That's right, ladies and gentlemen. . .exactly two years ago, this humble little website became an official part of SBNation and the football blogging landscape at large, as I made the initial posting and introduced myself to all of you. (Well. . .all 4 or 5 people that were probably reading the site back in the early days. And I know for sure that at least two of those people live in the same house, because those people are myself and my wife.)
The very first actual news story on the site came the next day, as we discussed a topic that would be near and dear to this site as our existence began. . .the perpetual soap opera that was Koren Robinson's stint in Minnesota. Boy. . .did that go from "not a big deal" to "Oh my God, you idiot" in a hurry.
We've been here for 14 Vikings victories and 18 Vikings losses, as well as 8 pre-season contests. Hopefully the 2008 season will bring those numbers closer to being even. But those 32 Sundays have been filled with pretty much every emotion of the human spectrum. . .happiness, excitement, elation, anger, frustration. . .you name it, I've experienced it here on this site. And, quite frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way.
I'd like to thank the folks at SBNation for taking a chance on a guy with no real journalism or even blogging experience. I just wanted a shot to write about my favorite team on a regular basis, and asked the folks in charge at SBNation if they could use someone to do it. All I had to show them was a few stories that I had written on my personal blog about the Vikings' 2005 season, but they decided they'd give me the chance. . .and, two years later, here I am, still at it. And I couldn't be happier.
I'd like to thank my wonderful, loving, beautiful wife Casey (aka "Mrs. Gonzo") for being the accepting person that she is in allowing me to devote as much time to this. The hours that I've spent on this site have meant sacrificing some of my time with her, and this site's presence wouldn't be possible without her.
Most importantly, I'd like to thank all of you out there for your patronage over the past couple of years. The proverbial odometer is close to clicking over 300,000. . .something I never would have thought possible when I started and would hope to get 20 hits a day on the ol' Sitemeter. This site goes nowhere without all of you, and I'm grateful to each and every person that's ever visited the site.
So, with that, I'm giving myself the rest of the day off. (-: Enjoy the rest of your Thursday, folks, and we'll be back at it again tomorrow.