Dear StampedeBlue Community,

This fan post concerns a research project involving StampedeBlue that I plan to work on in fulfilment of a Master’s degree in Digital Communication and Culture at the University of Sydney.

The study uses StampedeBlue as an example of an independent sports blog to analyse online fan activism as a continuation of traditional expressions of fan protest such as chants or sit-ins and argues that blogging differs from such means of fan criticism because it allows fans to voice their opinions individually and to present detailed solutions to perceived problems. The sample of my research will be articles (incl. comments) published on this blog between September 2011 and January 2012 that critically assess the performance of the Indianapolis Colts’ players, coaches, and management. I will employ a rhetorical analysis of these blog posts and include some content from the posts and comments as quotations in my study. My research will not be intrusive and I will not directly contact any members of the StampedeBlue community. However, I wanted to formally inform you, the members of the StampedeBlue community, before I commence my research. If you have any concerns about my research or would like your comments to be excluded from the project, please let me know in the comments section.

Thank you.