It was six years ago today (November 6, 2003) that a small typepad site called Athletics Nation: Baseball Country officially launched. It was my small foray into starting up sports coverage in a new way. The goal was for a true fan of a team to direct the conversation instead of waiting for media to set the agenda and discussion. I was tired of the top down approach that ESPN and other giant sports entities had hoisted upon me. No one was having a conversation about the Oakland Athletics in an intelligent, informed and passionate fashion.
It's been a long time since that small typepad site launched. Athletics Nation has evolved WAAAAY beyond that typepad site. Over the past six years, SB Nation has accomplished some incredible things. And in recent years, it's gone far beyond anything we could accomplish through the first three or four years. Thanks to a fantastic and remarkable tech team and a great CEO who embraces the core values this company started with, we've accomplished so much. And it's only just begun.
We've built the best blogging platform on the Web. We've brought together millions of sports fans in an entertaining and engaging way, unlike anything else out there. We purposely aimed to create blogs that are as passionate as you are. We turned strangers into friends over the common passions of their teams. We launched 220 blogs, had more than 20 million comments and one huge hub site. But more than all that, I feel like I've developed a ton of great friendships with so many people, from all our fantastic bloggers to the community members I've met at so many different events. My relationship with the bloggers has been great and even though I work with most of them from afar, I feel like they are all my brothers in arms in this new media landscape. They have made the power of our communities palpable and have helped change sports coverage forever.
On a personal note, it's amazing just to think how much my life has changed since I started this company. I've moved from Sacramento, California to Southern California. I've had one daughter and I have another one that will be born in early 2010. But SB Nation and working to build a company that will always put the fans first has been the main constant in my life. It's become the greatest job a person could ever ask for, even during its most trying times, it's better than anything else I've ever done. I've dedicated all my energy and my life to making sure that this network will always be of, by and for the fans. No matter what we do, it will always be about empowering you and giving you a place to show your true colors.
Happy Birthday, SB Nation. Here's to many, many more.
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