Did I write an anniversary column *last year*?

I can't even remember. Probably not.

Damn, I'm an ingrate.

Two years ago, I responded to CRZ's open invitation to "Join the Crew" with a column about Konnan, a joke about Sean Shannon, and not much else. I thought had some decent credentials, in that I knew a certain wrestling magazine guru through a family friend, and used his influence to get interviews with Marc Mero, Vince Russo, and Kevin Kelly on a wrestling show I hosted on my high school radio station. Unfortunately, as evidenced by my inability to land a gig on Scoops, no one ELSE thought my credentials were decent. Except CRZ. Or maybe he didn't...all I know is I was told, "sure, send some stuff in." And so, in July of 1999, for the first time ever, the Device appeared on [slash] wrestling.

Two years later: Scoops is gone, Mero is gone, Russo is gone, Shannon is gone, Konnan is gone, the Lakers are back to back NBA champions, the Kings still suck (you didn't think I was gonna miss that opportunity, did you?), Mick Foley's a 2-time #1 best-seller, WWFE is the only game in town in the US, I'm in college, I have a life, and I'm hardly writing anymore...and CRZ and [slash] wrestling are still here.

Wow.

I really don't know what to say...nor have I read much of what anyone else has said about this historic occasion yet, either. I mean, [slash] is still a one-stop shop (one where you don't buy anything, because there's no banners, that is) for all your wrestling needs...including CRZ's recaps, which are still printed in the visually-appealing Wrestlemaniacs style (which I always enjoyed more than Wrestleline's font), links to other major columnists/personalities like Bret Hart, Cody Monk, Herb Kunze, and Hyatte, not to mention some damned good in-house columnists like Michaelangelo, Sharon Austin, and Bitchfactor, among others. But you don't need me to tell you that.

I could also talk about changes in wrestling over the last 2 years, which I kinda did to open this column, but wrestling *is* change, needs to be change, otherwise it doesn't change. Think about that for a second. Anyway, there have been too many changes to name, discuss, and do justice to, so I'll leave that one where it is...maybe pick that up at another time.

I think the only way to truly write a 2-year anniversary column for this site is to tell you all about an incident that occurred two weeks ago, as my friends and I were leaving Madison Square Garden after RAW. Most of the people I talked to on the way out considered it to be an awful show, and I kinda thought so too...but maybe I was just pissed that the show started with a Vince Promo followed by a Hardcore match that went backstage in about a minute, and it was a good half hour into RAW before I saw any wrestling...on the bright side, there was the Doring/Roadkill-FBI dark match near the beginning of the show (by the way, is anyone else wondering what might have happened if this week's RAW had been in MSG? Hell, Doring and Roadkill got a huge "E-C-DUB" chant, what would have happened for RVD and Dreamer?), and the Jericho-Tajiri match near the end...and the "Hogan" chant. But I digress...anyway, in talking to some people on the way out, I lift Wrestlecrap's line about Vince not being a Genius, but Lanny Poffo is in one form or another, and another fan attributed the line to its proper source...we got to talking, and I mentioned that I wrote for [slash]. I told him my name, and it turns out the kid had heard of me.

I find this interesting...and pretty damn cool. At the tender age of 19, I haven't really done anything that would merit someone having heard of me...at least, not outside of one of the three towns I've spent any real amount of time in. And yet, largely because of Christopher Robin Zimmerman, some kid who went to RAW knew who I was. It ain't exactly Warhol's fifteen minutes of fame, mind you, but what the hell.

So, yeah. I guess all I can say is, "thanks, Chris." Thanks for the little slash next to my name when I write a column. Thanks for the LITTLE BOLD YELLOW TYPE where appropriate. Thanks for tolerating my gloating over the Lakers' dominance. Thanks for "making me famous," or at least helping that kid at MSG know who I was. But most of all, Chris, thanks for giving me a place to put my views down on the screen, for others to read and comment on, and for the little swell of pride I feel when I see a newly posted edition of the Device. Thanks a lot, man. Happy 2 years. Here's to many more.