The greatest things in our lives are so often kicked off by the most minute. Today, as we at The Falcoholic celebrate our passage into the million hits club (!), I'd like to take a second to reflect on how we ended up here.
It's a milestone that owes a lot to all of you, those who read the blog. And while it's really nothing more than a big ol' round number, it's certainly a warm and fuzzy feeling to know that this blog has become such a clearly recognized gathering place for Falcons fans.
Those of you bored by my ramblings should probably steer clear of this one. For everyone else, follow along after the jump.
Back in 2006, when I was in the fall semester of my senior year at the University of New Hampshire, I was somewhat of a rudderless man. I had spent my entire life thinking I'd like to become a newspaper reporter, and I was working to set up an internship for the spring. But I didn't have any real emotional attachment to that idea.
So on one particular day that fall year, I was reading Viva El Birdos (yes, I'm a St. Louis Cardinals fan) for the millionth time when a thought struck me. "Dave, " I asked myself, probably out loud because I do things like that, "does SB Nation have a Falcons blogger?" So I did a little research and no, they did not have a Falcons blogger. In fact, they were looking for writers.
I have no idea what made me apply for it, aside from an overabundance of confidence. They were looking for previous blogging experience, and I had none. They were looking for an Atlanta Falcons blogger, and I was a college kid in New Hampshire who had no knowledge of the city. But I knew I could write about the team, because I loved them. I always had, even in the days where all I could do was study box scores.
You basically know the rest of the story. That little decision turned out to be one of the greatest things I could have done with my life. I was accepted as the head of the site and got to choose the name of my new blog, and I've now piloted The Falcoholic through nearly four years, with everything from playoff appearances to Petrino along the way. I started out with maybe four or five readers outside of my immediate family, and now I have got hundreds, if not thousands. I've had the chance to rub elbows with the team, write articles for ESPN and the Washington Post, and display my annoying New England accent on any number of sports radio shows. I'm still a little staggered when I think about it.
There's a ton of credit to go around. Adam Schultz and Jason Kirk have to be thanked for helping to grow this from a modest blog run by one perpetually harassed writer to what the mini-juggernaut it is today. Dave Halprin of Blogging The Boys has my undying gratitude for giving me the opportunity to do this and constantly pushing me to be the best blogger I can be. J. Michael Moore, Jay Adams, Dan Levak and countless others with the Atlanta Falcons organization have been as supportive and helpful as possible, and D. Orlando Ledbetter, Mark Bradley and Dawson Devitt at the AJC have done the same. My wife has been supportive even though this gig requires me to dash away from the dinner table and go into a football-induced coma every Sunday. And then there's every one of you who has ever read the site, especially those of you who have stayed and carved out a real community here. I log on every day knowing you guys will have written something that will make me think, or laugh, or shake my head in disgust.
I don't intend to stop at a million. There's a burgeoning winner practicing down at Flowery Branch right now, and I honestly don't think I could ever get sick of writing about them. It's been said many times that gigs like these at SBN can serve as launching pads to bigger and better things, and I certainly won't argue with that. I just know that The Falcoholic has become bigger and better than I ever could've dreamed of in my dorm room four years ago, and there's a lot left for us to discuss.
So, to every single person who has made this blog's success possible: Thank you. You won't regret sticking around.