The Steel Corner
a column by Steelman

July 5th, 2019

For the Americans among us, we watched proudly while our skies were filled with explosions and our pets cowered in fear as we celebrated freedom, independence and the world's biggest birthday. (Don't fact-check us on that)

Here at Alternate History Sports, we've been gaining steam and seeing more creators join the herd since our founding on May 18th after the demise of our favorite fan fiction section. Established by Balu the Bare from seeing a need in the community, our little band of weary dreamers wandered in looking for a place of refuge for our most beloved creations. Balu and the mod team of myself, MyTeamIsDrPepper, and NoE38, have attempted to help foster a safe, welcoming, and encouraging environment for our favorite fictional subjects. A community isn't community without the help of everyone pitching in and I've been proud of our efforts thus far.

I believe we can continue building up this place and every thought, idea or constructive criticism is helpful and needed to gauge how we're doing at AHS. Don't hesitate to offer your suggestions and comments. That's how we grow together.

As of early July, after having had our doors open for almost 50 days, we have 59 registered users, and over 900 posts across 34 topics.

We have 1 basketball league by Magic Dynasty, 1 football league by DoctaC (Go Jacks!), 3 baseball leagues, including offerings from H-Town1141, MyTeamIsDr.Pepper, and jhxnhvhn. We also have a soccer simulation by JG36 that is going strong and steady. Hockey is popular at AHS, with 4 leagues from myself, Section30, 3pointtally, and JG36.

We're also the proud home of several fictional sports, including Zoneball by CCLXXXVI, Blockball by Nark24, Markball by NoE38, Dashball by ItDoesntMatter, along with some Aussie rules football by Goran The Man.

I'm proud of what we've done, and I'm looking forward to seeing more leagues created and current leagues develop. I like the community we're fostering and I'm hoping it continues to grow and flourish. More interaction, feedback, collaboration, and critique are all part of that growth. Don't be shy!

I believe I'm seeing more daily checking and browsing on the site which is encouraging. As a professional lurker myself at times, I'd encourage everyone to dive in even more and really help this community blossom. I've been enjoying digging into some of our fictional sports and other sports that I wouldn't normally be into following. I love seeing the growth of the designers around here. It's inspiring.

As a moderator, creator, and sports fiction fan, I just wanted to say thanks. If you haven't posted in awhile, or your series has stalled from life, or writer's block or whatever else, I'll leave you with my mom's favorite saying:

If you drop the ball, just pick it back up and run.

Cheers,
Steel