For Raw Charge, Thanksgiving has come a little bit early this year

by Cassie McClellan on May 29, 2011 12:02 PM EDT in The Site

Before we go on vacation - the one in our minds since we're really not going anywhere (Right, Clark? Clark? Hey...CLARK?!) - there's just one more thing left to say before we move on to other more draft-like things. And it's something that all of have wanted to say all season long. So, here it goes.

Thank you.

There are so many people left to thank. (Cue the orchestra music, spotlight, solitary microphone, and heavy statuette that you could bludgeon someone with - not that I'm advocating violence here.) I think the solution here is bullet points. I love bullet points!

First off, I want to thank our regulars on Raw Charge. You all know who you are. You come from all corners of the globe: Czech Republic, New Zealand, England, Brazil, etc.; but also from all parts of Canada and the US. You're al awesome, and we love you for keeping up with our crazy and zany ways. You're the best!
Thank you to all of the hockey fans from just about every NHL team, stopping by to hang out with us on game threads and leaving comments on our stories. We've had people who represented most of the Eastern Conference, as well as a few from the Western conference, stop in and say hi. We love the different perspectives you share with us.
Over the course of the playoffs, we had a couple of New York Rangers fans who are regulars on Blueshirt Banter hang out with us for many of the games, but a number of other BSB regulars came by as well. We've also had a number of Florida Panthers fans from Litter Box Cats adopt us for the duration as well. And we can't forget the back-to-back game threads that we'd have with the LBC crowd during Lightning-Panthers regular season games - those were fun! Then, at the end of the series with the Boston Bruins, we had a large group from Nucks Misconduct camp out with us waiting to see who their Vancouver Canucks would be playing. Other fan bases that have hung out with us en masse over the course of the season were fans from the Philadelphia Flyers and Broad Street Hockey, as well as Detroit Red Wings fans from Winging It In Mowtown, New York Islanders fans at Lighthouse Hockey, and New Jersey Devils fans from In Lou We Trust. So we'd like to thank those particular SB Nation sites for supporting us as well.

We'd also like to thank everyone for making Raw Charge a fun but respectful place to talk about hockey. So often, people get caught up in trying to promote their own team that civility goes out the window. That hasn't happened here very often. Opposing viewpoints are welcome and aired - even by fans of rival teams - but everyone's managed to be adult about it and not let it devolve into childish name calling and insults. So, thank you for that; that definitely makes our site a great place to hang out at. No matter who you are, or what team you're a fan of, everyone deserves respect and you guys make that happen.

We'd like to thank the Tampa Bay Lightning players for validating our faith in them through these past three awful years. Without you guys, we'd have nothing to write about, which means we wouldn't have made all of these great new friends. You share your love of hockey with us, and for that we're grateful. Thank you for a fantastic season.

And a big thank you to head coach Guy Boucher and his coaching and training staff. For obvious reasons. There weren't that many player personnel changes between last season and this season, but for some strange reason Boucher was able to get more from his team than the previous head coach did. We love your passion and your head games with the media, and we look forwards to many years as you being head coach of the Lightning. So thank you, and welcome to the nut house!

Thank you, Steve Yzerman, for bringing credibility to a team that sorely lacked it. The Lightning are still often dismissed as a "Sun Belt" team (in quotes because it's often used as an insulting term), but at least the rumors of it being unsuccessful and on the verge of moving have finally died down. For now, at least. And thank you for bringing along your Red Wing fan base with you! And, you know, you're a pretty good JM...er, GM...too!

I want to thank Tod Leiweke for coming to the Lightning as well. Most fans probably don't understand what his role with the team is, so let me tell you. It's from his offices things like watch parties on the St. Pete Times Forum Plaza and dying the Garrison Channel blue come from. He's the guy who's making the fan experience in Tampa Bay a better one, and he's done a great job so far. And we should all be thankful for that.

Thank you Tampa Bay Lightning (the organization as a whole). The team has been very helpful and supportive of us, and we just can't thank them enough for that. From letting Meredith and Clark have media access, to putting us on their media list for announcements, to promoting our site on Twitter...they've been wonderful to work with. A lot of NHL teams won't even acknowledge bloggers, let alone work with them, and the Lightning have been great in working with us and treating us like the traditional media. The Washington Capitals may have the most liberal policy in regards to treating bloggers like media, but Tampa Bay isn't too far behind. So thank you for giving us a chance to prove ourselves to you.

We'd also really want to thank majority owner Jeff Vinik for coming through on all of his promises. All new owners make stirring promises to their new team's fan base, but few actually follow through with them. And Mr. Vinik has - with bells on. So thank you, Mr. Vinik, from the bottom of all of our hockey hearts.

A couple of personal thank you's from me:

I'd like to thank the Norfolk Admirals for granting me media credentials. I live in Virginia, thought I'm an almost 3-hour drive from Norfolk, and they've been great in helping me with anything I've requested or needed from them. I wish I could do more, especially since they've been so generous, but the distance doesn't exactly make them convenient. Still, they were just as great with us as the Lightning have been, and I can't thank them enough for that.
I'd also like to thank the NHL for granting me credentials to the NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina, this past January. It was an experience of a lifetime, and it was very interesting to see such an event as a member of the media. Meeting national traditional media and comparing notes and getting tips was pretty exciting. The NHL has been fantastic in working with SB Nation and has granted writers from our sites access to events such as the All-Star Game, the Winter Classic, the Entry Draft, and the Awards Show, and I'm very thankful that I got to be a part of a major NHL event.

Thanks for a great season, everyone! We'll have more this week and on into the summer. Hope you have a great offseason, and remember to come drop in on our Tuesday night open threads at 7:30 pm Eastern all summer long.

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(Popping in from Japers’ Rink) Congrats on a great season and big steps forward on both the team and blog fronts. We’re looking forward to a fantastic 2011-2012 season. See you on the ace!

You perhaps knew me better as "Your Nation's Capital." Same great commentary, now with 100% more transparency!

by EmilyB on May 29, 2011 1:54 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Which “ace” are we stepping on? :-D

"[The Lightning] are uncanny. When they want to get a goal, it's like they just snap their fingers or hit a button. They just dial it up. You can see it. It's like they flip a switch. When they are down, it's just like they think, 'we know we are going to score.' I don't know what it is, it leaves [the opposition] flabbergasted." - Mike Knuble, 3 May 2011

by MTBoltFan on May 29, 2011 11:44 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Thank you all for being so accommodating to fans of other teams. I like to think that we’re all hockey fans, but have been sorely disappointed. The entire Raw Charge staff and the game thread regulars have done a great job of making a space where everyone is welcome as long as they behave.

Thanks again and we’ll see you next season, on the internet and as many games in Tampa as we can make.

"We don't need the designated goon. Those fights aren't even fun to watch." -Mike Milbury

Litter Box Cats - Your Panthers Colossus.

by John Beatty on May 29, 2011 4:12 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

John said it very well:

Thank you all for being so accommodating to fans of other teams. I like to think that we’re all hockey fans, but have been sorely disappointed. The entire Raw Charge staff and the game thread regulars have done a great job of making a space where everyone is welcome as long as they behave.

Thank YOU Cassie and the rest of the Raw Charge game for being so hospitable and promoting a culture of hospitable hockey fans. This place is slowly but surely becoming my second home, you guys are actually making me start to think about finding a way to watch Lightning games next year (in a legal way).

Nothing against the rest of the fanbases you mentioned but the guys from Litter Box Cats really stood out as great people in the threads. “Great People” in the sports blog world… having a good sense of humor, a welcoming personality, and having passion and wisdom about the sport you love.

@DigDeepNYR
"I like a man who grins when he fights." -Sir Winston Churchill
"It's just pain." -Brandon Prust | "In Prust we Trust."

Blueshirt Banter

by Dig Deep on May 29, 2011 5:19 PM EDT reply actions

finding a way to watch Lightning games next year (in a legal way).

To paraphrase George Costanza – “It’s not illegal if no one knows it’s illegal”.

You’re a helluva poster and, as I’m sure Cassie alluded to in the post and others have said before, you and your Ranger brethren are welcome here anytime.

Same applies to all fans of all teams.

by FloridaownsFSU on May 29, 2011 9:46 PM EDT up reply actions

This is why we swap game threads with them during games when the Lightning are playing the Panthers. If it’s in Tampa Bay, we start the game here, but go to LBC for the second period, and come back here for the third. If it’s in Florida, we start the game at LBC, come here for the second period, and go back there for the third. It’s really a lot of fun – we love those guys. :oD

Win or lose, I'm proud of these guys.
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning community. Follow me on Twitter: @dagmar27.

by Cassie McClellan on May 31, 2011 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions

I can see why, they have a great sense of humor and they know their puck-stuff.

@DigDeepNYR
"I like a man who grins when he fights." -Sir Winston Churchill
"It's just pain." -Brandon Prust | "In Prust we Trust."

Blueshirt Banter

by Dig Deep on Jun 1, 2011 12:00 AM EDT up reply actions

Haven't really been over here

I’m a regular member from Blue Shirt Banter and since the Rangers were eliminated I’ve been rooting for the Lightning. I even got to fly down to Orlando to visit my uncle and went to game 6 with my cousins. I must say it was one of the best hockey games I’ve ever been at, definitely the best non-ranger game I’ve ever been to. I sat in the last row up in 303 and for a good 3 hours I was definitely a Bolts fan. Definitely looking to come down to some more games at the Forum soon. Good luck next year guys, you’re team is only going to get better.

Proudly suffering as a Ranger fan.
"C'mon, vagina is my 3rd favorite hole." -Drama

by Tripodi on May 29, 2011 9:02 PM EDT reply actions

Stopping in from SecondCityHockey

Congrats to the Lightning on an awesome season.
Your team supposedly never had a chance – on paper. All year they defied the odds. They overachieved.
In the playoffs, it happened again. Through sheer grit and determination, they were one win away from the final dance.

Just goes to show that stats can’t measure the size of the heart of a team.
Head up. The future looks bright.

Lord Stanley's new address: Sweet home Chicago!
(Short sale pending)

by ChicagoNativeSon on May 29, 2011 11:50 PM EDT reply actions

Checking in from Winging It In Motown

Despite not commenting much on here, I have enjoyed this blog. The news and information posted here really keeps this fan from Michigan informed, and I appreciate it. Even though I live miles and miles away, the GameThreads make me feel like I’m at the game. Thanks to the managing editors, writing staff and moderators for keeping RC a fun place to check out.
As for the team itself, I really didn’t start following them until after the All-Star Game, which was the first time I saw Martin St. Louis in action. After that, though, I’d always check the paper and online to see results of the Lightning. I’m still learning the roster, but I should have it down by the start of next season. The only game I was able to see was when the Wings came down to FL to play them, but it was still a great season. My only regret is that it ended too soon.

Thanks for being great 24/7.

There is no offseason.
My icon was drawn by Samara Pearlstein, talented artist/blogger at Roar of the Tigers.

by Tigers&WingsFan on May 30, 2011 7:46 AM EDT reply actions

Thank You Raw Charge!

Thanks other posters from RC, and other teams posters…

a wonderful year, the Lightning have provided me with a dose of hope I never felt since the 2002-03 season and playoffs.

I see real good things ahead for this team. It’s going to be a lot of fun for the next few seasons!

by tampa_edski on May 30, 2011 11:06 AM EDT reply actions

I have made some congratulatory statements on some previous threads here on Raw Charge, but figured I would do it again. I am from pensburgh and it really has been a pleasure reading through the comments and posts on this site. The Lightning have made a great turn around and now face an exciting offseason. It will be interesting to see how Yzerman handles the free agent situations along with what kind of deal Stamkos gets. I think we are all looking forward to another great year of hockey!

by xaryss on May 31, 2011 9:44 AM EDT reply actions

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For Raw Charge, Thanksgiving has come a little bit early this year

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