My friends, I cannot lie. This is not how any of us wanted combo-fanning to start. When I look across the landscape of the The Buffalo Wild Wings Friday Snack-Off Board I see threads that stale, posts that are fill of strife, and knee-jerk replies that are without a soul. Perhaps it was our hubris that brought us to this point, I can see the defeat in your eyes. It looks like this season could be lost, could be dropped into the dustbin of failed efforts. Maybe its over? Maybe the pak head should continue to lay on the ground and gather dust. We could just pack it in, we could just drop our heads in shame, we could just rehash position rankings for the football team, we could argue about oscar Weber and Frank Martin, we could pretend that the Royals finishing above .500 is a step towards the playoffs, we could just post nonsense in the Pit, but that would not be the goEMAW that I know! The goEMAW I know produces some of its best stuff during this so-called lull. The goEMAW I know will discover a somewhat obscure poster and raise them to the ranks of the exalted when that poser decides to shrug of the doubt from their shoulders and makes a damned fine post! The goEMAW I know will likely take the piss on this very post, but will I care? NO!
Anonymous poster who cheers for a different school, be it KU, Illinois, Auburn, or North Dakota State, you should not care either! Post away! Post away and let your reservations fly! We all know there is no home to return to, burn your ships at the shore and shout! Will all of you make it? I would be lying if I said you will all be able join me at the end when the smoke clears, but those of you that do will have done something glorious, you will have made a name, a post, a legacy, you will have entered the halls of history. And those of you who will inevitably fall? Well I can't tell you for certain what is on the other side, but I can say that you will give joy and energy to countless many on this side as we use your charred remains for fuel, and I for one will sing a song in your honor.
O goEMAW, it might be hard to believe, but trust me this darkness is but prelude to the first rays of a new dawn. A new dawn that will shine upon the pak head and proudly proclaim to the world that adversity has been overcome. A new dawn where #1cat means more than just a twitter tag, but a manifesto. It doesn't just mean #1wildcat, but #1jaycat, #1breadcat, #1eaglecat, and #1cowcat! It means #1mecat, #1wecat, and #1youcat! Where is the pak head? Will you let it molder on the ground or will you help me knock the dirt off and raise it high? Will you be there holding the pak head with me when the sun strikes the start of a new era?