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Ball Street - Blog Posts
Ball Street Job Opportunity
Role: Ball Street short term paid internship (London)
Start date: Immediate (August 2013)
Ball Street is a new football media company that makes original football content for digital platforms. For additional background, please visit the following links:
http://ballstreet.tumblr.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/Ballstreetchannel
Overview
We are offering a 4-6 week internship for the right candidate
to work with us on an exciting project. The role would suit
someone who is keen to get a grounding in sports media with
an exciting start up business and who has a genuine passion
for football. Tasks may include, but are not limited to,
research, editorial input, video production and office
management.
Ideal for someone within a reasonable distance of London,
the role will pay the minimum wage (up to £6.19 per hour).
Ideally you’ll have your own laptop but this is not essential.
Desired experience
Football fanatic with a good understanding of what Ball Street represents
Sound knowledge of existing and emerging social media platforms
Knowledge of the football media landscape and blogosphere
Previous video editing, blogging or writing experience a plus
Solid writing and communication skills
Excellent research skills and a keen eye for detail
Confident telephone manner, energy, focus and ambition
Applications from graduates welcome but not essential
How to apply
Send a CV and covering letter with any relevant examples of football writing or video production by email to clubtogether@ballstreet.co.uk and reference Ball Street Internship in the title.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Episode 3 of Ball Street's 451 show with Ian Wright.
Which of these feet did the 239 league goals come from?
#BallStreet92
Ball Street is for all fans, all teams and we will dedicate our following to the record attendance of every team that our twitter following reaches.
Our Header image will change as our twitter following reaches the record attendances of all 92 English League Clubs.
We have already hit a few of these attendances, but live today is Aldershot Town to mark their record gate of 7500.
We would like to thank @UrbanArtCrew who we met on Twitter, for this and many other brilliant ideas.
The Beast, Ade Akinfenwa of Northampton Town, surprises Wrighty on set during episode two of 451.
Here's the intro to our new show 451 over at www.youtube.com/ballstreet
We're talking #Top3Foreigners on our 451 show: This man would have been in there if the internet was around back then!
David Ginola au Matra Racing. (1988-90).
This was an honour...
Everyone follow @ball_street and check out this video!! bit.ly/451Promo can't wait to watch the show @ianwright0 !!
— Mo Farah (@Mo_Farah) March 26, 2013
Real fans clubbing together
At the weekend we learned a lot about what #ClubTogether is. It's fans standing up against the status quo. Fans realising that, to make a difference, we can work together and get the things we want.
In the case of Jack Cox and everyone connected with Bath City FC, it was getting exposure and getting people to #PackThePark to #SaveBathCity.
Jack invited us to City, a club in danger of folding unless they sell the home they have played at since 1932.
@ball_street you guys should come to Bath City on Saturday and experience rival teams #ClubTogether to help a non league club.
January 28, 2013
At Bath, we met fans that are willing to step forward and make a difference; fans that are tune with what football should be.
Jack, a Bristol City fan, started a Facebook page to get fellow Robins to #PackThePark at Bath. Joining Jack were fans from clubs across the country - from the Bristol clubs to Luton, Swindon, Plymouth, Tranmere and Chelsea.
What we love about Jack is that he didn’t just stand by and watch. He didn’t want to accept that a local club should be allowed to die and be ignored by a media focussed on catering to a mass market. He has tried to connect with people and do something about it.
We started using #ClubTogether because we believe fans of all clubs can change things by working as one. We have a vision where the league a club is playing in doesn’t determine the quality of insight and coverage that it gets and if we club together we can change things.
But as Jack has shown, #ClubTogether is much bigger than that - use it to tell us what's important to you and your club.
If you want to get involved, then get in touch via twitter @ball_street, www.facebook.com/BALLSTREET or drop an email to clubtogether@ballstreet.co.uk.
Ball Street is looking for talent!!
So, what is exactly is Ball Street?
Many of you have been asking the same thing. What is Ball Street?
Ball Street is an idea, a vision, where the size of a club, and the league it is playing in doesn't determine the quality of insight and the level of coverage that the club gets.
We understand that more people are always going to watch Top 6 games, and that things aren't going to be solved overnight, but if we #ClubTogether believe we can change things.
The start
Ball Street started as a small collective of football fans (including Luton, Huddersfield, Forest, Leeds and Rangers) who shared the view that most proper football fans are missing out. With a few skills and experiences in production and sports media, we reached out to Ian Wright to see if he wanted to be a part of it.
Fans of most teams would have admired the passion he showed on the pitch, but most important to us, Ian knows the value of all clubs and the role football plays in our culture.
Before our meeting with Ian, he sent this tweet. The response was fantastic and like he said to us, "we gotta get something done".
Serious question peeps - Who do you support and do you get what you need in terms of media coverage?
January 21, 2013
THANKS 4 amazing response.Most fans not happy with their teams coverage. Me and @ball_street are gonna take this on. Will need help tho!!
January 21, 2013
Having Ian Wright on board is huge for the cause. He has profile; he has experience; he has contacts; and he wants to be part of something that benefits the game he loves. But he can't do it alone, and neither can we. We need your help.
Where are we heading?
It's too early to say exactly what Ball Street will become. You're with us here on the ground floor as we start out on this journey.
At the very least, we're going to create a digital football show with Ian Wright that provides a platform for, and can be shaped by, fans of all teams.
Consider our first production a pilot; a co-production created with your help and contributions. We can shape something that we all want to see.
We don't have the funds of resources of the big boys, just a few quid that we've cobbled together from friends and family.
We have many ideas about how we can work with fans, bloggers, established media companies and other organisations, and judging by your tweets and emails so do you. So keep them coming, keep believing and please look out for, watch and contribute to our first show.
WIN A SIGNED PELE or MARADONA SHIRT
The Ball Street #clubtogether competition. Click this link (http://bit.ly/SRSBRW) for how to enter and T&C's. Good luck!!
Pele and Maradona competition: terms and conditons
OPEN TO:
All fans, of all teams.
GUIDELINES:
Send a picture of your teams football shirt for a chance to win a signed jersey from Pele or Maradona.
Ball Street wants all fans to #ClubTogether so that we can create better coverage for all fans of all teams.
You can enter via 3 routes, just follow the instructions and read the terms and conditions below:
HOW TO ENTER:
Upload a picture of your team's shirt to Twitter and mention @ball_street.
Remember to also type both the hash tag - #ClubTogether and also a hash tag for the name of the team (e.g. #pompey) on the picture.
You must be a follower of @ball_street on Twitter to qualify.
Upload a picture of your teams shirt to Instagram.
Include the hash tags #ClubTogether #ballstreet and #YourTeamNameHere (e.g #PartickThistle) on the upload.
You must be a follower of ballstreet on Instagram to qualify.
Upload a picture of your team's shirt to our page.
State your teams name on the post.
Like our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/BALLSTREET
GENERAL CONDITIONS
Must be an actual shirt that you or someone owns, not just a picture from the internet.
You may enter as many times and as you like using the methods above, provided each picture submitted contains a different kit (i.e. it can be the same team, but must be from a different season or home/away etc.).
One entry will be drawn at random from the entries received from each of the following channels: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Those three finalists will be entered into final draw, where again the winner will be drawn at random.
The winner will be asked to choose their prize, either a signed Pele Brazil shirt or a Argentina jersey signed by Diego Maradona.
Employees of Ball Street Ltd. and their relatives are not permitted to win the prize.
Our ability to control User Generated Content is limited, however Ball Street Ltd. reserves the right to disqualify and/or block any entrant who is deemed to be, in the opinion of Ball Street Ltd, abusive or misusing the services.
Closing date TBC.
The decision of Ball Street Ltd. is final.
UPDATE - the people have spoken
What a 24 hours that has been. Couldn’t sleep for excitement and my eyes are so sore from reading the whole of Twitter last night. Thought it would be good to take stock of where we are.
Firstly, this is our company blog. The company was only formed recently, but Ball Street is an idea that Stuart and I had a good while back.
“Most fans are underserved by the media”
We loved the response to Wrighty’s tweets. Many fans see it the same way we do: most teams get 30 seconds of highlights per week with little insight.
@ianwright0 Coventry and about 2 minutes on the football league show. Not enough media for outside prem in general given fan base.
— Gilby (@skybluegilby) January 21, 2013
@ball_street Everton main one, we could win the league and the media would talk about the rest of the prem having a off day.
— Ian McMenemy (@ianmc23)
@ball_street Fantastic! Hopefully more fans get on board and you + fans as a collective can really make a difference.
— Nick Murphy (@NickDRFCMurphy) January 21, 2013
That's just a fraction of the responses, with many supportive of the idea that fans outside the top 6 are underserved by the media.
To clarify, we're not having a pop at the BBC Football League highlights show, or questioning the logic of Sky showing the matches that generate the most viewers. However, we are questioning the lack of depth and quality of the media coverage outside the top 6 in general and we want to help make a change.
We don’t have all the answers, but we do want to be a part of the solution. We want to improve the media experience for all fans.
As Wrighty says:-
Morning all, overwhelmed by the response yesterday. @ball_street are you watching? The people have spoken - lets get something done!!
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) January 22, 2013
Some old friends and many new friends and followers have rallied to the cause, asking to help out.
We’re meeting up with Wrighty and the others today to discuss what we can do. This feels like the start of something big.
Matt, football fan/dreamer
Isn't every league a 'premier' league?
by Matt, Ball Street
First things first, this isn’t it. People keep asking what we’re up to and we’ve some exciting things in the pipeline - more of which soon. For now we thought we’d do a blog to introduce ourselves and tell you about where we are coming from.
I’m a Huddersfield Town fan. In all my time watching the Terriers we’ve never graced the top flight of English Football. But every year, we’re in a league that matters more to me. Last year it was League One; this coming season it will be the Championship.
Now, like me, something like 80% of fans that actually attend matches support teams outside the top 6. You wouldn’t think that from the coverage our teams receive or the quality of the analysis.
Sure, Man United’s global fanbase of 333 million has to be catered for, but are the majority of football fans in the UK getting what they need from the media?
It’s still the usual suspects serving up the same old, pre-packaged lack of coverage be it on telly or online. In our version of the ‘Usual Suspects’, the greatest trick the devil pulled was convincing the world that there was a ‘premier’ league so that we put up with this.
We don’t hate the Premier League, far from it. We just think that every league is a premier league, and there should be a place where all fans, all teams, get the top six treatment.
Over the coming months and years, Ball Street’s going to try to do something about it.
twitter: @Ball_Street
The heart of football
by Stuart, Ball Street
I was going tell you about Ball Street, however I can’t let events at Ibrox pass without comment.
It’s a tale of self-destruction with a vengeance, true of all parties involved in the toxic cauldron of Scottish football. But that’s for another day. Today let me tell you a story about football and the fan.
Rangers are the club of my uncles, two of whom had heart attacks at Ibrox watching the Rangers. One sadly passed; the amazing medical staff in the ground saved the other, who was the first to take me every other week.
It’s also the club of my late father, who worked on the rebuilding of the Main Stand and salvaged the old wooden seats and fittings to craft a handsome fireplace for his living room. Every time we went to the back shops, we would occasionally stop by old Jimmy’s to see if he needed any messages. Only later did I find out that Jimmy was Jimmy Smith, scorer of 225 goals in 234 appearances for Rangers between 1928 and 1946.
I know my history. I know that a love that’s been shared by generations of my family doesn’t exist on the balance sheet of Sevco 5088. The club can’t be taken away by liquidation, player departures, rulings or the ill-feeling of others.
A football club lives only the hearts of its fans. That’s true of any club. As Kevin Drinkell said recently: “Rangers fans who were supporters yesterday will still be supporters today. That's the bottom line.”
Sure it will be hard to see the likes of Naismith and McCabe grace other arenas - they've lost their chance to be legends - but Ibrox will always have its heroes. There may well be a succession of journeymen on the horizon who might never have climbed the marble staircase, but among them will be legends that we’ll still talk about in years to come.
Like many others, I’ve long said we should start over in Division Three. We should take our medicine and let others have theirs. I’ll look forward to Glasgow derbies with Queen’s Park and trips to Montrose where we holidayed as kids. And then I’ll be able to tell you more about why every league is a premier league.
What's in a name?
According to the Royal Mail there are only six Ball Streets in the UK, all in North West England.
We didn’t live on one of those but, even though we all come from opposite ends of the country, we grew up on a ball street: a terraced arena, in footballing heartlands like Glasgow, Manchester, Luton and, er, Wakefield. Playing the game in its simplest form, where the kerb completed more passes than Iniesta.
That’s where the name Ball Street name from, but behind it lies something much bigger.
So they've built a brand, sold naming rights and corporate packages. But no-one in football got rich on their own. The fat cats would be nowhere without your season ticket money, the shirt on your back and the Sky subscription. Sure, the game needs money. It even needs brands. But part of the game is to be a good sport and look after the game handed down to us by our fathers. Ask yourself: are they playing fair?