An eternity on the Internet.
Doesn’t time fly? Twenty years ago this very day, AZ SnakePit was born. Well, technically, it had been born a little earlier – the domain name was registered on February 7 – but today was the date of the first entry. Somehow, starting on the Ides of March seems strangely appropriate. And yet, here we are, two decades later, and I haven’t been stabbed to death by my collaborators. The site has lasted longer than any job I’ve ever had, or any house I’ve ever lived in. About the only thing in my life to have lasted longer is Mrs. SnakePit. 🙂 The site has simply become part and parcel of the fabric of my life: there’s rarely a day when I’m not doing something related to it, even if it’s simply being snarky in the comments somewhere.
It has been quite the journey, and like all journeys there have been ups and downs, good moments and bad. I’ve certainly changed: some early posts now make me actively cringe. But then, that was the Internet in the mid-noughts. You could pretty much do anything and say anything, and had to try really hard to cause a firestorm of controversy. Oh, we had our moments there. But I’m just glad they happened in a time before social media could summon a vengeful mob. We grow, learn and, hopefully, come out the other side better for it. I definitely feel considerably more chill than the angry young thirty-something who started the site. Life’s too short for that.
Yeah, that’s what the site looked like in 2005, before there was Twitter, and when it was still officially known as “The Facebook”. How far we’ve come, technologically. But over the twenty years since, what I remember are less the stories, than the people who have come and gone, or come and stayed. Online acquaintances have, in some cases, become real-life friends. Sharing experiences with the SnakePit community, like playoff runs, incredible victories and nightmarish defeat have made them all the sweeter or more bearable. Without the SnakePit, it’s quite possible that the hell of 2020-21 might have killed off my interest in the game entirely. Yet, again, here we are, gearing up for a third decade of existence.
We’ve always tended to be outsiders. Oh, we’ve had media credentials, but I’d rather leave that kind of thing up to others, because with access comes “responsibility.” And where’s the fun in that? I’m happier in the peanut gallery with a beer, heckling loudly, even if it means membership in the BBWAA eludes me. I do this because it’s fun, not as a career, and I hope that comes across in the writing. Well, most of the time. Being a fan, means we don’t have to fake neutrality. If a game sucks, it’s nice to be able to say so, and spend half the report analyzing the content of the snack cupboard. Turambar’s renowned beercaps will live long here, even the ones which petered out into inebriation around the seventh inning.
Speaking of which, I want to thank everyone who has contributed to the site since it began, whether they’re still around or not. What was originally a one-man band, has expanded into a revolving team of writers, without whom this place would not exist, and they have my undying gratitude. But that goes for everyone who takes part as members too: reading, commenting or simply lurking. It’s all part of what makes the community here great. We may not be among the biggest sites on the network, but I think our community can stand beside any of them. Must also give a shout-out to the SB Nation overlords, who historically, have largely left us the hell alone, which is all you can ask for from any manager. 🙂
What of the future? Well, I suspect the site will look just as radically different again in 2045. It’ll probably be getting fed directly into your neural synapses. Try and ad-block THAT, mofos! Though frankly, I’ll be quite happy simply to be around in 2045, personally – at least, when you consider the alternatives… There might be a new ballpark. It’s possible the D-backs might not even be in Arizona [Pauses to pour one out for Five for Howling, the Coyotes site], in which case, this will probably become a site about herpetology. Who knows? But I don’t regret a minute of it. Quite a few hours cause remorse. But the minutes were usually fine. Here’s to the next twenty.