Happy Thanksgiving!
Today is a special day, Maniacs, but I won't bore you with all the trivial things that I'm thankful for, because I have a bird in the oven and it's wrapped in bacon. While I usually fry my turkey, we got hit with a pretty bad storm this year and I had adjust my plans accordingly.
No matter.
Aside from my maple-bacon feast, which is about an hour away from blowing the socks off my house full of pests guests, I did want to make sure I took at least one measly line to share how grateful I am that each and every one of you make it a point to stop by this place I've called home since 2006.
Seriously, without you, I'd probably be pumping gas or spritzing a bag of turnips for the local grocer.
That goes for the haters, too. It's true! In fact, when they start sending me love letters, I know I've got them, because the angrier they get, the more they come back.
Here's a little sample from my inbox:
You are the worst "journalist" covering mma today. You write misleading, non-quotes as headlines to articles for views. You constantly try to dictate the fighters' connotation when it's clear to any reader that you have twisted sentiments to make a story more dramatic. You are why no one considers "mma mania" to be a credible website with any bit of value. I'll be emailing the higher ups, as I'm sure many others have, in the hopes of terminating your time as a "journalist" so you can do something you're actually qualified for - garbage man perhaps.
I actually wanted to be a garbage man -- I mean "sanitation engineer" -- when I was a kid.
But I'm not, because by dumb luck, I'm able to form complete sentences and have a rudimentary understanding of this whole mixed martial arts (MMA) thing. Plus I got in early, before the "real" media realized there was opportunity here and rode my coattails.
Copycats!
But not a day goes by when I don't feel blessed and it has been a wild ride on the UFC interstate. But heck, you knew all that already, because you've been right here along with me. Well, except for those suckers we left at the rest stop when we pulled over to take a leak.
For them, it has been a Ban'r year.
So thanks for another great run. Not just in trafffic, but in content, as well. I would argue that our FanPost section on its own is better than most competing websites, from the television show recaps, fantasy leagues, weekly rants and of course, the king of kings, our Friday Fap-A-Thon.
There's no place I'd rather be than right here.
Thank you.