Interview With Cotter

When I announced that there would not be a Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament this year, I wrote that I wanted to interview my favorite former and current Pittsburgh bloggers. At the top of my list: Cotter of One For The Other Thumb. While OFTOT is no more, you can continue to follow Cotter on Twitter at @OFTOT.



Looking back on OFTOT, did you have a favorite moment in writing the blog?

Well, first of all, Sean, I take umbrage with your use of the past tense here. No, kidding…obviously OFTOT has been dormant for a while now, and there's no guarantee it'll ever be revived since I'm still getting routinely violated in the most uncomfortable of body cavities by work, AND I recently somehow managed to convince a woman to marry me (without any threats or coercion, thank you very much). Anyway, um, favorite moment? I guess if I had to pick one, it'd probably be when the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII, mostly because that happened during my reign, and because the Steelers won the Super Bowl (again). But in all honesty, I loved every minute of writing OFTOT. And what I really enjoyed were things like doing MPIE, and basically any time I had the pleasure of interacting with my Steelers fan brethren because of some words I wrote on the internet. So, I guess what I miss most is the camaraderie.

Did you miss writing about the Steelers last season?

Yes and no. I mean, I guess at least I picked probably the best season in the last few to ignore blogging completely. I'm still not even all that sure about what happened last season. Was that real life? But overall, yes, of course I miss writing about the Steelers. And making childish videos and photoshops, and giving players stupid nicknames, and generally being a pillar of internet jagoffery. Some part of me will always miss it... /sad face with tear

This could tie in to the previous question. You remain very active on Twitter. Did you find that this kept you involved with the Steelers last season?

Absolutely. The whole reason I started OFTOT in the first place was so that I'd have a place that would be globally accessible to my idiot friends where we could talk about the Steelers and make jokes that should only be funny to 14-year-olds. At least if I could do the same thing on Twitter on gamedays, I guess I figured that'd fill the void as best as possible. PS - follow me @oftot (#ihavenoshame).

I think I first learned about your blog through your weekly Meeting People Is Easy (MPIE) feature where you asked people, generally other bloggers, simple questions about the Steelers, Steelers players, songs and more. How did you come up with MPIE?

Haha, I almost wish you hadn't ask me that question, because the answer reveals how completely unoriginal and borderline copyright infringement it was. So, I used to have a subscription to Sports Illustrated (the print version...how cute, right?), and every issue they'd do this thing they called the "pop culture grid," in which they'd ask four athletes a number of questions about random [stuff] and print their answers. I guess it was an attempt to humanize them. Anyway, I doubt anyone really cared about it in SI (because it was generally about as exciting as a 2x4 to the face), but I saw potential. So, I basically decided to rip it off and make it better - give it some attitude, and ask questions that might actually lead to interesting answers. Thus, MPIE was born. Actually, even the title was a wholesale copy job. I took it from a documentary I saw in college about Radiohead of the same name, which, PS, if you're into Radiohead, watch that [stuff] ahora. But yeah, I just thought it'd be fun to get to know pillars of the sports blogosphere, and especially OFTOT readers better by asking them the most inane questions I could imagine. And it was. For me. And probably no one else, hahaha.

I really enjoyed your pregame videos with Tecmo of PSAMP. Any chance for a reunion for the 2013 season?

That's a better question for Tecmo. I'm ready when he is.

With the Steelers coming off of an 8-8 season, what do you think the Steelers need to do this off-season?

Alright, so I actually waited to answer this question until most of the free agency grabassery was behind us, but, all I would say is - fill the holes. They now have a pretty clear idea of where they'll either need guys to step up, or where they'll need to draft someone. I'm more concerned with the latter than the former. I think having a kickass draft is a big time necessity this year. Get some guys who are ready to contribute at least in the next couple of years. That, and regain control of the clubhouse culture, because whatever happened last season was a joke. Also, confiscate all of LaMarr Woodley's internet-connected devices, and teach Antonio Brown how translate hashtag into English. But most of all, for Steeler nation - keep the faith. It's easy to be a reactionary. And believe me, it's not like I've taken any of this offseason's events without pounding a few beers. But, what would Mike Tomlin do? There is nothing to get fired up about until there's something to get fired up about. Let things happen, and hope for the best. One of the best things about being a Steeler fan is that no matter how you think things will go, the Steelers often surprise you when you least expect it. And with that, I bid you all adieu. Until we meet on the internets again, I love you all. And especially you, Sean. Adios, bitches.


Thanks again to Cotter for participating in this interview. Make sure that you follow him on Twitter.