Ramon Foster's still real!
Funny how this pandemic can still hit in the weirdest ways, but when the big man burst through our double-doors yesterday at the Downtown HQ/shop with a booming 'HEY!' it felt ... wow, different, seeing as I hadn't been around him in three years!
Anyone who knows Ramon would know what finally brought him back to Pittsburgh -- Pitt vs. his beloved Tennessee Vols today -- but he also made a full excursion out of it, attending a board meeting at Saint Vincent College, where he's long served with the Trustees, as well as catching up with a few old teammates, then accepting Mike Tomlin's invitation last night to have dinner with the rookies.
Amid all that, he found time to find us at 224 Fifth Avenue to check out the place and, as long as we were there, record this extra-fun episode of his Show that even had Dali get involved for the final segment:
A very good time was had by all. Really was.
As has been the case ever since Ramon joined our family in May 2020.
Those who are new here might not know that he first came aboard writing columns -- his choice -- and he was a big hit in that regard. But his day job in Nashville as a morning radio co-host started taking too much of a toll, we talked it out, and we switched it up to a video format that we'd do together. That grew over the course of a year and, this past spring, after another talking out, we decided to go daily. He was having a really good time with it, and he wanted to see where it could go.
Well, it's gone ... wild. We've got more than 10,000 viewers/listeners as a daily audience, with most of that coming on YouTube, where his show's already become No. 1 among Steelers fans, if setting aside content that comes from the team itself. And that's only growing. He had an episode a few days ago that found 9,266 viewers, plus two others that topped 8,000. And for anyone who doesn't know, that's pretty much what he'd get if he were on local TV.
Oh, and one last thing: He'll resume a little writing for us this fall, as well, with a regular report card right after each of the Steelers' 17 games!
MILITARY COUNT: 328 ALREADY!
Our annual Military Drive, which has a goal of funding 2,022 free subscriptions for our veterans, has taken off in the opening two weeks with 328 purchases, including enough to trigger longtime reader Todd Singleton's amazing challenge to match the first 100! (Which he did!)
To contribute one or more at $20 each, email me directly -- DK@DKPittsburghSports.com -- or stop in and see us Downtown to do that, as one longtime subscriber did yesterday!
HAIL AND FAREWELL, DALE!
For anyone who missed it earlier this week, Sunday will mark Dale Lolley's final day with us after five excellent years, as he embarks on his next adventure in the Steelers' employ.
There isn't much I can add that I didn't express already, except maybe to underscore that, in Week 1 of the NFL season, he remained the consummate professional and continued working here right through the season opener in Cincinnati, travel and all. Fulfilled every single assignment, finished each with the same passion, continued to communicate with readers ... the whole deal.
When we get more details, links, etc., to where our readers can continue to find Dale's work, I'll be sure to share it in this space and elsewhere.
INSIDE THE WORKS
• Chris Halicke, Dale and I will all be bound for Cincinnati today to cover the Steelers' opener. (In a fortunate scheduling twist, Chris will be able to stay there three additional days to cover Pirates-Reds.)
• Stop right now and go customize your bar at the bottom of the app with your favorite teams. Here's how. Also, just this week, at one reader's suggestion, we rearranged the available order to something more logical.
• This talk show's not yet ready for unveiling. When we do it, we'll do it right. I'm hoping for very soon.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page views for the past week were 381,567, with our goal being 500,000. Our most-read original piece was Dale's goodbye to readers, at 9,029. Broken down by team traffic, articles on the Steelers brought 20.9% of our readership, the Pirates 16.7%, the Penguins 7.7%, Penn State 3.9%, and Pitt 3.4%.
• On the multimedia front, our podcast downloads for the past week were 151,693, with our goal being 200,000, and our YouTube video views for the past week were 114,105, with our goal being 100,000.
• Our company social media accounts are at 46,963 followers on Twitter, 37,768 on Facebook, 14,605 on Instagram, 16,281 on YouTube.
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
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