A fond farewell to For Whom the Cowbell Tolls

For Whom the Cowbell Tolls is getting shut down at the end of September. This part of our journey is, unfortunately, coming to an end.

SB Nation and the folks in power have decided that it’s time to move on from For Whom the Cowbell Tolls. We’re not the only site that’s being impacted by this decision. There are others as well.

The good folks over at Cowboys Ride for Free, Team Speed Kills, Big East Coast Bias, and Against All Enemies are all being impacted by this choice as well. And of course, all of the communities that have rallied around these blogs over the years are losing out in addition to that.

That’s a lot of people. That’s a lot of frustration and heartbreak caused by this decision.

While I don’t know all of the journeys that folks at other sites have gone through, and I don’t know everyone who has made their way through FWtCT at some point or another, I’ve spent a few years being attached to this site.

Charlie Burris, Justin Sutton, and Cristilmethod all had the unfortunate honor of dealing with me all the way back in April 2015. They, for some reason or another, gave me a shot at this whole writing business. For some reason, they thought I was worth having around. And because of that opportunity, a lot of great things came out of it for me.

I don’t say this lightly. The trajectory that this site put me on led to me meeting my wife and us ultimately having our son. It’s been incredible what all that opportunity back in 2015 has afforded me.

Without FWtCT, the past 7-and-a-half years of my life are radically different.

I’ve made many friends along the way (and possibly angered a few folks here and there). It’s impossible to name everyone I’ve had the pleasure of working with, so if I don’t list your name, please forgive me. I’m doing my best here and sometimes my best isn’t always all that it’s cracked up to be.

That said, I do want to highlight the impact that folks like Daniel Black, Justin Strawn, and Ladd Ezell have had on my life. They’ve been friends who interacted with me here and have stuck with me over the years.

I’m grateful for them and I’m grateful for each member of this community that has stuck around over the years. Y’all have been incredible in terms of support and the grace that y’all have extended for each stumble we’ve made along the way. It’s been a pleasure to connect with so many people along the way.

After my time as the managing editor from May 2016 to May 2017, I took a little bit of time off and then got right back to it as an editor. That lasted until March 2018, when I ultimately headed on over to FanSided and started my journey with them.

I still missed this site though. I missed the community and the internet fun. Stuff like #AlwaysRunNeverPass and Hey Shep, Hail State and all of the nonsense in between that made being a Mississippi State blogger so enjoyable.

A number of things happened in my personal life, such as meeting my wife, marrying her, starting a career in actual journalism and subsequently moving to Omaha. In the midst of all of that, we had a kid and adopted a dog (not in that order), I launched The Underdog Tribune (which is my own Mississippi State sports blog), I started grad school and had to subsequently drop out because money ran out and then I started grad school again.

I left traditional journalism for familiar blogging opportunities and a slightly less stressful career path. I recently got the chance to return all the way back to my roots here. The site needed a little help and Landon wanted someone with familiarity for things and I wanted a chance to help build the site back up again.

Unfortunately, we won’t get the chance to develop this site in the way we were hoping to.

A difficult decision was made above us and now we’re trying to figure out what exactly is next for all of us.

I’ll be here until they turn the lights off and take away my key.

After that, all of my blogging energy and internet fun will be headed to the aforementioned The Underdog Tribune. Y’all are more than welcome to follow along, or I suppose we can say goodbye at the end of this coming month. Whichever y’all prefer. I understand either way.

I’m just grateful for what this site has done for my life and to have had the chance to put words down on a screen. There’s a great number of great memories and great people who have impacted my life because of this site.

I’ll forever be grateful for all this community has brought me. I’m grateful for all of the grace that y’all have given me. I’m grateful for the fact that occasionally y’all thought I was a little witty and sometimes funny.

Some folks were even convinced I ever had a clue as to what I was doing. I’m not sure how that happened, to be completely honest.

I’m seeing this through until the end of the coming month, if at all possible.

And then after that, this part of our journey will come to an end. If there are any writers who need any help finding a place to land, I’ll gladly do what I can to get them into the best spot possible. Even if that means helping them build their own Mississippi State blog.

Thank you again to everyone who has joined me along the way. I don’t think any words I put down anywhere will ever do justice for the incredible impact y’all have had on me and my life.

I truly am grateful.