First week it started, I think. I want to say I lurked for a couple of weeks before posting but I can't remember at this point.
Lots of great memories in this thread. Some not so much, but more on that later.
I understand why some of you have the opinions you do about CJC, but if you take away the agree/disagree side of things, he is a really good person. I remember him being ready to head out to Mississippi during the aftermath of FS's second most egregious act after never giving a BF award to FreakShow. I know when they did the road trips he tried to be generous, as VB alludes to. I've also shared a few phone calls with him over the years, and have him on FB, so I can say that he is way more humble than he may have come across. I understand where you get your viewpoints, but I feel obligated to defend a friend.
I won't defend myself, though.
I guess I should lead off with "Thanks, Dan, for not blowing my cover even in this thread."
It's Pile, by the way (you knew that, right DJU?). Not so much a return as a reveal, I guess.
Surprised to find so much content about me here, but most of it is accurate, or misunderstood under fair terms. So, genuinely, I apologize to Torgo, VB, STF, and whoever else it is owed to. I honestly don't remember half of what has been claimed, but that's not a denial that it did.
Torgo, I do remember giving you a hard time in general. We shared a passion for movies and I used to enjoy reading the "fights" you had with your brother. I think I started ribbing you in a good natured way but got out of hand over time and didn't really care. So, I'm sorry about that. It completely sucks to read someone just completely hating you five years or so after your last known interaction. If I had a choice, I'd prefer to just be completely forgettable, instead.
I don't remember much about VB-directed posts. I remember thinking of VB and XS as kind of sidekicks and have a stronger impression of Stan, who I liked a lot until he went all coke/Adkins and started breaking off with the sexy lads. In general, the people who went to that forum were people I had liked but when left to their own devices I found them completely unrelatable (which apparently is not a word, but I'm leaving it). I admit to never really "getting" Bryce (in this very thread I have no clue what he meant by his Moneyball post, for example... don't remember what I wrote, and couldn't tell you if he means it was a great read or a big joke) but most of those guys I had had decent interactions with on the board or through IM, so it was weird when they broke off and their collective attitude changed. Mikey might have been swept up in that, or maybe anything negative I aimed in his direction was just because he was a Yankees fan. Regardless, I'll say I should have had a much better filter at the time, and in the long term whatever venom I was spewing at the time has washed away on my side.
STF, I honestly have no idea how I pissed you off. I really have very little impression of you outside of being SupTool's friend. My guess is that you simply saw how I treated others on the board and decided I was a douche bag and not worth anyone's fond recollections. If that's the case, you're certainly justified in your opinion. I should mention that when I came back last summer and PMed you about linking to your blog, it was simply due to my love for what A1 had been, and in my mind I didn't want it to be "second" to another site for the purposes of wrestling discussion. When I got caught up in wrestling all of a sudden, the first thing I thought was "I need to get back on A1" because of the strong quality the discussions on here always had. I think Dan mentions that the early MBE crowd has a lasting fondness for each other. I agree, especially about the "booking committee" that took over when SupTool let go of the reigns. We worked so hard together to give everyone enjoyment, protect egos, etc. When you had guys like Dan and Bill writing, and your own writing had to compete with that in the many-thousand-words opus we published every week, you had to be on your game and really put your honest effort in. It brought us all together. Also, people might not know or remember that the early parts of MBE were really just a spontaneous act among friends. I don't remember much of the material (well, making an ass out of myself with SJF I do), but the camaraderie resonates years later. I hope that helps you understand better why certain posters on here who you'd never think would defend me, still come to my aid (thanks, Bob-o!).
So, yeah, sorry I wasn't always a model citizen. It's not something I'm proud of. I'm sure many people regret actions between their 20th and 26th birthday, and that's generally the years I was a regular poster, give or take. Like I said with Torgo, a lot of times when I posted like an internet tough guy I was figuring all the board regulars were in on the joke. I wasn't hiding behind my monitor, I was just that obnoxious guy who tears everything up thinking it's all a big joke. I guess part of the problem is that what I considered the board regulars wasn't the entire group, just the posters I "valued" at the time. I definitely had that "too cool for school/wrestling" attitude during the time I pissed people here off.
Oh, and I have no idea what the hell I said about Best Buy that must have come across like a big shill. I left them a few years ago, and am currently enjoying their financial woes, though I have some good friends still working there who I don't want to suffer. I will say that I have always had an attitude about my employer where I become a fierce proponent of their products/services so it doesn't shock me at all that I came across like some talking head corporate fan boy somewhere along the line (think Beast and Windows Phones, only actually getting paid by them).
Like I said above, when I wanted to talk wrestling again, this is the first place that came to mind. I went out of my way to be anonymous because I figured any knowledge of who was sharing opinions would completely color the impression of what I said, and I wanted to just be part of the discussion with a clean slate. Now I guess I lost that until I get Dan to set up another dummy account for me, but in the end it was worth coming clean and trying to right some wrongs. I've seen a reference or two along the way to my past on this board, but I think there are posts on like 4 different pages in this thread so it was a bit overwhelming (bad, not good).
Guess I'll post this and go back through and see if there's anything else I want to address.
Oh, but before I do... Those green cords are Ralph Lauren, so they have to be awesome!!!
