We're Going Interactive!

Big shock there, right? I've been talking about it for quite some time. But today I'm here to announce that it's actually going to happen and for those of you who are interested, I've got the full details all worked out.

How The Blog Began
So if you've been reading any of my head-to-head logo matches, you know my judgment isn't exactly... sound when it comes to these things. My intent was never to spout off my opinions of all the logos, but to get the opinions of others, I needed visitors. Which I didn't have.

When I started this blog, I'd be lucky to have 40 or 50 hits a day. Well, in just the past week or so, so many people have stumbled upon this site that our numbers are now averaging 3,000 to 4,000 hits per day. That's astronomical in comparison. We're also averaging about 2,000 individual visitors. Those numbers are stunning to me. As it stands now, for a site that's been up just about two months, we've already got over 50,000 total hits. You guys are awesome! Thanks for visiting!

You Can Vote Starting August 12!
Since that's now the case, I feel like it's time to make the switch to interactive. Beginning Sunday, August 12, YOU will decide which team is the logo champion. The part of the tournament that's going on now — we're going to call that Phase I — or rather more like a qualifying round. All 30 logos will be eligible for Phase 2 — or the Championship Tournament — and the current qualifying round will merely determine the placement of each team in a bracket-style setup.

Here's how it will work. The teams that finish No. 1 in the standings in each conference (as determined by my ridiculous judgment) will get an automatic bye in the first round since there are an odd number of teams. From there, the teams will be placed based on their seeding in the standings at the close of the qualifying tournament on August 10. No. 2 will face No. 15. No. 3 will face No. 14. No. 4 will face No. 13... and so on.

However, that is the last time my input will make any difference in the tournament as the logos will not be re-seeded after each round like the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs. If you don't quite follow, that's okay, you will.

How The Voting Will Work
As far as voting, it will start on August 12 like I said. The first poll will be posted and then there will be a new one every day until the end of the Championship Tournament. Each poll will stay active for one week. So if don't vote on the day it's posted, don't worry, you'll have plenty of time. This format means that readers who visit this site every day or every other day will have a new poll each time they visit. By the same token, those who visit only once or twice a week will still get to have their voices heard.

The poll format will be very simple. You'll be presented with both logos facing off in that day's match and you simply select the one you think is better (or your favorite). Click vote and consider your opinion heard. When the poll closes a week later, the post will be updated and the logo with more votes will be considered the winner and move on to the next round. (By the way, I haven't yet figured out what to do in the event of a tie so if you have any ideas, please send them in.)

Then once you've voted, you can talk about why you chose one logo over the other in the comments section and perhaps even try to persuade other readers to vote your way so your logo wins.

Other Notes
On August 10 or 11, I'll post the full schedule of the first round of the Championship Tournament. That can only be done when the qualifying round is over. At that point, I'll be placing a bracket at the top of the page so you can see where all the teams stand. Also, there will be a sidebar box that will let you know what polls are open so you know what you can vote on.

Anyway, I think it should be an exciting way to determine which team really has the best logo while keeping my opinion completely out of it. I hope you guys like the idea and will participate in the voting to make this tournament worthwhile. And I'd also recommend that you let all your hockey friends know so that they can come by and vote as well.

The Future Of The Tournament
One final subject I wanted to touch on. Depending on how popular the Championship Tournament ends up being, I'd like to keep this blog going for a long time to come. So once you guys determine a champion, it won't be over. We can continue it by holding a tournament with uniforms or vintage logos. There's all sorts of things we can still do so if you're interested, definitely drop me a line and let me know — or just vote starting two weeks from today!

For the record, I had a poll up for two weeks to gauge interest in voting on logos. When asked if you'd like to participate, out of 352 votes, only 10 (2%) said they wouldn't vote; 17 (4%) said maybe and 325 (92%) said yes in a rather lopsided finish. Huge thanks to everyone who voted!