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Who can contribute to this Web site
Anyone.

I expect contributions from:

• active football coaches, perhaps anonymously
• retired football coaches
• active football players
• former players
• fans who never played the game
• women
• children
• sports writers
• college and university students and professors
• officials (often erroneously called referees)

In particular, I do not care whether you have any football playing or coaching background. I do not care if you are a ten-year all-pro or a ten-year-old girl.

What I have always thought about most was the question of ‘How do you find better evidence about the issue?’ I was trying to say things that were objectively true, regardless of who was saying them…the ‘community of experts’ resented this, because it impicitly undermined their authority. …where there is no clear and convincing evidence, the opinion of the most learned expert is not significantly more reliable than the opinion of the layman. If an undergraduate with a C average can show by clear and convincing evidence that leading scientists are wrong about something, the scientists will not say, or should not say, ‘Who are you to argue with Jonas Salk?’ What counts is evidence, not the authority of the person making the claim.
Bill James, baseball analyst

Most people who have played, coached, or just paid attention to football for whatever reason have had thoughts along the lines of, “How come they never do such-and-such?” If you are one of them, please send me the idea.

That is not to say I will publish every cockamamie idea I receive. No. Rather, I will screen them and publish only the good ones. My main point is that I will evaluate whether your idea is a good one strictly on its merits. I will not reject a good idea because it came from someone who has little or no playing or coaching experience. Nor will I publish a lousy idea just because it comes from an experienced player or coach.

I will be glad to give credit for each idea to the person who suggested it. I will also keep the identity of the contributor who suggested the idea secret if I know it and the contributor requests anonymity. And I will publish good ideas that come from anonymous sources where I do not know their identity. In other parts of my Web site—like testimonials for my books—I will not publish anonymous emails.

To contribute an idea or comment to this Football Think Tank web site, either email to johnreed@johntreed.com or fax to 925-820-1259 or snail mail at 342 Bryan Drive, Alamo, CA 94507.

Best wishes,

John T. Reed

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