Five and a Half Years, 200 Blogs, One Big Success
November 2003. SB Nation started with a small typepad site called Athletics Nation: Baseball Country. It was my blog and at the time, I just wanted to talk about my team at a place that was run by a fan. I didn't know if anyone would show up at the time but I was tired of feeling like my team wasn't the top priority. I wanted a place that was dedicated to my team and my passion 24/7/365. I didn't want a 30 second clip on ESPN or a quick mention of a score on KNBR, the local radio station that was infatuated with the Giants. I want a place to claim my own.
Apparently I was not alone. Fast forward to 2009 and nearly six years later and SB Nation has officially reached 200 blogs with the launch of Arkansas Razor Expats. The model of bringing passionate fans together around a common team or sport has brought SB Nation to unparalleled success in sports new media. SB Nation is now the leading trafficked sports blog network and reaches millions of readers every month. Thanks to a remarkable technology team and fantastic leadership from our CEO Jim Bankoff, we have a revolutionary blogging platform and partnerships with some of the largest sports media properites on the Web. We have top tier investors who bought into the same vision that the company was founded on. And they haven't messed with it.
We've still got a ways to go because we haven't covered all sports adequately just yet. But I look forward to bringing more passionate fans together as we expand to cover all sports and all teams. If your team or your sport isn't covered yet, relax with the knowledge that we know what we're missing and we're working very hard to bring it all to you.
I get asked all the time if I ever had any idea of what SB Nation would become when I first started Athletics Nation. The simple answer to this question is that it was always my idea that fans should be at the forefront of the sport conversation and if that happened, then the sky was the limit. And we haven't reached it yet. That's still to come. One thing that you can be sure is that we will always by be the fans, for the fans and of the fans. It's the core of what makes SB Nation special. Thanks for the ride so far and buckle up for the future.
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I'll echo Whale...
I couldn’t be happier to be a part of this platform.
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
Ditto.
And would you look at what SB Nation.com used to look like here
And the first days of Athletics Nation here
then a few years later here
and then finally what it looks like now here!
Welcome to Smashville, Tennessee.
Official Graphic Designer/Researcher/Grammar Police of MCM.
by Aditya T (smashville) on Jun 23, 2009 10:59 PM PDT reply actions
Wow
I remember having to manually update the Beane Counter. Ah the simpler times.
by Tyler Bleszinski on Jun 24, 2009 2:06 AM PDT up reply actions
I'm happy to be a part of this network
Thank you for allowing me to be and congratulations on making this network grow into THE best sports networks.
Motown String Music- SB Nation's Detroit Pistons Blog
Amazing.
Absolutely mind blowing that this all started with one guy’s blog.
OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.
Might want to change the front page
SB Nation is a collection of nearly 200 individual communities, each offering high quality year-round coverage and conversation led by fans who are passionate about their favorite teams, leagues or sports.
Welcome to Smashville, Tennessee.
Official Graphic Designer/Researcher/Grammar Police of MCM.
by Aditya T (smashville) on Jun 25, 2009 4:09 AM PDT reply actions
From one of the Original Six...
… fantastic achievement!
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

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