The public feeds on inside information that is not common knowledge, especially regarding sports teams and athletes.
Junior Brooke Buringrud satisfies that hunger for Arizona volleyball fans. The outside hitter is the Wildcats’ residential blogger for www.arizonaathletics.com. Her 11 blogs through Monday share information about the team that only an insider can provide.
“”It’s a lot of fun and it comes natural,”” said Buringrud, an English major. “”I get to write about something that means everything to me. It’s a lot more fun to write in my own words about something that I love so much and about people that I love so much than writing a formal essay.””
Asked in August if she wanted to be the team’s official blogger – taking over for Kristina Baum, who held the position last season – Buringrud jumped at the chance.
There’s no jealousy. I’m not a writer. Brooke is a writer and everyone on the team knows it. I haven’t heard anyone say, ‘Oh, I wanted that job.’
– Randy Goodenough, opposite hitter
Since then, she’s written about everything from being tall (she’s listed at 6-foot-2) to being really tall with 3-inch heels on. She’s blogged about the team’s annual skit night, sweaty practices and being in a UA van when “”a little white Volvo swerved into our lane and STOPPED,”” causing the van to rear-end the car. And, of course, chunks about games, success and team camaraderie are spread throughout almost every entry.
“”I think it’s terrific,”” said UA head coach Dave Rubio. “”The more people can see what it’s like inside a student-athlete’s life, the better. And if it happens to be volleyball, that’s wonderful. There’s so much responsibility that student-athletes have throughout the day and the week and the year that providing an insight to those responsibilities is good for the general public.””
In her first blog, Buringrud explained that most of the players are only known by their numbers – they do not have their last names on their jerseys – and that her goal for the fans is to get to know the players better. But for the meantime, she ends every blog with “”Yours Truly, 99.””
Buringrud said the blogs take about five minutes each to write. Sometimes she gets some input about what to write from her roommate, opposite hitter Randy Goodenough.
Buringrud ended last Wednesday’s blog with “”Randy says hi”” before her signature ending.
“”She was on the couch writing a blog, and I was sitting there doing homework,”” Goodenough said, “”and I was like, ‘Tell everyone I said hi.’ “”
No one on the team is jealous of Buringrud’s blogging, Goodenough said.
“”There’s no jealousy,”” she said. “”I’m not a writer. Brooke is a writer and everyone on the team knows it. I haven’t heard anyone say, ‘Oh, I wanted that job.’ “”
Goodenough added that each blog contains secret messages written especially for the team, while still letting outsiders know how the team works.
Readers all over the country got a taste of Buringrud’s insights when she wrote for the Sports Illustrated on Campus’ Web site, www.SIoncampus.com.
She wrote the entry during the team’s Sept. 7-8 trip to Atlanta for the Regency Suites Classic, in which the Wildcats won all three of their matches. The blog was posted, along with five photos of teammates in the locker room and in the airport, on the site Sept. 18.
“”I had so much fun with it,”” said Buringrud, who wants to work with a sports magazine after college. “”It was a great opportunity for me and a great opportunity for our team. I loved doing it and would love to do it more often.””
The details of the trip included everything from airport security to eating habits on the road to seating arrangements in the vans – “”freshmen in the back and so on.””
After a day full of playing a match, watching another, eating, icing down and commuting to and from the hotel, Buringrud described an evening meeting in Rubio’s hotel room.
Each player, three coaches and a team manager packed into the room and watched film on the opponent they faced the next day, Georgia Tech, while looking over scouting reports of opposing players.
“”Brooke is such a good writer and has a good style about her,”” Rubio said. “”I read that particular article, and it was terrific. It gave a little insight about how it was on the road for us. It’s very much a business trip when we go out on the road, and I’m not sure how much people realize that.””
