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Learn It, Live It, Love it
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RamNation Forums2008 Awards and Rankings: Specialty Awards
RamNation's regular posters are what make the site so great. Everybody has their own posting styles and quirks that contribute to the board in unique ways. The Specialty Awards is the segment where we honor those individuals who stand out in various categories. First, a special thanks to several people who have made tremendous contributions towards Ramnation THANK YOU
Now, onto the awards... BEST NEW HANDLESThere were several good new handles registered this year, even though many of them have never showed up on the message boards. Here are a few of our favorites:
STUDENT BODY RIGHT (BEST STUDENT POSTER AWARD)Man, this category was much easier to give awards to when zjb58 was still in school and posting like a fiend! It's a lot harder these days, because historically, students don't post often, and when they do, they don't always reveal that they are students. However, our top two student posters for 2007-08 are:
GLASS HALF-FULL AWARD (MOST POSITIVE)Kit Karson -- Over the past few years, Kit has been a poster down on Ram athletics. Who hasn't, right? Exactly, but Kit had been a bit more vocal about his displeasure on the state of the Rams than most. However, with the latest coaching changes to Ram football and basketball, Kit has been rejuvenated, and his optimism has been infectious, particularly in his postings on the Ram Club Board. It was a strange year for finding suitable candidates for this award, because when even guys like CSU Rambunctious had their downtrodden moments, you know the fan base was in a bit of despair for most of the year. Believe it or not, sanfranramfan has shown surprising optimism this year. Probably not enough to warrant legitimate consideration as a candidate for this award, but the fact that he's even mentioned here shows his progress as a poster. GLASS HALF-EMPTY AWARD (MOST NEGATIVE)80sramfan -- There were many candidates for this award, because just about everyone was negative. But, 80s stood out from the rest, because he found something to bitch about seemingly every time he posted. He bitched about the state of the football program, but bitched more when the coaching staff was fired. He ripped the MWC, it's TV deal, the CSU basketball program (the entire CSU athletic department for that matter), Paul Kowalczyk, Larry Penley, fellow fans, individual players, and probably Santa Claus for all we know. We're hoping his negativity is just part of his schtick, but it sure makes you wonder. BUFF HATER AWARDRamdom -- It was going to be tough to unseat reigning award winner "Beer Fight" this year, as he continued laying down the smack on Buff fans. But, Ramdom took the top spot, based on relentless badgering and a crusade against the CU football team, athletic department, and university. He went so far to compare the Buffaloes to Hitler. Not a cool thing to say, but you can see why he takes this award. 'POKE HATER AWARDSwoll Cracker -- Swoll was the clear-cut 'Poke hater award winner this year, based on the strength of his "Kirsten Sween, LMAO" smack, Joe Glenn jokes, funnel cake references, and other miscellaneous jabs. FARKER OF THE YEARThe Fark Board was a hit two years ago when we first set it up. However, it either lost its luster, or there aren't many Ram fans with Photoshop skills. Considering there were less than 35 total threads posted this year, and half of them were by bunsbuggy, he wins. Truthfully, he'd probably win even if he had more competition. Buns doesn't have the best skills, but he has the best creativity. His posts involving ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews are always popular, but perhaps our favorite of the year was one from this spring called "Nate's Obamagasm", in which he superimposes "nateDiggsCSU's" image behind presidential candidate Barrack Obama. See it here. ROOKIE OF THE YEARdonskys13 -- It was an incredible year for donskys13, a recent CSU graduate who has burst onto the RamNation scene with great takes, interesting tidbits, and occasional inside information. This former Rocky Mountain Collegian sports reporter knows his stuff, has good sources, and very quickly has demanded respect and credibility. He is on par with some of our other solid recent Rookies of the Year in terms of posting frequency, having made nearly 800 appearances over the past year. This could be the start of an impressive RamNation career for donskys13. COMEBACK POSTER OF THE YEARRAM-I-AM -- RAM-I-AM is a long-time community member who is a former top-ranked poster (2001), a Hall of Famer, and a native poster dating back to the original CSU Ramblings message board days. But, he has been unbearably quiet for the last five years. After his No. 1 ranking in 2001 and subsequent No. 11 ranking in 2002, a job change forced him to give up his time on RamNation. However, he came out of nowhere in 2007-08, posting a lot more and giving a new era of RamNationers a glimpse at his greatness. He has only had a couple of Honorable Mention elections since 2002, and even those were more based on reputation than actual contribution. But now, he has made an impressive resurgence, and gets back in the rankings at No. 50. MOST HATED POSTERPancakeman -- This newer poster has everything it takes to be the Most Hated Poster. Sure, he had some competition this year, as it was an easy year for non-Ram fans to kick Ram fans while they're down. Guys like Buff Fan, CUJoe (to a lesser extent), and even one of our own -- 80sramfan -- got consideration as Most Hated Poster. But ultimately, it was the regular snide, condescending remarks from Pancakeman, the overinflated view of his beloved Buffaloes, and his ability to stick the knife into Ram fans and lure them into flame wars that cinched the award. It will be interesting to see if Pancakeman is just a flash in the pan or if he'll be around for a while. BEST NON-RAM POSTER1. Buffsin2008 -- Bi08 earned a top-25 spot for the second straight year and fourth time in his career. Historically, he has been the one Buff fan that Rams could truly get along with day in and day out. He's knowledgeable and he's a courteous opposing fan on a rival's board. 2. LoboDogg -- LD dropped in the rankings a tad this year, from No. 9 to No. 16. He's got a lot of similar traits to Buffsin2008, in that he knows he's a guest on a rival's board, he's courteous and he fits in. He's a solid, knowledgeable poster who earns brownie points for his Friday goodies on the General Discussion Board. 3. Dubya Why Oh -- As much as Wyo and CSU fans dislike each other, Dubya gets along pretty well with Ram fans. He has his slip-ups and occasionally makes the natives restless. But, for the most part he is enjoyable to have around, has good takes and funny posts. 4. Cowtown Buff -- Becomes the third Buff fan, behind Buffsin2008 and le alpe d huez to ever make it into the RamNation top 25. He really came on strong this year becoming more of a part of the community, and being a solid contributor while being a rare tolerable Buff fan. 5. le alpe d huez -- Another solid year for alpe, but seemed to get lost in the crowd of tolerable Buff fans. Surprisingly falls to the third-best Buff fan on the board. Still enjoyable and funny, and for a San Diego State and CU alumnus, he's an OK guy. 6. SYKOBUFF -- Proved that his new-and-improved "nice" personality wasn't a fluke by putting together another solid year of talking sports with Ram fans. Sure, he can dish out some smack, but he now does it in a funny, more light-hearted way, and he's one of the few Buff fans who has no qualms about speaking negatively about his own beloved team. 7. InTheBuff -- He's learning from guys like Buffsin2008, Cowtown, and SYKO, on how to be more tolerable. He's still the most belligerent of anyone else on this list, but is able to contribute well to conversations on college athletics. 8. Blueandgold -- We believe he is the only UNC Bear fan to post regularly on the RamNation boards. He is likeable, shares a unique perspective, and is always pushing for that elusive CSU-UNC football matchup. AND, he wasn't too hard on CSU fans when his Bears beat the Rams in hoops this year. 9. tk61 -- He hasn't been around much during the offseason, but he is a pleasure to have around during the season. A Wyo fan, he still keeps things in the right perspective -- sports are for fun. 10. Roadrunnerbaseball -- Has a unique outsider's perspective, and in-depth knowledge of local college athletics. Makes this list for the first time. THE "DOC" SULLIVAN AWARD (formerly the Rah-Rah award)This is the fifth year of the award formerly known as the Rah-Rah awad, which essentially goes to someone who has done something of significance either on or off the message boards. For example, last year, we gave the nod to Inverted Ram for his massive fundraising effort in the memory of his friend Trae Pepper and his sponsorship of fellow Ram fans to help get them involved in the Ram Club. We also honored Denver Dave who also sponsored some Ram Club memberships and has also done other giveaways to entice people into joining the Ram Club. Previous award winners have done other good deeds and been recognized. This year, we have co-winners again. First, Swoll Cracker deserves major kudos for his efforts in helping organize a night to remember for Doc last winter, when the Rams hosted CU in men's basketball. Doc was treated to a pre-game party, was an honorary member of the coaching staff, and got to sit on the bench during the game. It was touching to see someone do something like that for a dear friend. Months later, after Doc had passed away, Swoll helped organize the Bill "Doc" Sullivan Memorial Fund, which is an athletic scholarship in Doc's name. Swoll spent a lot of time on the message boards encouraging others to donate, and helped raise thousands of dollars towards the endowment. Top notch, Swoll. Second, Doc himself deserves the honor of the award now named for him. Doc gave us all inspiration for how he battled cancer and how he lived his entire life, and especially in his final months -- traveling, visiting family, hooking up with RamNation friends, posting on the message boards just hours after surgery, and handling the entire unfair ordeal with incredible dignity and strength. He is one of a kind, and I know he set a good example of how to live life. Thank you Doc. EWE AWARD (BEST FEMALE POSTER)Co-winners Donna Sullivan and daughter Erin Sullivan win this award going away. Donna is the wife and Erin the daughter of Bill "Doc" Sullivan, who passed away this spring after a year-long battle with cancer. Bill was a close friend to many people on this board, and an adored acquaintance of thousands of others who he conversed with on the RamNation message boards every day. When Doc died, there was a great sense of emptiness in our community. We were sad for the loss of our friend, we were sad for the Sullivan family, and we felt helpless. But, Donna and Erin both took time to keep the RamNation community informed, and gave us reassurances that the family was holding together. They didn't owe those updates to us, and certainly, we were the ones who should have been consoling them...not the other way around. Donna's strength and composure was unrivaled to anyone I've seen under such circumstances. And Erin's post that talked about her dad's passing and what the people here meant to him was extremely touching. Her post is one we'll never forget, and it is honored below in our Post of the Year segment. We thank you ladies for your time, we stand amazed by your strength, and we are grateful that you shared your husband/father with us. TOP GENERAL BOARD CONTRIBUTORThe GDB can get more volatile than the Ramblings board on most days, because most of the conversations revolve around hotly debated political issues where each posters holds on dearly to their beliefs. It seems to get worse every day, and admittedly, we allow a little more leeway on the General Boards, so it does get ugly at times. However, it can be a great source of entertainment. Voting on the top contributors for the GDB is never easy, but here is our attempt at a top-10 list:
Honorable Mention -- 80ramfan, JoeybtheRealAD, JoninAZ, camdog, Desert Ovis Canadenis, Ramfucious, Three RAM Night FUNNIEST POSTERcamdog - Honest to goodness, yours truly has never laughed so hard at a post than when camdog explained how his dog's anal gland problem was clearing up and that he was back to his normal self. Well, camdog had a more creative way of saying it (something about firing off steamers?), and yeah, you had to be there. But, it was just one example of many instances in which camdog was ROTFLMAO funny this year. He is a regular contributor on both the Ramblings board and the General Discussion Board, and his humor certainly crosses over effectively in both realms. POST OF THE YEARTens of thousands of posts, narrowed down to a handful of gems. A couple dozen posters' efforts made the finalists list, making it difficult as always to pick clear-cut winners. In the end though, we pared down to five of the very best posts of the year. There is no particular criteria for Post of the Year; we simply collect posts that strike us throughout the year, based on thoughts, opinions, or stories that particularly move us…or even those occasional drop-dead hilarious messages that have us laughing out loud. In the end, we go with our gut and pick our favorites. To view our winners for 2007-08, click the following links, counting backwards from No. 5 to No. 1 (enjoy!):
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