A Simple Thank You

via GIPHY

As the 2019 regular season enters its final weekend, I want to take a moment to acknowledge that this is also the end of our first regular season here at Views. The time has certainly flown by, hasn’t it? There was a huge void left for many of us when Mike decided to shut down RAB. The Yankees and RAB felt like the perfect fit. The site grew to be just as important as the team in many ways. It legitimately felt that a part of my fandom was taken away when RAB left us. So it is pretty funny that I am writing this thank you letter to you all.

All of this began for me during a game back in April. My girlfriend, Eljon, and I were spending a couple innings at the stadium with Bobby and his wonderful fiancé Leah. After joking that the Yankees crazy injury run was going to be a great story in the 2019 World Series DVD (true story), Bobby mentioned starting a new blog and asked if I wanted to be a part of it. I was very excited, but also nervous as all hell. I had all the faith in the world that Bobby, Derek and Steven (Matt and Jonny didn’t join until later in the planning) were going to create something awesome. The issue was all I did was write random thoughts on Twitter hoping I didn’t come across as an idiot. Writing puts you in a vulnerable position. At the time, I wasn’t sure I could provide enough value to the site to justify being a part of it. But then I thought, why the hell not. I’m gonna keep posting my thoughts on Twitter so why not take the leap. My decision to join Views is one of the best things I’ve done in a very long time.

All of you are the reason why this was such a great decision. It is amazing to see this crazy journey of Yankees fandom from the other side. There are so many smart and insightful fans out here. I have learned a great deal from you over the course of the season. You demand the best not just from the Yankees, but from the site as well. All of us at Views earn a living doing something other than writing for the site. This is in some ways a hobby, but it has grown into a responsibility for us. We deeply care about what we do here and we strive to give you the best of ourselves. All of you deserve that. It is truly humbling to earn your respect and trust.

We’ve come a long way since that last week of May. There was a clear desire to honor RAB, but add our own flavor to it. A big goal of mine was to expand the community of Yankees fans. That is one of the beauties of sports right? It provides us an opportunity to come together and share in a common cause. I believe we are building that community. The ultimate goal is to be here for the long haul. That aim doesn’t get accomplished without your tremendous support. We recognize it and greatly appreciate it. Thank you for giving us a chance. And thank you for helping to build Views by our side. This belongs to all of us.