Hi, everybody!
(Hi, Dr. Nick!)
As you have probably already read by now, David is leaving Rufus on Fire and I am picking up the blog in his stead. Before I get into my own introduction, I urge everyone to give David a round of applause (real or in your head). I think I speak for many of us here at Rufus on Fire when I thank David for his relentless effort and dedication to RoF.
I remember way back when I was trying to find a place to discuss the Bobcats around 2008-09 and I happened upon Rufus on Fire. It was nearly barren. There was one or two guys who commented, and fairly inconsistent at that. I was just a timid lurker at that point in time. But since then, Rufus on Fire has exploded. Now there are gameday threads that gather hundreds of comments. David has cultivated this blog into one of the best NBA blogs around, and for that, we owe him a lot.
Thank you, David. I can't even imagine how much my life has been changed by Rufus on Fire, even before this news. No exaggeration or hyperbole there, either. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors, my friend.
Now about me? Well, I appreciate the kind words that many of you have already left on David's post. As he said, many of you probably know me from my commenting alias, whataboutbob_cats (Bill Murray movie puns, har har!) or my Twitter account, @CardboardGerald. My real name is Ben Swanson. I am not really a cardboard cutout of Gerald Wallace, unfortunately. However, I am a big – okay, huge – Bobcats fan, like most of you are.
I’m also a journalism student at UNC. My goal with the blog is to continue to make a fun atmosphere centered around Bobcats-focused writing and analysis that encourages discussion. As far as my writing style, it can vary. My background in news writing can lend itself to strong fact-based compositions. However, I can also be extremely sarcastic and my love for pop culture (especially the Simpsons) sneaks into my writing fairly often.
To help me with the blog, I’ve gathered a small writing staff. The first writer is Joshua Priemski. He may not be a die-hard Bobcats fan like most of you, but he is a fan (especially of Shaun Livingston) and he knows his basketball. And the other contributor is Aisander Duda, aka AisanderD, former contributor to Ridiculous Upside, the SB Nation blog about the NBA Development League. He also comments here. Expect more on them within a week or so. I encourage you to give them the same warm welcome I've gotten so far.
We’re all excited & proud to continue on with Rufus on Fire and we hope you are as well!