Hi everyone, it’s your friendly neighborhood managing editor, and I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone out there. If you stop by here once a day or just once in your life, the fact that you take the time to read what we have to say means more than you will ever know. So, thank you to the readers, this place wouldn’t exist without you.
I also wanted to say thank you to all of the other Lightning sites out there. Despite the team’s recent success, it is still treated like a small market by a lot of the national media, so to have dedicated folks working for basically nothing just to cover this team and provide information for fans, is really important. Technically they might be our “competition” but in reality we’re all in this together and there is plenty of room on the internet for more than one Lightning website.
While the national media might occasionally forget about the Lightning, the local media has been fantastic. Eduardo Encina with the Tampa Bay Times, Gabby Shirley with the Lightning and Fan Duel Sports Network, Benjamin Pierce with the Lightning, and Erik Erlendsson with Lightning Insider, all make our job easier by being there at the practices and the press scrums.
Thank you to our families that put up with “hold on, I have to go write something real quick” during weddings, nights out, and on camping trips (at least the ones that have cell service). They have been gracious with their time and support, without which we would have burned out a long time ago.
Thank you to the network of displaced sports bloggers that was once SBNation. Thank you to the sites that are grinding it out on the independent circuit with us – Eyes on the Prize, Broad Street Hockey, Jackets’ Cannon, Defending Big D, On the Forecheck, Japers’ Rink, Die By the Blade, Litter Box Cats, and Fear the Fin. Thank you to the sites that are still part of SBNation. Thank you to all of the writers and editors that hang out in the Slack chat that we can bounce ideas off of and chat about nonsense.
Thank you to all of the former writers and editors of Raw Charge, y’all built this site and we’re just maintaining it. Thank you for hanging around in Slack and chatting about the Bolts and Crunch and Solar Bears (I swear we do know that they are part of the organization!).
Thank you to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Not many fans in any sport can say that they are witnessing the Golden Era of their team. That’s what we’re living right now as Lightning fans. Yes, they are wildly frustrating, and the sun might be setting on this Era, but they’re still fighting for a Cup instead of a top draft pick. So enjoy this while we can, it doesn’t last forever.
Once again, thank you to the readers, the commenters, the lurkers, and even the trolls. Enjoy the day, and we’ll be back with more hockey tomorrow!
