinberg
February 21, 2014 at 9:50 AM
Yeah, same.
I think D.C. has (or at least had) the best local sports blogging in the country, and I think you guys get like 85 percent of the credit for that happening. Thanks for inspiring.
The Junkies
February 21, 2014 at 9:57 AM
Fag
Unsilent
February 21, 2014 at 10:15 AM
GETTIN’ A LITTLE MISTY OVER HERE.
Unsilent
February 21, 2014 at 10:17 AM
First there was SBL. Then Mr. I. Then the whole Deadspin thing happened. That begat KSK. Now I have gray hair and a bunch of old internet friends.
Todd
February 21, 2014 at 10:21 AM
Just last night JMUSB was invited to one of those great networking parties by a “hip,” well-meaning web co still throwing client office parties like it’s the early aughts. They want to sell us on site redesign and they want someone with actual content to tell funny N’Sync-crushes-our-usual-traffic stories. The absolute entirety of our very limited street cred at said event came from the fact that three of the youngest guys at the company (Interactive Strategies) thought we were cool because “these guys are on Mister Irrelevant” all the time and “I think they know those guys.”
Though they did wonder if everything was still ok because “seems like they haven’t posted in forever.”
Congrats and thanks for being such a great blog-mentor!
Matt Terl
February 21, 2014 at 11:03 AM
You guys are the best. (Well, you and Steinberg, but it’s not HIS tenth anniversary.) Congrats on 10 years, and looking forward to lots more. Hopefully somewhere in that indefinite future, you’ll be able to finally retire the Infinite Sadness tag and write about a bunch of winning teams or something.
Boo Rod Gardner
February 21, 2014 at 11:15 AM
Portis pockets deep. 10 more years!
nate
February 21, 2014 at 11:37 AM
Nothing like a 10 year milestone! You should celebrate by posting more stalker photos like back in the day
Beer
February 21, 2014 at 11:56 AM
Congrats. It’s always been fun to check here for all things local sports and will continue to do so.
d$
February 21, 2014 at 12:13 PM
http://phraseturner.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/one-tear.gif
Donk Donkerson
February 21, 2014 at 12:30 PM
Really enjoy the blog, and the level of wit and intelligence that is displayed by those who post AND comment.
Now I’m getting verklempt.
HAIL MR I!
Matt
February 21, 2014 at 2:29 PM
Here’s to another 10.
Jim Ed
February 21, 2014 at 2:44 PM
In the narrowest sense, you’ve provided me incalculable hours (I went to public school in central Va so I can’t count past 38) of entertainment for FREE over the last 8 or so years I’ve been reading Mr I. So thanks for that.
More broadly, this has always been my go-to place for Skins gameday reading, especially Winners & Losers. Despite being the most popular local team by a landslide, the Redskins have by FAR the worst blog and traditional media coverage. So Mr I has always been a welcome respite from the sycophants and blow hards populating the rest of Skins internets, especially considering the never ending tragicomedy that is our hometown franchise.
Thanks guys.
Chad
February 21, 2014 at 2:57 PM
Mazel Tov, it’s been a great ride
Skins Trance
February 21, 2014 at 3:00 PM
Without Winners & Losers and Best & Worst, Sundays would be much less bearable
Puttz
February 21, 2014 at 3:42 PM
In honor of the big birthday, I will drink a Todd Collins tonight. Cheers!
deepvalue
February 21, 2014 at 5:38 PM
Here’s to more Mason hoops coverage during the next ten years. [Looks at Mason’s record] Yeah, never mind.
Congrats all the same!
Rob
February 21, 2014 at 6:17 PM
Congrats! And you’re bottle cap art rivals your pancake art if I do say so myself.
Robear262
February 21, 2014 at 7:30 PM
I tried to remember how I found this blog, but I’ve been reading it for so long (at least 5 years) I can’t even remember how I was introduced to it. It was the first sports blog I visited more than once and I have followed your work all the way to FTW. I am a lifelong Redskins fan due to family rooting interests, but living in upstate NY I never have a damn about DMV sports, until this blog. You have created a caps and nats poser fan (sorry Wiz, no interest). Thank you for all the great reads and making sure we remember its just sports, even when the skins go 3-13. Cheers to ten more years
Jamie Mottram
February 21, 2014 at 8:22 PM
This is terrific. Thank you all for the kind words. It means a lot.
Funny you mention Chris’ stalker series, nate. I was just thinking the other day that those were the original photobombs.
And Puttz, I’m enjoying a Todd Collins right now.
Chris Trumpower
February 21, 2014 at 8:25 PM
the original and the best. congratulations and to ten more years.
ColtBrennansGhost
February 21, 2014 at 9:28 PM
Whew for a second when I started reading I thought you guys were calling it quits. 10 MORE YEARS
Mikeyvanilli
February 22, 2014 at 9:36 AM
Love this blog as well! I’ve only been reading for 4 years or so, but nothing gets me pumped for a day of all my favorite sports teams losing like some DMV in the morning. I think one of the reason DC has such a great sport blogging scene is because our teams are so terrible, fans are desperate for other stories/angles/reasons to keep their rooting interests alive. And that ALMOST makes it worth it.
Cheers!
Chris Sullivan
February 22, 2014 at 9:53 AM
I came across your blog in high school, around the time I started getting into sports. I was 14 or 15 at the time, and it was during the Gibbs 2 era/the tail end of Gil’s time in DC. It was incredibly exciting for me (as pitiful as that may seem). In my first year of true fandom the Wizards and Redskins were both in the playoffs (WTF!).
I can’t remember how I stumbled upon this blog exactly, but my hunger and desire to find content about DC sports was intense. Mr. Irrelevant was everything I was looking for and everyday I would check this site to get my fix. This routine on for years, through many Redskins qbs, losing seasons transcending all of my favorite teams, and general mediocrity across the board. There were a few good moments sprinkled in here and there of course.
Fast forward to 2014 and I AM STILL HERE. I’m finishing up college, preparing for the real world, and just general growing up stuff. I feel like I grew up with this blog. I almost never comment on here, and I don’t have the time or energy to keep up with everything that is going on with DC sports like I did when I was a kid, but whenever I feel like catching up this is the place I look to.
I feel a strange, personal connection to this blog and to this day recommend it to anyone who I think will enjoy it. You’ve made me laugh when times were most drear, and you helped mold my opinions and knowledge about sports. Thanks Jamie, Chris, and everybody else who has contributed here over the years. I appreciate what you are doing here and it’s pretty special in my opinion.
P.S. I’m interning at USA Today this Summer! It seemed semi-relevant that I share this information with you.
Chris Sullivan
February 22, 2014 at 9:54 AM
I apologize for that comment being so ridiculously long.
They call me Fitz
February 22, 2014 at 4:34 PM
Keep up the good work, Bros. Mottram. I’ve enjoyed reading (and contributing to?) this blog for too many years to remember and it’s still my first place to check on everything DMV sports. There’s been a lot of stuff covered, let’s hope the next 10 years include a championship. Is that too much to ask for???
Thanks guys
A Fine Messi
February 23, 2014 at 11:45 AM
Traditional Anniversary gift for 10 years is tin/aluminum:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/351006535763?lpid=82
Mike Bradley
February 23, 2014 at 2:39 PM
great site and here is for this place and not snyder being around when the skins win a super bowl.
Illformula
February 23, 2014 at 10:38 PM
*golf clap*
Makes me feel old. One Redskins playoff win in the life of the blog… As if we all needed more evidence of their suck.
Skins Trance
February 24, 2014 at 9:09 AM
^The best stat ever. ONE PLAYOFF WIN.
Skins Trance
February 24, 2014 at 9:10 AM
Scratch that, worst stat ever
Bullmoose
February 24, 2014 at 10:54 AM
Congratulations, Mottrams (on the family and the blog). No other blog captures the joy and pain of DC area fandom as well as you guys do. Thanks for doing it. Hip, hip hooray.
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