THE REFEREE HAS BLOWN FULL-TIME.
Many thanks to the noders who contributed to this quest. We received 74 contributions from 43 different writers, covering subjects from 24 sports/fields and hailing from 18 nations.
We interrupt ABC's Wide World of Sports to bring you this message from the fine folks at e2sports and e2biography...
HUH?
We plan our day around watching them ply their trade on TV. We shoulder aside nine-year old boys to get their autograph. We put their likenesses on cardboard and stuff them in foil wrappers with a stick of dessicated bubble gum. We hire them to sell SUVs, coffee makers, muscle creme and anti-impotency drugs. Most importantly, we live and die with their successes and failures. They're our most revered (and hated) heroes (and villains): athletes.
WHAT?
This quest seeks top-notch writeups covering the lives and expoits of individual athletes and sports figures (see below for more details). While receiving loads of writeups for footballers and baseball players would be grand, we'd like as much diversity as possible! Bring us your biggest sumo, your most petite gymnasts, your most accurate pool sharks and your... um... whatever it is you call those guys who play takraw. Ideally, we'll get a mix of amateurs and professionals, world-class superstars as well as those who toil(ed) in obscurity for small colleges or regional club teams. Just make the writeups interesting and comprehensive.
WHO?
You, silly.
Okay, this quest is restricted to individual athletes and sports figures, meaning that teams, duos, clubs, double-play combinations, stables and line-ups are disqualified. So, who exactly qualifies as an athlete? We'll be pretty lenient here, accepting competitive sailors, dart throwers, pro wrestlers, skeet shooters, extreme ironers and curlers. We do have to draw the line somewhere, so Betty Crocker Bake-Off contestants and chess grandmasters will be left in the cold. We will, however, accept animal athletes (racehorses, greyhounds, and celebrated jumping frogs all). Please /msg caknuck or anybody else from the e2sports usergroup if you are unsure if a subject qualifies as an athlete or sports figure.
But what about the more ambiguous term "sports figure"? This could include, but is not necessarily restricted to: sportscasters, team owners, coaches, managers, trainers, innovators of athletic equipment, sportswriters, fans, officials and anybody else who's primarily known for their contributions (positive or negative) to the sporting world.
WHEN?
The quest will run from the moment this writeup is posted until 12:01 a.m. (server time), Monday, February 2 Tuesday, February 3, 2004. Only writeups datestamped within that timeframe will be considered (unless an extension is granted, /msg caknuck if needed).
HOW?
To participate, pick an unnoded athlete or sports figure, write that person up within the alotted timeframe and /msg caknuck. He will add that w/u to the list found at the end of this node. If you would like to rescue an existing noded subject, then /msg caknuck beforehand and he'll make sure that you're not beating the proverbial dead horse. Exceptional content and nodeshell rescues may receive an additional XP bonus (see below). And if you're having trouble picking an athlete to whom you can pay homage, then check out "The Farm Team" below for suggestions.
There is no prescribed length or format, but check the "Hall of Famers" section for examples of superlative sports bios. These should give you an idea of the type of submission we're looking for. It's recommended that you read E2 FAQ: Writing a biography for guidelines and additional tips for writing bios.
Don't restrict your noding to an athlete's on-field performance. Make sure to mention their off-field exploits, their charity work, their philandering and wanton drug use. Paint a complete portrait. Also, include statistics when useful (for instance, listing Gordie Howe's season-by-season stats would be wasteful, but his career stats and a list of major records held wouldn't).
BE WARNED: The fine folks running this quest will check to make sure that your writeup is your own work. This means...
- No cut 'n' paste writeups. Failure to follow this simple rule will result in the nuking of "your" writeup and a likely cursing from the gods (scads of both XP lost and expletives gained).
- Attribute your quotes.
- Cite your sources. (Writeups that fail to cite their source material will see a reduction in their XP bonus.)
Also, please proofread your text. The last thing you want is to have the Typo Death Squad sicced upon you.
WHY?
Writeups that meet the criteria will get the usual bonuses associated with quest entries:
- Copious amounts of upvotes.
- C!hings (provided by yours truly and a few others from the e2biography usergroup and the e2sports bleachers).
- Blessings of 10-30 XP, doled out by the lovely and sensual wertperch.
- Increased exposure, as all submissions will be hardlinked from this writeup (see "The Medal Podium" and "The Peloton" below).
Why else? Submit an entry because you want E2 to know that your great uncle was an Olympic fencer. Do it because you want to disagree with discofever's belief that Brooks Robinson is the best third baseman to ever play baseball. Do it because you're a sports fan who wants an in to join us oh-so-exclusive e2sports types (really, we're just getting started, so /msg kthejoker if you're interested). Do it because you're obsessed with delving into the lives of other, more famous people (in which case, /msg shimmer to ask about e2biography). Do it because you want to node what you know. Or do it because you want to node what you don't know. Do it because you're an XP whore. Really, we don't care.
This place needs more actual jock content. Let's get started.
The Medal Podium
The best of the submissions.
The Peloton
These are the writeups that have been submitted for the quest thusfar.
Hall of Famers
These worthy writeups were completed before the quest began. Read through them to get an idea of what we're looking for in this quest.