Contribute to South of the Border in 2014

Do you like what we do here? Or more likely, despise what we do here? Think you could do a better job? Worse job? About the same? However you feel, I'm putting the call out (as I like to sometimes do), for people to join up in either a one off or continuing role here at South of the Border, which is now in its seventh year of puttering along in near oblivion.

If you can:

• write - including but not limited to, what grinds your gears; reminiscences of South days of yore (great games, road trips, characters, funny stories)
• draw - comics, caricatures, flowcharts, etc
• photoshop - comics, memes, clever graphic art
• have classic and/or unusual artefacts from the olden times 
• make videos
• take or have photos that could be augmented with an article of some sort
• create folk art (we need more South related macaroni pictures) 

I'd like to have you join this enterprise. The only real caveat? I have editorial control, which means you can't just go defaming people, and you'll have to try and avoid being racist, homophobic, sexist, etc. This blog is, by the standards of Victorian soccer and the internet itself, an unashamedly PC kind of enterprise, with occasional swearing. In other words, I'm looking for clever and entertaining as opposed to mean and gratuitous.

Last year we reached the peak of our contributor diversity, with four regulars at one point, and several one off pieces. In addition to the warm inner glow you get from contributing to this blog, your name (or pseudonym) will be added to some of the great names in our hall of contributors.

You'll also have your work read by dozens of people - or if you write something which somehow intersects with the Australian soccer zeitgeist, maybe even hundreds of them. You'll likely be ignored by the run of the mill South fan, but your work will be seen by the people who follow me on Twitter (maybe), the South Melbourne Hellas committee and club employees, Football Federation Victoria personnel, government officials and all sorts of important people (such as Melbourne Knights fans).

If you like making powerful enemies, or having people suck up to you and maybe even paying for dinner occasionally (sometimes the same people!). Think this is a waste of time? People who have contributed to this blog have been able to:

• Use their work as proof of their excellent written communication skills in job applications.
• Go on to 'careers' in radio.
• Receive FFV media pass accreditation (depending on who's in charge of that stuff in any given year and how they're feeling)
• Make friends with various randoms in Victorian soccer.
• Apply for and receive scholarships for post-graduate studies.
• Recycle material for use in high school and university assignments.
• Receive free books.
• Have their Australian soccer souvenirs linked to in a Joe Gorman article.

And amazingly, some of those benefits didn't even have anything to do with me at all. So if you're keen to do help out in some way, just contact me at blackmissionary@hotmail.com and we'll sort something out. Or you could just start your own blog or fanzine. Either way is good.