MHR Cartoon by Robb Yeager
Greetings BRONCOS fans, and members of Mile High Report. I always take this time to reach out to you and give you a quick snapshot of where we are, where we have been and where we are going. The start of another new season is the perfect time because for me it has always been a time of new beginnings.
First, where we have been. MHR is growing...rapidly. We have now compiled just under 11,000,000 unique visitors in our history(we turn 5 on August 24th) and seeing as it took almost 2 years to get to our first million I think it is safe to say we have really taken off. We have seen over 27,000,000 page views. Our membership has climbed to nearly 8500, while the Facebook page(2300) and Twitter account(5450 followers) have continued to grow as well. For all of that I thank you!
I share this with all of you in order to give you an idea of what you are all a part of, and how each one of you has an impact in that. We've seen 9370 FanPosts and over 4600 FanShots since the site's redesign a couple years ago. That is content mainly created BY YOU! That's huge. The Front Page has seen 5300 stories. That means the community creates nearly THREE TIMES as much content. MHR is as much about you as it is about me or anyone of the contributors! Again, I thank you.
With growth, however, comes growing pains. While MileHighReport is not the 'small town' anymore, where everybody knows everyone else, the different blend of Broncos fan we get from all around the world makes it a true melting pot. Just like anything, however, MHR isn't for everyone. That's OK, too. The internet is a big place and there is room for everyone. In the end, however, Broncos fans are Broncos fans and we are all a big family.
That leads me to the part I always look forward to the least. We need to clean up some of the things that are happening in the comment sections - both on the front page and in Fan Posts. Please, by all means, have an opinion and feel free to state it. It is a REQUIREMENT, however, that you remain open to what other fans feel as well. Agree to disagree, but do it in a mature manner. In other words, leave the personal attacks, the name calling and plain douche-baggery off the site.
That goes for comments and posts. You can express your opinion WITHOUT going over the top. No matter what side of a topic you are on, WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM! Remember that. Like any family we will have our fights, our disagreements, but in the end we should always be there for each other. That is what a community is about, what being a fan is about!
That is where the community of MHR comes in. This is not a message board. The contributors here on MHR are NOT moderators. Each and every one of you has the ability to FLAG a post or comment. If something offends you, FLAG IT. I look at all flagged comments. With 8500 members, if there are multiple flags it will be removed. I leave this up to you. Don't react to an offensive comment with another offensive comment. Just FLAG IT, and move on. If you see a Fan Post that you don't agree with, IGNORE IT! If there is a member you disagree with, IGNORE HIM/HER.
This is a tough time in Broncos Country. For most of us, the current 5-year drought is the longest we can remember. Should the Broncos finish 2011 with a losing record it will be the first time since the early 70's that the team had back-to-back losing records. We are frustrated, impatient and flat-out pissed about what is going on. I am trying to give people a bit of space to let out that frustration, but it is TIME to look out the WINDSHIELD, not look through the REARVIEW MIRROR. Let the past go and let's focus on the future.
Just like the cartoon above, we are all the same. All of us Drink the kool-aid at times, all of us get negative at times, all of us want our guy to play, or another guy to get benched. That's what being a FAN-atic is all about. The time for all that talk is over - at least for a little while. Let's use these four preseason games to find out what kind of team we have, and push as much POSITIVE ENERGY in Broncos Country that we can. Get behind the TEAM - the NAME ON THE FRONT of the jersey, NOT the NAME ON THE BACK. Let's trust the new leadership of the Broncos to make the right decisions, even if we don't agree with all of them all the time.
Lastly, I thank each and every one of you one last time for taking time out of your day to visit, read, comment and contribute to MileHighReport.com. Broncos fans are the greatest fans in sports. It's easy to show it when the team is winning - now let's prove it in our darkest hours! As always, feel free to email me about any comments, questions and concerns at MILEHIGHREPORT@GMAIL.COM
Enjoy the 2011 season here on MHR, be kind to each other and GO BRONCOS!