Rhetorical Analysis of SBNation.com

The author's’ purpose for writing the blog, SB Nation, is to give the audience a daily, in depth look into the broad world of sports in the United States of America. SB Nation is one of the top sports blogs in North America, writing stories on breaking news and recaps of the weekend’s big games, as well as having smaller blogs for individual sports teams (for example, the blog for the North Carolina State Wolfpack is “Backing The Pack”). According to SBNation.com, “ SB Nation provides the highest-quality coverage, commentary, and community during the season, in the offseason, on gameday, and beyond —which is why our partners see industry-leading performance year-round. Our team-specific coverage is enhanced by experiential pieces showcasing the sights, sounds, tastes, and traditions that touch every modern sports fan's life, as well as the cultural implications that go beyond the field.” The blog uses interviews, videos, social media, and articles to convey its information to the audience. SB Nation is key source for any avid sports fan.

So who reads SB Nation? According to a study SB Nation conducted, 80.2 million people read the blog, 71% of the readers being male. The majority of males that read the blog are between the ages of 18-34. Readers of SB Nation are 2 times more likely to be a sports fan or sports enthusiast. One way SB Nation separates itself from other sports blogs is how well it interacts with its audience. Each day, SB Nation receives an average of 91,000 comments on their blogs. This blog also makes it easy for their audience to read stories and get up to date information on sports through their mobile app and social media pages. In fact, 62% of the total minutes the audience spent reading SB Nation was on mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablets. The blog’s Twitter page has 2,217,437 followers, which posts breaking news and links to headline stories.

Why do so many people read and trust SB Nation? As for reading, the site is visually attractive to anyone. The blog has a unique logo, which consists of the title in large, bold font beside a large, red star. Most headline articles have visual aids such as videos or photographs related to the topic. Another reason so many people read this blog is the fact that they have a blog for any type of sports fan. SB Nation consists of 307 blogs, including a blog for every professional football team, baseball team, hockey team, basketball team, soccer team, most division one collegiate teams, golf, stock car racing, cycling, wrestling, and even running. Readers trust information from SB Nation because of the group of authors’ vast knowledge for sports.

An example of a typical article posted by SB Nation is a preview story on an North Carolina State football fans. The author, Akula Wolf, states his opinion clearly that Eastern Kentucky is a second class team that does not stand a chance against the Wolfpack. Like most articles in SB Nation, it is not long. This fits the modernized idea of SB Nation. It is a quick read and gives information to the reader in a timely manner, so he can move on to something else.

Another example of a typical article posted by SB Nation is an editorial on a specific sport. For instance, SB Nation posted a headline story about potential changes to college football in the future, 3 Pretty Easy ways To Make College Football Better. This editorial, by Faux Pelini, describes what the author thinks should be done to make college football even more fun. Unlike the last example, this article covers all demographics of the audience. Headline stories like this one are used to capture the reader’s attention as soon as they open the blog up. An article that asks “what if?”, like this one, is a great way to get the audience involved in the article. This article speaks to readers about the future their favorite sport.

It is articles like the 2 above from SB Nation that make them so attractive to sports fan. This blog gives fans, of almost any sport, an in depth look at the sports they love. From college football to professional wrestling, there are articles for any fan.

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