By Today we mark both the first anniversary of GreenSportsBlog and our 100th post. We take this opportunity to take a look back and a look forward at the intersection of Green and Sports.
About a year ago, I had the idea that a blog about the intersection of Green and Sports would be an interesting read for a wide variety of folks, from sports facilities managers to sports marketers, from sports fans with an interest in sustainability to sustainability practitioners who understand that the power of sports is immense. Hopefully, if you are reading this, we’ve cleared the interesting (and informative and illuminating) bar more often than not.
At the outset, some folks asked “will you have enough to write about?” The short answer is “Hell YES!”
- We’ve covered the greening of sports facilities, the dearth of eco-athletes, how the language of sports can be used to fight climate change denial, and the greenwashing at the Sochi Olympics, among many others.
- Interview subjects have included eco-athletes, an owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, and the VP of Sustainability for the America’s Cup.
- We begged LeBron James to speak out about Climate Change, knowing that if King James speaks, legions will follow.
- GreenSportsBlogger Elyssa Emrich is in the middle of a series on the “Greening of Big 10 Athletics”.
Since sports is core to our DNA, what kind of Year In Review post would this be without a “Best Of” list. Here, then, based on the number of comments received on the blog and via social media, are the top 5 GreenSportsBlog posts from the past year:
- June, 2013: An Open Letter To LeBron
- January, 2014: Denver vs. Seattle in Green Super Bowl I
- October, 2013: Greening of Ohio State (by Elyssa Emrich)
- May, 2014: Sports, War & The Healing Power of Nature
- (tie) July, 2013: The Soccket, Soccer Ball That Lights Up Lives and April, 2013: My Big, Green NFL Draft Idea
Looking ahead to the next year and the next 100 posts, new topic areas will include the “Greening of Youth Sports” (high school and younger, as kids really get sustainability far better than their elders), and “Harnessing The Passion of Fans For Green Goals”. We will seek out the “Greenest Sports Town” and will name our first “Eco-Athlete of the Year”. If there’s a topic you’d like to see investigated, please let us know.
GSB will be reporting from Green-Sports related conferences, including the Collegiate Sports Sustainability Summit, Beyond Sport and the Green Sports Alliance Summit, to name a few.
Finally, some thank yous…One goes to Elyssa Emrich, who has enriched GSB with her series on the Greening of Big 10 Athletics (plus her post on the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice, France).
And another goes to you, GSB readers, especially the frequent commenters–on the blog directly and via social media (you know who you are!)
Your feedback is very much appreciated. I hope you keep reading and commenting as the intersection of Green and Sports gets busier and more interesting in the year ahead.
Congrats on reaching the big 100!
Thanks to YOU, Candy, for being a loyal GSB reader-commenter-activist. We’ll make a football fan of you yet! And I’ll even take futbol at this point!
Happy 1 year anniversary Greensportsblog!!!!!!!
1 year is the Paper anniversary which is funny for a paperless blog about the environment.
Looking forward to the next 100.
Thanks, Bink, for your loyal readership and frequent comments. We will be keeping tabs on Soccket and will bring any new developments to GSB.