Post by GuyF on Mar 29, 2019 10:33:12 GMT -5
No, that's not what Iona should pay Tim. It's how many hits this message board has had in almost exactly 9 years in existence.
Of course, the history of this board--and MAAC boards goes back much further. The first iteration of a MAAC "chat room" was on AOL back in 1997. By the conclusion of the 1998 MAAC Tourney and the hatred of the name Marius Jalunis swelled, Iona fans had their own board. There have been a few iterations since then: Rivals, Voy, Arborwood, and here on Proboards since April 1, 2010. Amazing that the birth of this iteration coincided with the rebirth of the Iona program.
Bored out of your mind? You can pretty much go back to the very beginning here, and view all the old threads. Very interesting to read preseason takes, player assessments, etc, and see some brilliant calls made by many posters, and other thoughts that were, well, way off the mark. Those of you who were NOT with us way back in 2010 would probably get a kick out of it.
Honestly, the Iona board hasn't changed all that much, even dating back to the very beginning. The MAAC board, however, has totally evolved into something different. In its first 10 years or so, it was a cesspool, your local dive bar, your drunken tailgate. Vicious arguing and true disgust and hatred for each other's programs, going well beyond trash talk. But something happened over time: I think we all learned we're all we have. Posters that displayed knowledge or actual objectivity rose among the ranks, because they were the ones winning the arguments against those who spewed only venom. A kinship developed. The MAAC has dwindled in quality over the years, but it's still our MAAC and we'll protect it and go down with the ship. Actual friendships have developed, spawned from years of overanalysis of a skimpy mid-major conference struggling to remain relevant.
And today, as a regular both here and there, I actually see more "arguing" here than I see there. I say that not as a negative or a positive, rather just as a statement of fact. There are some posters here who can bring true inside information, and others whose passion has driven them to bring us any morsel of Iona matter to be found on the internet. We have people here who have a good understanding of college basketball, others who just want to be heard, and others who have never posted but enjoy reading, whether for entertainment of informative purposes. Most of us feel we know more than the other, be it via years of experience in life, proximity to the program or staff, or self-education via the internet. Some of us realize Iona basketball is a form of entertainment and just hope for the best, others are passionate sports junkies who live and die with every game. Some of us are positive to a fault, understanding that these are just kids playing a game that give us all they can, others have been hardened by their rooting histories of other teams and spend their time here expecting the worst.
Either way, we are family. "This thing of ours," indeed.
Here's to another 9 years and 8,000,000 hits.
Of course, the history of this board--and MAAC boards goes back much further. The first iteration of a MAAC "chat room" was on AOL back in 1997. By the conclusion of the 1998 MAAC Tourney and the hatred of the name Marius Jalunis swelled, Iona fans had their own board. There have been a few iterations since then: Rivals, Voy, Arborwood, and here on Proboards since April 1, 2010. Amazing that the birth of this iteration coincided with the rebirth of the Iona program.
Bored out of your mind? You can pretty much go back to the very beginning here, and view all the old threads. Very interesting to read preseason takes, player assessments, etc, and see some brilliant calls made by many posters, and other thoughts that were, well, way off the mark. Those of you who were NOT with us way back in 2010 would probably get a kick out of it.
Honestly, the Iona board hasn't changed all that much, even dating back to the very beginning. The MAAC board, however, has totally evolved into something different. In its first 10 years or so, it was a cesspool, your local dive bar, your drunken tailgate. Vicious arguing and true disgust and hatred for each other's programs, going well beyond trash talk. But something happened over time: I think we all learned we're all we have. Posters that displayed knowledge or actual objectivity rose among the ranks, because they were the ones winning the arguments against those who spewed only venom. A kinship developed. The MAAC has dwindled in quality over the years, but it's still our MAAC and we'll protect it and go down with the ship. Actual friendships have developed, spawned from years of overanalysis of a skimpy mid-major conference struggling to remain relevant.
And today, as a regular both here and there, I actually see more "arguing" here than I see there. I say that not as a negative or a positive, rather just as a statement of fact. There are some posters here who can bring true inside information, and others whose passion has driven them to bring us any morsel of Iona matter to be found on the internet. We have people here who have a good understanding of college basketball, others who just want to be heard, and others who have never posted but enjoy reading, whether for entertainment of informative purposes. Most of us feel we know more than the other, be it via years of experience in life, proximity to the program or staff, or self-education via the internet. Some of us realize Iona basketball is a form of entertainment and just hope for the best, others are passionate sports junkies who live and die with every game. Some of us are positive to a fault, understanding that these are just kids playing a game that give us all they can, others have been hardened by their rooting histories of other teams and spend their time here expecting the worst.
Either way, we are family. "This thing of ours," indeed.
Here's to another 9 years and 8,000,000 hits.
