Username: Benne (real name: Jon Benne. Creative username, I know)
Member of Field Gulls Since: May 27, 2008 (original user ID was whothehellknows)
How I Discovered Field Gulls: This is starting to sound like a broken record. I discovered USS Mariner, Lookout Landing and FG all in quick succession. It was like stumbling onto an oasis in a desert of banal sports commentary. Here were good writers! With clear, insightful opinions backed up by firm data! And they write about my favorite teams!
Needless to say, I was hooked.
After nearly three years here, I got attached enough that I would walk through the fires of hell to keep this community thriving. So when John Morgan unexpectedly stepped down, I jumped at the opportunity to contribute my voice. Somehow, they accepted my offer. You could almost call me an ascended fanboy.
My Involvement at Field Gulls: With no football on the horizon any time soon, and with me leaving the breaking news stuff to Brian, things are going to be light for a bit. It doesn't help that I barely followed college football the past year, and knew I would be helpless at draft prospect scouting when I went through mock drafts and started going "Who?" midway through the first-round.
But never fear. I'd like to continue John's "Assessing Need" series, which means I'll have to write about Aaron Curry pretty soon. That's going to be a fun thread. I also have a few "think piece" ideas in mind, wherein I examine supposed "common knowledge" in football and ask myself, "is it really true?" One part of Morgan's style (and Dave Cameron's, for that matter) that always stuck with me was this: challenge conventional wisdom. Question things, especially things you thought you knew. If you must, un-learn what you have learned.
Of course, there's always room for levity, especially in the long, boring offseason and a lockout looming. I want to keep a strong, weekly Off-Topic post going, so we can shoot the shit about beer, videogames, music and more beer. And maybe some more off-beat football stuff that amuses me.
Personal Stuff: I'm 23 years old, and like Joel, I represent the proud "Bellingham Seahawks Fans" brigade. Grew up in Ferndale, lived in southern Oregon from '01 to '06, and moved back up here. My job is hardly glamorous; I've been doing retail for 5 years now. It pays my bills, and occasionally I get drunk with my bosses on Friday nights. Good times.
My first sports love was the Mariners, back in '95. Did you expect any other year? Back then, I kinda followed the Seahawks but kinda didn't. I did learn my first cuss words from my dad, reacting to one of the many, many dumb things Rick Mirer did. It wasn't until the Holmgren era that my Seahawks fanhood really solidified. I would write about watching the Sonics during that time, but doing so may cause damage to my keyboard and monitor.
If Brian could top Phil in nerdiness, then I'll raise the stakes. I own a lightsaber replica, and have the entire Final Fantasy VII soundtrack on my iPod. But my main nerdy obsession is animation, in case you couldn't tell by the icon. I worship at the altar of Pixar. Being 7 when the first Toy Story came out, and then watching Toy Story 3 in theaters, when you're only a bit older than Andy, was far more emotionally gripping than I thought it would be.
My favorite animated series, in no particular order: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Batman: The Animated Series, Pixar, Miyazaki, The Disney Renaissance period, Animaniacs, Dexter's Labratory. I could go on, but I won't.
My favorite movie of 2010: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. My least favorite movie of 2010: The Last Airbender (shocking choice, right?)
I enjoy video games, but don't have the time for them I used to. I also love the various new media entertainment out there: Zero Punctuation, Nostalgia Critic, Angry Video Game Nerd, and some other ones, I won't bore you with lists.
You can probably guess by now which website ruined my life.