Elias Fandemonium
I’ll admit it: bloggers tend to read each other’s blogs, and probably some large percent of my readership comes from John, the -ookies, Josh/Patty/crew, and my parents. Actually, once you subtract out the usual suspects, I think the Snowman gets more views from random Google searches than from a dedicated and loyal base. But I digress….
John Fisher’s In Lou We Trust is a regular read of mine, and this entry about Patrik Elias’ fan page forced me to click through and become a fan. Well, more of a fan. We already have the signed jerseys, hats, pucks and sticks; we have more Elias swag than the Devils Den, and somewhere upstairs in the maelstrom known as the Bubba Lair there are approximately 700 Patrik Elias hockey cards that chronicle his career from Albany to the strike (at which point hockey cards became less interesting).
So just how nuts can you go over Patty? How about his Czech language vanity site that has some really funny “back when” photos of Lil’Patty and the history of his hair coloration. Wish I spoke Czech, because it seems like there’s better game by game commentary there than on any NHL affiliate site (hullo, Inka, help please?). I’m now an Elias follower on Twitter, such that social media imitates real life. Here’s hoping that Elias’ twitters go beyond “first post” status and give us some interesting commentary; it’s hard to live your life publicly 140 (non-accented) characters at a time, but that fuels the fandemonium as well. And before anyone says “hej, why are you posting Elias’ twitter feed on your blog,” uh, that’s the idea — the more people who follow him, the more of his fan base he can reach in micro-content update form, and the more connected those fans feel. It’s a good thing, coupled with the Facebook and web presences.