The life of a grad student and blogger is not a glamorous one, nor is it always very lucrative. As a result, I have a very difficult time saying no to anything that is free. This isn't usually a problem; overindulgence in swag bags, media guides and pregame meals may get you some odd looks, but your liver wont cirrhos as a result of it either. That is where I ran into problems at Blogs with Balls 3, by and large, the drinks were free.

Free Guinness at the Fifty/50? Sure, why not? $25 for all you can eat and drink at the Captain Morgan Club, that sounds like a deal! (Another tendency of mine, related to frugality as student for life, is that in an all you can ___ situation, I will get my money's worth.) Free boozy sweet tea at lunch? Of course! A four hour open bar at the Mystic Celt ... well you get the idea. With out going into too much detail, it is clear that I had a very good time this weekend, probably too good of time, but that is for me and my fragile endocrine system to worry about.

What is more important about the Blogs With Balls event, aside from the libations that kept the panels and conversation increasingly lively as the afternoon wore on, is learning that not only am I not alone in my nerdish/sports obsessed behavior, but I had finally found a place that I didn't have to be ashamed of it. Blogs with Balls  is not unlike a convention for insurance claims adjusters or morticians, a place where the misunderstood and alienated in our society can meet with one another and commiserate, but with lots more facial hair and beer.

As for the event itself, the series of panels on the important aspects of sports blogging, from ethics to technology to most importantly, gettin' paid, I didn't really know what to expect. obviously when you have representatives from companies like Proctor and Gamble or ESPN, there is only so much crazy and cursing that can take place.  After the adults left the room though, things did get a great deal more interesting.

The ethics panel and democratization of media panel were probably the two most raucous and stimulating that would take place, and without going into the drama too much, one lesson could be clearly taken away. As a blogger, it isn't only your credibility that you should be worried about, but the credibility of the entire blogging community.  It is true that if you misquote someone, or you post a rumor on the internet without a credible source, you will most directly suffer the consequences of your shoddy reporting, however, blogging is distinct from other forms of media in that there is no accreditation or professionalism automatically associated with it (thus democracy!) When an Ohio State beat reporter for the Columbus Dispatch messes up, no one thinks about removing the credentials for all the newspapers, but if a blogger messes up, it makes athletic departments and professional teams less eager to risk letting other bloggers have access. Like it or not, bloggers represent the entire medium, not just themselves, our credibility is viewed on the whole and not on an individual basis.

Continuing in the theme of representing bloggers as a whole, I was somehow entered into the Cuervo Games "athletic" competition in Wrigleyville after the panels concluded. Paul Banks of TheSportsBank.net, who was nice enough to put me up for the weekend, myself and three other bloggers from the Yardbarker network, we were tasked with physical challenges to prove our collective athleticism that were closer to Nickelodeon Guts than Beerfest (much to my disappointment.) Unfortunately, I failed to disprove the stereotype of bloggers being unathletic nerds, as the bruises (both flesh and ego) I have will no doubt prove. As can be expected though, I took my epic fails in stride, only cursing a little and hardly even crying at all!

If there is another lesson to be taken from the weekend, aside from not being over confident about my athletic prowess, is that no matter how mean and irreverent someone may seem on a blog, they are probably a really nice guy in person, and no matter how funny someone is online, they are twice as funny in real life. If nothing else, Blogs with Balls was a great opportunity to meet in person all the people I only know from emails and  blogposts. (How else could I have known that yes, that really is Brian Cook's real hairstyle?)