As friends and family know, I have a problem with forgetting birthdays. It's not that I can't remember the date of the birthday, it's just that a few days will pass before I realize the birthday happened. Not a good thing. And so, it's fitting that 8 days ago, Niners Nation turned 2. While that is not exactly forever in terms of the Internet, in blog years that's gotta be a nice little run so far.
When I first started the site I was just looking for an outlet for my fandom. My blogging "career" began two months prior to that with a little blogspot site that still sits collecting dust and comments from people advertising online degrees and porn.
I'm friend with Raymond, our Raiders blogger, and he was kind enough to connect me with our Cowboys blogger, who happens to be the administrator of the SB Nation Football sites. Within a couple of months I was up and running as the SB Nation 49ers blogger. It's interesting to look back and see how things have kind of come full circle (and actually might be a little depressing considering how things went). I started this site at the end of the 2006 season with a 49ers squad that finished the season 7-9 and had a lot of optimism heading into 2007. We all know how that went and now, two years later, we sit at 7-9 with optimism (well some of us at least).
Of course one thing has definitely changed. This is probably my favorite bit of anlaysis from back in January of 2007. I was doing end of season grades and on January 5, 2007 I looked at our QBs, of which Shaun Hill happened to be one:
Shaun Hill: Umm...yea...sooooo...Fear the Turtle, Shaun? Personally I would have loved to keep Cody Pickett just for the entertainment factor. A QB on special teams is the name of the game. There's really not a whole lot to be said about the 3rd string QB, but I figured I saw enough of him and his clipboard that I'd throw him in here. Gotta throw him a bone as it's entirely possible he's not back next year.
Grade: Incomplete
Yes, if you read that correctly, I was advocating the team keep Cody Pickett over Shaun Hill simply because of the special teams entertainment factor. Thanks to the power of the Internet, that will stick with me quite possibly till the day I die.
More important than anything else is those old posts show some of the folks who have been around since day 1. Many have come and gone, but as that post and the first post ever show, guys like howtheyscored and wjackalope have been around since the beginning. I think that means they're a glutton for punishment. But either way, the site is what it is because of everyone, from myself down to the folks who just swing by on occasion to read up on their favorite team. Even when I was the only main writer, the FanPosts and comments have allowed you guys to contribute on a daily basis. Now that we've grown to myself plus four co-authors, the FanPosts and comments remain a way for you guys to stay as active as you want.
As we head into this offseason, things will continue to be busy here at Niners Nation. Mainstream media coverage of the team will slow to a trickle at times, but we'll do our best to keep you informed and, hopefully, mildly entertained.
If you haven't joined the site but do want to participate, you can sign up on the top left side of the front page, or in the comments at the bottom of this (or any) post. It's free, you won't get spammed (unless you're into that sort of thing) and it allows you to voice your opinion on anything and everything through comments, FanPosts and FanShots.
Thanks again to everybody for making this a semi-regular destination for your 49ers fix.