Coming Soon: OTE is Changing Formats

Hey everyone. We’ll be coming out with more details later, but let me give you all a quick rundown on some exciting new changes coming to Off Tackle Empire.

First off: We’ve had a hell of a good time writing about Big Ten sports for you guys. Our community is amazing, our fans are loyal, and we’ve genuinely enjoyed giving you something to read at work all day while you wait for football to start. It’s been a hell of a ride.

Let me be clear: OTE isn’t going away. Most of the writers (read: those of us that couldn’t get other jobs) are staying on to keep entertaining you guys and “writing” about stuff we love. What we are doing is changing formats. While we currently cover B1G sports, in a few weeks we’ll be transitioning into a foodie blog. In May Off Tackle Empire will officially become Hot (Food) Takes.

Why the big change? Well, it’s partially an effort on our part to keep things fresh (like gourmet food) and partially a common interest of most of the “writers”.

But mostly it was Speth’s fault.

Allow me to explain. A few weeks ago Speth got frustrated with a few things happening behind the scenes with SBNation. He had a wee bit too much to drink, as Wisconsinites are wont to do, and decided to send the following letter to our bosses. I’ve cleaned it up as best as I can to try and keep it SFW.

Alright "mothership", I've been writing for your benefit for over 2 <redacted> years and let me say I have some things to tell your pompous mostly <redacted> asses. For starters, you guys <redacted> hate Wisconsin more than I hate my liver. Literally it must be written in your contracts that you get docked pay to say nice things about the Badgers.

Secondly, where's the respect for OTE? We're one of 10 most trafficked college football blogs and I know you <redacted> hate all of us, especially MNWildcat. Yes he is generally a deplorable human being, but he's 100% correct you guys are literally human <redacted>. We generate 100 times the traffic Team Speed Kills, but you hate us because the people love us. <redacted> our collective <redacted>.

Finally, I just want to say I hope Graham Filler takes over SB Nation as he rightfully <redacted> should and you all end up unemployed like the no talent hacks you are should be. Seriously I'm better at writing e mails after drinking whiskey on the rocks for 5 hours than you <redacted> are at writing sports articles. And you <redacted> canoes actually get paid to sports blog. Talk about winning the <redacted> lottery. I hope all the <redacted> you gave were worth it.

Yours Truly,

Thomas Speth

Wisconsin “writer”, Off Tackle Empire

As you can imagine this email was...problematic for us. Graham was able to save the blog with some clever legal maneuvering, but unfortunately this wasn’t the first time they’ve received such a letter from an inebriated member of the staff. Essentially SBN decided to contract their B1G coverage elsewhere, but mercifully decided to continue hosting us.

While we didn’t have to find a new home, we did have to find a new thing to write about. You know those disclaimers during ball games warning you not to discuss the events “without the expressed written consent of” whomever? SBN pays good money for that consent, and because of Speth’s actions they decided to grant it to someone else.

We know this is a big change for everyone, but all of us at OTE are really excited for the future. We’ll be sharing great cooking tips with you, as well as reviewing new beers and crafting some awesome recipes from around the Big Ten (you haven’t lived until you’ve tried WSR’s foie gras). Think of it as covering the tailgating instead of the football game.

So from all of the “writers”, thank you so much for your support. We promise you’re going to love Hot (Food) Takes just as much as you’ve loved OTE.