Meet the New Writers

Did you know that RCT has hired a new writing staff? No? Well let me be the first to introduce Nick, Charles and Tim. Nick joins as the new site manager while Tim and Charles will be taking care of other writing duties. I sat down with the new staff and conducted the most rigorous interview since Frost/Nixon. Enjoy

Welcome to the site! Give us a little background into who you are as a writer and your experiences.

Nick: I currently work in social media marketing in the real world, so I’m pretty much writing all the time. In the past, I wrote about KU Athletics in my free time for a company I will not name (it rhymes with PamSided).

Charles: I put a lot of time and effort into being a writer. I like doing research and learning everything about a particular topic before shedding light onto it. My favorite types of articles to write are features about student athletes, coaches, or a particular moment.

I have been writing since high school as a member of the school paper. It continued into college as I contributed articles to the college newspaper and for the local TV station. I also have experience in sport broadcasting, radio and television production, and website management.

Tim: I have spent most of my work life as a software programmer, so my writing is limited to technical documentation of projects I have been involved in.

How long have you been a KU fan? What is your favorite memory of KU sports?

N: I’ve been a KU fan my entire life. My favorite memory is me jumping around my room in excitement after Mario hit the shot in 2008.

C: I have been a KU fan since birth. I still remember my first Allen Fieldhouse experience back when Greg Ostertag played. My favorite memory of KU sports unfortunately happened while I was a student at that other Kansas school (It was a terrible decision, I left after a year) ... it was when KU won the national championship in 2008. Some of my fraternity brothers were also “secret” KU fans and we watched the game and then went to Aggeyville to celebrate. It was a fun memory even though it took place in Wildcat land.

My other favorite memory was winning the Orange Bowl in football. I am hopeful under coach Leipold we can soon return to the glory days of Jayhawk football.

T: My KU fandom started about the time Danny Manning stepped on campus. Up to that point I was indifferent to college sports in general, but with his arrival in Lawrence there was a local team with a shot at winning on a national level and that caught my interest.

My favorite memory is watching the end of the 2008 championship game with several family members. We had to cheer silently because there were people in the house sleeping and they could not be disturbed. The moment I remember most specifically is KU bringing the ball down the court for what would be Mario Chalmers iconic shot and all of us sitting in the dark with the TV on and our fingers crossed hoping for a three-point shot to fall, and when it did the silent mayhem that broke out is something I will never forget.

How familiar were you with RCT prior to your hiring?

N: I wasn’t a die-hard fan, but I was familiar with RCT prior to my hiring. I always respected the passion from the commenters

C: I was not very familiar with RCT prior to getting hired. However, I did know about SB Nation. I had a former coworker who writes for Camden Chat and from hearing about his experience I wanted to get involved. Nothing better then covering KU athletics.

T: I found RCT about 5 years ago when I was trying to find a podcast about KU football, and I found Andy Mitts’ podcast which in turn led me to RCT. From that point I have been a regular reader of the site.

What would you like to see happen with the site now that you are a staff member?

N: My number one goal is to increase traffic and brand awareness for RCT. I just want this to be the number one website for KU fan generated content

C: I want to provide opportunities for all KU athletics to be covered. Currently, the golf team is ranked nationally. Our women’s basketball team won a tournament game for the first time in a long time. With that being said, I want to get engaged with the active membership of the site and get to know everyone better and find out what they want covered as well.

T: Outside of the obvious continuation of good content around basketball and football, I would like to see an increase in content around non-revenue, Olympic sports. Not just when a particular team is having a great year, like volleyball in recent seasons or women’s basketball this past season, but a regular round up of the other teams at KU.

Tell us a bit about yourself outside of KU athletics? (hobbies, interests, real life job, etc)

N: I grew up about 20ish minutes outside of Lawrence, so I’m a big fan of the local teams (SportingKC, Chiefs, Royals). I also love spending time with my wife and daughter, playing pick-up basketball, watching paranormal shows, and drinking craft beer. I’m not a very interesting guy.

C: I work in athletics as the Sport Information Director at Pratt Community College. Besides being a avid sports lover I enjoy watching movies and tv shows. I am also a gamer.

T: My real-life job is software programming. For those wanting specifics, I coded in COBOL for a long time and now code mainly in C# and Angular.

My interests outside of KU Athletic are mainly gaming, brewery exploration, and USC Trojan football. I play Fortnite (poorly) on a regular basis, and I really enjoyed the Uncharted series. I enjoy exploring the brewery scene of the Kansas City area, or really any city I happen to be in. I also spend a fair amount of time keeping up with and watching USC Trojan football. Though I have a graduate degree from KU and several members of my immediate family have degrees from KU, I got my undergraduate degree from USC and do my best to keep up with the football team.

RCT History Quiz

What did Tyshawn Taylor do at the end of a 2012 game which led to the longest and more bitter debate in RCT history?

N: Not sure which 2012 game you’re talking about. I also wouldn’t know the answer if I did.

C: He attempted to dunk the ball... now should he have I will leave that up for debate

T: No idea. Did he express admiration for MU after beating them in overtime in Lawrence? I can believe that would get people spun up.

A former commenter wrote a 10,000-word thesis on what disease in the fanpost section?

N: Lyme Disease

C: I have no idea... I highly doubt it is COVID related... maybe excuseitis...how about march mania- a sickness to take off work in March

T: Again, no idea. My guess is the commentator detailed what I think of as Jayhawkenvyitis. This being a condition mainly exhibited in non-inoculated persons and having symptoms that include feelings of inferiority and envy, and a Tourette’s like uncontrolled verbal tic of uttering something that sounds suspiciously like “chicken awk”. It is a horrible and wholly preventable disease.

A writer from Bring On the Cats did what after ripping up his fingers while dunking a basketball during his lunch break?

N: No idea

C: Blamed it on a KU fan... what else do K-State fans do. If not that then they provided it as a reason to fire Bruce Weber

T: Sounding like a broken record, but again no idea. My hope is he tore off his shirt, wiped the blood oozing from his fingers across his face and body and walked back into work as if nothing happened.

What is the mascot for Iowa State?

N: Hawkeyes

C: I know the site calls it something different... I cannot remember. I definitely say it when I was looking through articles recently.

T: This seems like the one I know at least in part, but I have a feeling it is a trick question. Isn’t the bird Cy? If there is more to it maybe “Cy the sorry sack”.