Ed brought to my attention that VUHoops recently passed a very significant milestone.
With the words "I was about to comment on yet another guy less than 6’7,″ but after the shooting I saw last weekend [against Tennessee], we can use a swingman who can make a shot…," in the Savon Goodman Pending Verbal article, ChillCat recorded the 25,000th reader comment in the history of VUhoops.com.
While the casual reader might believe that VUHoops takes on the personality of its editorial staff, it’s actually the thoughtful perspective of our loyal readers that defines us. VUHoops has grown into a large family of ‘Nova basketball fans united by a shared passion for everything that is ‘Nova basketball, AND Villanova University. We’ve exchanged insights and constructive criticisms that have enhanced our experience as Villanova basketball fans. Together, we have celebrated our victories and lamented our defeats. We have done it with class, a positive outlook and the deepest respect for our coaches, players and one another.
Every reader brings something unique to the VUHoops experience.
Some of you add levity to the serious business of ‘Nova basketball. Who did not laugh out loud a couple of months back when Bosshoghazard suggested that any new Villanova football venue include "a BCS busting, in-your-face-Barney-Rubble, Environmentally Friendly, All Pipes go to SJU, Center for bowel relief, porcelain pristineness, no-hands-undefeated flush-center"? Who has not been blown away by the breadth and depth of Barney Rubble's research? Who has not learned about the richness of the Villanova basketball tradition from the unique perspectives shared by our more seasoned readers, including Nervous Nelly and Old Timer (the original and #2)? Who has not been energized by the boundless optimism our student readers. It is little wonder that VUHoops has become the special place we visit each day with such great anticipation.
On behalf of Ed’77, Brian and Kevin, I thank each and every one of our loyal VUHoops readers for their contributions to our collective dialog over the years and look forward to continuing our journey together in pursuit of our next Villanova national championship.
Post Script – The History of VUHoops: On the occasion of this significant milestone, we felt it was appropriate to take a look back at the brief history of VUHoops so you can better appreciate the institution that you helped build. It all began on November 6, 2007 when Mike launched the site with the humble ambition of serving as an aggregator of ‘Nova basketball news. The first reader comment was posted a month later by an anonymous reader from Seattle, with these simple words written on the eve of the Cat’s game against Temple: "No more thrills please, let’s just have a good old fashioned ‘BLOWOUT.’
However, the watershed event for VUHoops came on June 15, 2008 with the post, "Terrell Vinson Inches Closer to ‘Nova." That post inspired three comments, including the first comment by Ed’77. From there things truly took off.
Here are a few of our more memorable milestones, including the posts that generated the most reader comments over the past 30 months:
- July 23, 2008: "Guess the Date of the Georgetown Game" contest drew 23 comments from readers hoping to win a Villanova t-shirt
- August 28, 2008: "Mouphtaou Yarou Commits to Villanova" attracted 11 comments (an incredible development given that no Villanova t-shirt was at stake!)
- December 12, 2008: "Dominic Cheek to Announce Friday" garnered a record 142 comments, including the first post by Bosshoghazzard
- February 8, 2009: Ed’77 joins VUHoops staff with an initial post "Marquette Game Preview" inspiring 24 reader comments
- August 21, 2009: Brian joins VUHoops staff with an initial post of "Mr. Foye Goes to Washington" greeted by 5 reader comments
- November 27, 2009: "Closest to the Pin Round 2" attracted 105 reader comments
- December 26, 2009: "Reader Poll: Should Nova Jump to Big East Football? and the companion article, "GPrazl’s Argument for Joining the Big East Football Conference" inspired 572 votes and 141 reader comments, including the first posts by Barney Rubble ’87
- January 23, 2010: "Scottie Leads 'Nova in Win over St. John's" drew 116 comments
- February 2, 2010: "Villanova vs. West Virginia Game Discussion" attracted 120 comments
- February 21, 2010: "Villanova vs. Pitt Discussion Thread" pulled in 134 comments
- March 6, 2010: "West Virginia vs. Villanova Discussion" garnered 139 comments
- March 11, 2010: "Marquette Downs 'Nova in BIG EAST Tourney" attracted a new record 160 comments
- March 18, 2010: "Villanova Slides by Robert Morris" drew a new record 162 comments
- March 20, 2010: "Villanova vs. St. Mary's Discussion" attracted the all-time record 260 comments
- April 14, 2010: "Michael Gilchrist Selects Kentucky" drew 138 comments
- September 10, 2010: "Football Officially Invited to Big East" inspired 103 comments
- October 25, 2010: "Ryan Arcidiacono Keeps It In the Family" attracted 111 comments
- November 8, 2010: "JayVaughn in Trouble" drew 197 comments
- November 10, 2010: Closest to the Pin Contest Round 1: Bucknell garnered 198 comments
- November 17, 2010: Kevin joined editorial staff with "The Morning After: Marist," which attracted 56 comments