P4- Original Article

Messi. Ronaldo. Neymar. We know them as superstars of the footballing world. We associate these names with extra-terrestrial like talent, nifty footwork, and the roar of whatever crowd they’re playing in front of. On the subject of the crowd, let’s not undermine the importance of the role they play. Without crowds turning up to watch them, these ordinary people and their freakish talent wouldn’t have a job.


In the first paragraph I used names of well-known footballers in order to grab the interest of the reader. This would be especially effective if the reader isn't interested in local football that much and prefers football on a larger scale, it gives them something to relate to. I also used simple adjectives so that the article can be read and understood by most people of any age. I used these first parts of the opening paragraph to move onto the topic of my article while I still knew I had their interest. I couldn't leave introducing my article too long otherwise the reader may have lost interest by that point.

The so called 12^th man encourages players in an electrifying fashion, with the buzz of hearing your name being incorporated into a song, or hearing a thunderous applause after a victory being a luxury only shared by the infamous gladiators of the Roman Empire. Though these intense levels of support can be found at the top of the game, local teams don’t attract the same sort of attention. Most would say this is deserved, as of course players of the superstar caliber are not found on every field throughout the world. However, this does not mean local teams do not deserve any support. As it’s vital to remember that the big-name players of today all had to start somewhere.


In the second paragraph I used fun adjectives such as "electrifying". These are easily read and appeal to my younger demographic. I used adjectives to describe a desirable situation to the reader, attempting to create imagery to engross the reader in the article.

 

Just think, have you ever supported your local team? The most common answer to this question would be humongous no. From a survey I conducted, *74% of people told me that they didn’t even know who their local club were, and 70% told me that they had never been to watch them play. Reasons for this were quite simple. People simply don’t get told. Unless you know someone involved with the club, the likelihood is that you have no idea who they are, who plays for them, or when they even play.


In the third paragraph I began to use statistics to make the article informative, rather than it just trying to be entertaining. The statistics I used were found by myself when conducting a survey while gathering information for the article. My results created a bias to base my article around (that nobody goes to watch their local team), so it meant I could word the article with the idea in mind that nobody watches their local team and that this needs to change. 

 

So what’s the answer? How can the situation that low level, local football is facing be fixed? There may not be one certain answer, but social media is a good place to start. Personally, I live in a small town called Lydiate, here we have Lydiate FC. The club has their own Twitter account that regularly updates its followers and attempts to foster some anticipation for games. It’s simple, but it works. Crowds turn up to the games and the team receive the support it craves.

 
I began this paragraph with a rhetorical to get the reader thinking. This engages them with the article more and assists in keeping their interest. I also made sure to meet my requirement by referring to my own local club and explaining how they solve the problem that the article is addressing. This meets the magazines niche of local football.

So what social media should you use? With the notorious reputation of the straightforwardly named ‘Football Twitter’, you’d think that was the platform local football could call its home. From my survey, 46% of people said they use Twitter. It’s currently working for Lydiate FC, so why not? Well there’s another contender for the title. 76% od people wrote that they used Instagram. This overwhelming victory has changed the tie significantly. The ‘explore’ page and local ‘story’ feature could get a club’s name out there, and could give fans of larger, more corporate teams, a more personal, homely experience.

 
In the fifth paragraph I used more of the statistics I gathered during my market research to suggest to anyone involved in local football what they could do to solve their problem of very little support. I suggest the types of social media that my research told me was popular. Once again my article became more informative and potentially of use for local teams.

If you’re still reading this and haven’t thought about finding out more about your local club, who they are, where they play. Why not? What have you got to lose? Local football is important to the sport and you never know, if you don’t go and watch, you might miss the next Messi.


In my closing paragraph I asked a few rhetorical questions to engage the user for one last time and I linked it back to the beginning of the article in which I named popular players. As "Messi" is a name that carries weight in the footballing world I believed it was appropriate to name him again.

 

*one person skipped this question, which is why the statistic after it is lower.