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My 20,000th Post


Chief Dick
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This will be my 20,000th post at The Huddle. I want to tell you about The Huddle that I know, and not the one that you see today. Keggerz has an excellent post in The Tailgate for his 35,000th post, and in there he says a lot of the things I, or any longtime huddlers, would say.

 

When I came here, Marty Schottenheimer was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. Back then, like many of the people here, I was a newbie that knew little about fantasy football. I found this little haven that seemed to have good cheatsheets, though back then I had no idea if they were good or not. But I also found the message boards, and the people here seemed knowledgeable, but it also seemed like a place I could relate to. I didn’t know why back then, but it was…comfortable.

 

Over the years, I became a regular here. I remember when content was free, and I remember the day we all found out it was going to cost us money to receive what we had been receiving for nothing. We paid it, some of us because we knew we couldn’t find this quality of information on the web, but most of us because we felt loyalty to the 2 owners: David Dorey and Whitney Walters. We knew they poured their heart and soul into this, and we knew they deserved to be paid for all their hard work. We all felt like they earned it, and all of us wanted to be a part of their success. Plus, secretly, we were all shocked someone could actually make money from this stuff.

 

Over the years, the community grew. And I cannot stress enough how much of a community this place had become. People got married, had children, lost loved ones, and celebrated triumph. We also witnessed tragedy here, and I cannot remember a time where the community didn’t acknowledge, congratulate, or mourn for their fellow Huddlers. A large portion of this happened in The Tailgate. Some of my personal remembrances:

 

Kansas State 2000. The first Huddler I ever met in person. This was a guy who lived in Kansas City, and reached out to me to see if I, a complete stranger, would like to join his local keeper league because they were short a guy. The best thing I ever did was say yes, because I was welcomed into his group as if I had known them for years. It taught me that you can meet a guy on the internet and not get maimed, lose a kidney, or run off to San Francisco.

 

Muck. The second guy I met on the internet. No, I’m not ghey. Muck is someone who I’ve come to know well over the years. Our families have met and hung out together. We’ve had beers together; fished together, had lunch together. We’ve played poker, and we’ve just hung out. I count Muck as a really good friend, and someone I would have never met without The Huddle.

 

The Skylive Tour. For those who don’t know, skylive lost the love of his life many years ago. And we were all here to cry for and with him. And if you ever saw the post that he made for her, you would know that it was a love that all of us ever dream of. And we all knew that a piece of sky died that day too, but lucky for us he was here to share with us how great she was. On top of that, sky took a tour. He set off on a journey to meet us, to be with the community that he called his second family. There are many here who were honored with his presence: me included. He met my wife when she was pregnant with my first child. He met muck and his family. Bier dropped everything in his life and rode with sky from Colorado to Kansas City, just to keep him company and be his friend. Sky met many of us on that trip, and I know my life has never been the same because of him. He showed me what love really is, and I like to think The Huddle showed him how much he means to us.

 

Katrina. There were many of us following the path of the storm in The Tailgate. We have a few Huddlers that live in that area, and I remember feeling the tension as they kept everyone updated on the storm and their plans. As we all know, Katrina devastated that area, and we waited for news that “our guys” were safe. After the storm, we found out that rajncajn suffered serious damage to his home. SteelBunz took it upon herself to go to rajncajn’s home to help him rebuild. She lives in Ohio. Others followed. Big John, Atlanta Cracker, tbimm, hitman, and others that I cannot remember. THEY WENT TO REBUILD HIS HOME. There was a fund set up to help. Many, many Huddlers donated money. And to this day, that fund still exists in the form of the MSHB League. That fund is still used to help Huddlers in need.

 

These are only a few examples of the type of people that make up this community. I could type all day the number of times Huddlers have stepped up for others. I know of someone here who loaned money to a guy who needed a few bucks. I know of someone who sent a guitar to a Huddler because he didn’t have one anymore but still wanted to play. I know someone here who painted a picture of a Huddler’s dog that passed away. I could tell you stories all day about how great this place is, but the stories are endless. In mine and other’s hearts, this is, or was, the best community on the internet. But those days are no more.

 

For those that haven’t been paying attention, last week The Huddle permanently banned longtime members of this forum. Some deserved, but most not. The straw that broke the camels back for me was the day they withdrew Big John as a moderator here.

 

The Huddle was sold by David Dorey and Whitney Walters a few years ago, and sold again. They are now part of a corporate entity owned by USA Today. While the heads of David and Whitney are still here, the heart and soul is now gone.

 

I don’t know the real reasons for the bannings. I can speculate, and I can understand sometimes, but I cannot fathom The Huddle that I know having blatant disregard for those of us who helped build this place. I know David would never have a part in this, and I suspect the corporation is behind a large portion of it. I also believe David has tried to fix some of this, but for me, the decision making that drove the actions last week makes me want to take a stand against a corporation that values money over community.

 

What I do know, for those who remain, is this: you are losing valuable resources. You are losing people who care, and who will get to know you, and will have your back, and will talk smack when you deserve it. But this is a Huddle which I’m not sure I can be a part of. I was here because of the people who are gone, and I was here because of David and Whitney and because I believed I was a very small part of their success.

 

Thank you all, and thank you David and Whitney for starting this place. I hope and pray that you guys always have success, because you deserve to happy like the rest of us. I know I will never spend another dime here, and I can’t be certain that I will ever come back here. Heck, I may be banned in the next few minutes for all I know. For those I’m in leagues with, you know where to find me, and I’m still very much committed to those leagues and will never leave the ones I am in.

 

Joe

Chief Dick

Guntherball

Martyball

Edited by Chief Dick
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Ahhh. I found the thread. How ironic. I stay out of threads that are political. See, I'm an adult and I can moderate myself. I know if I go in those threads there is a possibility I may be reading opposing views and pi$$ing contests. If I want to subject myself to that I open it up and read. If not I don't. It's on me. I'd blame no one but myself. It's a shame that that's the reason. I'm with the rest of you. DMD is there nothing you can do to save this site from what I see as over moderation? Is it truly out of your hands? If so look at what your vision has become. Maybe the money is worth it. Maybe not.

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:heart:

 

 

Well said ... have always had tremendous respect for you and the way you have conducted yourself. Please dont be a stranger. If you ever need anything give a calll.

 

:brew:

 

 

This...

 

Very well done CD. :brew:

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Ahhh. I found the thread. How ironic. I stay out of threads that are political. See, I'm an adult and I can moderate myself. I know if I go in those threads there is a possibility I may be reading opposing views and pi$$ing contests. If I want to subject myself to that I open it up and read. If not I don't. It's on me. I'd blame no one but myself. It's a shame that that's the reason. I'm with the rest of you. DMD is there nothing you can do to save this site from what I see as over moderation? Is it truly out of your hands? If so look at what your vision has become. Maybe the money is worth it. Maybe not.

 

"Money" is arrogant. "Money" thinks that people will be back. Hopefully enough of us can prove "money" wrong. I know my support will go to other sites. It's sad really.

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Best 20,000 post ever.

 

Things at The Huddle are what they are. But they can't change the past. They can't change what we mean to each other. They can't change that four Huddler's were at my wedding, including one out of state.

 

Things may never be the same, but that doesn't change what once was.

 

God bless you, everyone!

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