Thank you, BFTB

The regular season is finally over, the San Diego Chargers finished 4-12 this season and have won just 5 of their last 16 games.

This is, without a doubt, the darkest times that Bolts from the Blue has ever known. This blog kicked things off early in the 2008 season, just months after the team's run to the AFC Championship game. The worst season we, as a blog and a staff, had ever known was the 7-9 season that lost Norv Turner and A.J. Smith their respective jobs as the team's Head Coach and General Manager.

Sometimes, with all of our critiques, it's easy to forget that we're fans. None of us do this professionally. Writing about the Chargers is a hobby for us, a passion, which means we feel the losses and the terrible seasons just as much as you do (and a little less than the media that is normally writing about the team).

With that in mind, I would like to take a minute to thank the BFTB staff and community.

Thank you, Richard Wade: Seriously, I could not run BFTB without you. More than anyone else, you've been my co-leader of this community, and I couldn't ask for a better person to be walking behind me, picking up all of the shit that I carelessly drop on the ground and forget about.

Thank you, Ben Higgins: I had absolutely no right to ask you to co-host a podcast with me last year, and I am overwhelmed with appreciation for the opportunities you've afforded me since then on radio, on television, and in life as my friend.

Thank you, John Crean: You make things pretty and organized, and you write some of my favorite weekly posts on the entire internet. Thank you for making us better.

Thank you, Kyle Posey: I have no idea where your genius comes from. You understand football on a level that Mike McCoy can only dream about, and your dark humor is unmatched.

Thank you, Maximilian Schultz: Thank you for cleaning up the sometimes sloppy and rushed writing of the staff, including myself.

Thank you, Matthew Stanley: I had no idea what to expect when we asked you to join the staff, and you've been far and away the most reliable and hardworking writer that we have. This season, we would've been lost without you.

Thank you, Garrett Sisti and Jamie Hoyle: I don't mean to do you guys a disservice by grouping you together, your individual efforts have been fantastic, but I want to particularly commend you on putting together the best Chargers podcast I've ever heard.

Thank you, Jeffrey Siniard: I would be absolutely lost on the stadium issue, without a clue on what is actually happening or why, if I didn't have you around explaining it to me (occasionally in podcast form) and writing the best articles about it on the internet.

Thank you, SDNativeinTX: For always providing us with the perspective of history, for writing interesting and creative posts for the weekends, and for showing us the deep fandom that we sometimes otherwise forget about.

Thank you, Shawne Merriman: Thank you for the insights, and for trusting BFTB to be a place to convey your voice and message to San Diego Chargers fans.

Thank you, Daniel Stebbins and Jordan Lee: You guys are a bit like the glue that holds the ship together, and I couldn't be happier to have you on the staff this year.

Thank you, Daniel Szalma: You haven't been with us very long, but I'm thrilled that you decided to come aboard and add your endlessly interesting "film study" to our stable of weekly posts.

AND, FINALLY....

Thank you, BFTB readers.

On most days, I couldn't really tell you why I started writing/managing BFTB, nor could I tell you why I still do it. However, the e-mails I get from people thanking me for doing it... those keep me going. The times when I've met people in person, sometimes bringing them together, and they tell me how they "finally found a home at BFTB".... well, it never fails to warms my heart.

In the end, that's why we're here. It's a little bit ego, a little bit venting, and a whole lot of trying to put out enjoyable, interesting content that the audience we've (accidentally?) built over the years can relate to. You've trusted us to be your home, and we take that responsibility seriously. That is how we will continue to say thank you for reading.

Sincerely,