Rice Freshman is the Brains
Behind U of M Diehards
By Evan Oesterle
Chieftain Staff
UofMdiehards.com is a blog website run
by Bobby Kunz ’19. The site is all Michigan sports, all the time, focusing mostly on
football and basketball. Featuring interviews
with recruits, commits and players, the blog
site has become very popular since 2014,
when Kunz started it. He has expanded the
site and now has about ten writers blogging
for him at any given time. Over 20,000 fans
follow the site on Twitter, with several thousand more following on Instagram and Face
book. Kunz sat down recently with the
Chieftain to discuss his creation.
Q: Would a site like this work as well
at another college, such as MSU?
A: I think so, yeah, branding it could
work. If I got older and went to a different college besides Michigan, or if I
have more time, then it’s something I
could make happen.
Q: Who was your first Twitter follower?
A: Ty
Little, one
of our
football
writers.
Q: Who
was your
first
famous
Twitter
follower?
A: Charles
Woodson.
Bobby Kunz
Q: Who is the most famous person
who has followed you?
A: Woodson.
Q: Have you used your account to get
any girls’ numbers?
A: No
Q: How’d you get so many followers?
A: Over time, you just start building followers by being featured in major sites’
articles like Bleacher Report and ESPN.
My tweets have been in their articles
when I broke a recruit’s commitment on
Twitter. That gains a lot of followers.
Q: How much money have you made
off of this?
B ROTHE R R I C E H I G H S C HO O L C H I E F TA I N
Spring Sports
Looking To
Repeat Success
Lacrosse seeks 14th
straight State title
By Jack Fitzpatrick
A: Usually, during football season we
make about $200 a month. During the
offseason, we make around $80 per
month. In total, I think I’ve made over
$2,000.
Q: Where does the revenue come from?
A: Google advertisements for sponsors
and apparel. Mostly the ads.
Q: Who are your best sponsors?
A: Fanatic U and Campus Den.
Q: What inspired you?
A: I always try to find a hobby, so originally I needed something to do. Also,
my mom is an alum, so they [Michigan]
have always been my favorite team.
Q: Is Harbaugh recruiting you? Is he
planning to spend the night at your
house?
A: No and no.
Q: Will you go to Michigan?
A: I hope so, it’s the dream.
Q: Who is your favorite past Michigan
player?
A: Tate Forcier – from my lifetime, at
least.
Q: Who is your favorite current Michigan player?
A: Jabril Peppers. But it was Sione
Houma last year.
Q: What are your favorite sports to
cover?
A: Football, hockey and basketball, in
that order.
Q: How do you balance this with your
schoolwork?
A: A lot of late nights. It’s tough, you
have to use most of your time.
Q: What is your long-term goal for U of
M Diehards?
A: Branch out and make ‘Diehards’ a
brand name, starting with the rest of the
B1G Ten.
PAGE 10
Chieftain Staff
The 13-time defending state champion lacrosse team will kick off the
season as a nationally ranked team.
They were 23rd in the nation in USA
Today and also first
in the state. They
are led this year by
attackman Morgan
Macko, defenseman
Brian Cosgrove and
goaltender Ross Reason. Expect them to
get their 14th straight
Ross Reason
State Championship
in June.
The baseball team starts this season
with one of the best pitching staffs
and baseball fields (Warrior Park) in
the state. Led by two Division 1-committed players, Mitchell Tyranski
(Michigan State) and Karl Kauffmann
(Michigan), the team will look to
make a run at their fourth consecutive
Catholic League title. If they can pick
up momentum going into the playoffs, they could challenge for a State
Title this year.
Chiebuka Onwuzurike, Jeremiah
Hollis, Liam Lynch and Gianni Wile
all will be important factors once
again for the track and field team.
Onwuzurike, Hollis, and Lynch are
all fantastic sprinters, while Wile runs
middle distances at some of the fastest
times in the state. As for the field side
of things, Octaveious Miles should be
a force in the shot put.
This year’s golf team will be led by
returning seniors Jacob Mazur, Sean
Abelarde and Davis Fryhoff, along
with a strong core of underclassman.
They will face tough competititon
from Catholic Central but, if everyone
is at their best, they will be a very
tough team to beat.
M A R C H 2016