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MAJOR SITE ANNOUNCEMENT

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Om

Burgundy & Gold Jacket
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BGO Ownership Group
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November 6, 2019

With apologies for seemingly coming out of left field with this ...

We have decided to close up shop here at BGO, effective at the end of the 2019 regular season.

We haven't come to this decision suddenly, or easily, but once we agreed to make the call we wanted to let you all know well ahead of time. The bye week seemed as logical a time as any.

It has been great ten-year run for us, and we're more proud than we can possibly express to have attracted the great group of individuals who make up our membership. We have been genuinely humbled by that. Bottom line, the thing we we're going to miss the most is still the central and best reason we started BGO in the first place—hanging out with good people, in a comfortable environment, talking about our favorite (and often infuriating) football team.

But we're in agreement as owners that the time has come.

For those interested in the why … as with most things, it's a combination of factors.

By far the single biggest factor is that the operation and maintenance of a site like this, to the level we believe required to meet our standards, demands constant care and attention. We would be lying if we said we still carried the same level of passion for that part that we started with. Real life has led us in other directions.

While less of a factor, there are also the ongoing and not-inconsiderable financial costs. Please know that we deeply appreciate each and every donation many of you have made over the years, but the site unfortunately never came close to the self-funding level we had envisioned and hoped for.

So there it is. We look forward to hanging with those of you who stick around for the rest of the season, and we're hopeful we'll continue to find you out there on the interweb in the future. Who knows, maybe someone will start a Redskins web site that caters to the kind of fans we have been so fortunate to have attracted here ...

It's been a privilege and a joy, friends.

Hail.


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Closing our doors? It's the definition of a bittersweet decision. Obviously, you don't spend countless hours, energy, time, and significant money keeping a website going for more than a decade unless it means something to you. I feel like we built a beautiful vehicle for Redskins fans to come and share with each other. And not just any Redskins fans. With some extremely rare exceptions, the members we have had here over the years have been smart, articulate, generous, civil, and respectful. And you all have become something more than ‘members', but are among those I call ‘friends'.

For me, the passion has been waning some over time. It's been hard to be a fan of this team in general, its owner and front office, for a long, long time. The past few seasons, it's become nearly impossible. Looking at the time and money spent to run a website celebrating a franchise where all we've had for a while now is pain and frustration to wallow in, there just isn't any return on investment (be it financial or emotional) in it. Possible not everyone feels that way – but I do. This organization has literally beaten the enthusiasm out of me.

I will never stop being a Redskins fan. I'll watch every game. I'll root for them. Nothing could ever change that, and I'm sure that's true for the other owners and staff. But life is short, and I have come to the conclusion that there are things I can and should spend my time on that are far more worthy of it.

I can never thank you guys enough for the years – more than a decade (!) of joy you've given me here. Being able to cheer on this team, scream, and even argue with a bunch of guys and gals who love this team as much as I do and who care about each other, there aren't words to describe how I feel about that. Love would be one of them. I also have to thank Mark, Bob, Pete, and Henry who have been here from the beginning and without whom, none of this would've happened or been half as much fun. Special thanks to Ken as well who has carried us with his awesome content and will continue to do great things over at Riggo's Rag where you all can check out his stuff and continue to take advantage of his encyclopedic knowledge of free agency and the draft.

You guys are all awesome human beings.

But we have always said (and tried to act accordingly) – it's not about us, but you guys. So thanks to each of you that has made this place your Redskins fan home, whether you were a lurker, an occasional drive-by poster, or a stalwart compulsive poster – we give you our most heartfelt thanks and gratitude.

Thanks for the ride people – it's been great!


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Thank you guys for putting together such a great little corner of the football universe. The best, in my opinion.

As cranky as I get sometimes, this does make me sad. I really do wish the Redskins hadn't turned into such a source of frustration for so many of us. At some point ... well. I get it.
 
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It makes me so sad to hear this, but I can understand. You guys really created an oasis here for us to find like minded, intelligent fans without the vitriol of other places. Thanks for all the hard work!
 
Had a feeling this would happen for the last couple years. Soon as I saw the thread title, I knew what it was.
Kudos for all you guys hanging tough as long as you have.
 
Thank you for giving us all the opportunity to share in this amazing site.

We've all been blessed as Redskins fans to have the opportunity to be here all these years.

Best wishes to Boone and Om moving forward.

My sincere appreciation,

- CH
 
Sorry to hear this but I certainly understand. My genuine, heartfelt thanks to everyone involved for the tireless hours of devotion you poured out to make this community a reality. You succeeded far beyond any expectations I had when I stumbled upon this place years ago. As my passion for the Skins has faded do a multiplicity of reasons I have engaged here less but please know how much this place has meant to me personally and how much I value the friendships I've made and strengthened over the years.
 
Bummer to hear - but I totally understand!

I truly appreciate all of the work y'all put into the site and have enjoyed coming here for non-trollish chat about the team. Even though the team as been a letdown - the community here is great.
 
Hard day. Hard decision.

You folks are the reason this didn't happen sooner. We were lucky enough to attract a special bunch. Hope you all realize that and I hope you all know your patronage and friendship honor us.

I wish the team had made this a harder decision yet.

John, Mark, Henry, Pete, Ken...there aren't words, gents. Thank you seems rather inadequate but it's what I have. You are all awesome friends and even better people.
 
As Boone mentioned a short time ago, the BBQ blog will continue until the site closes and the bulk of my work will then be featured on Riggo's Rag.

I will have some thoughts to share with you in the BBQ thread shortly.

Thanks for a great ten years. I have enjoyed it and cherish all the memories that have been made along the way.
 
Thank you for all that you have done for us redskins fans.

I am going to miss hopping in the chat to see all the familiar faces. Wonder where we can chat now.
 
Man this sucks zombie ass. I really dislike hearing that one of my all time favorite sites is coming to an end, a place where so many other frustrated fans of this team could gather and jointly discuss it's issues. Over the last few years it's been more of a support group for me since this awfully ran team rips your soul out, bit by bit.

With that said I honestly understand why you guys have made this decision and completely get that it does NOT come lightly in any way, shape or form. I can say that the majority of my internet time is spent on this site with 100% honesty. BGO has not only been my outlet to vent on this putrid team (as of late), but a fantastic community to share ideas & experiences with fans from around the world.

To say this site will be missed would be grossly understated and I thank all the mods and contributors that made it into a fantastic place. But like a great poet I once knew in the Random Redskins Thought thread once said, "...if life gives you lemons...use it to treat the scurvy..."

Thank you for the experience
 
This is sad to read, but I completely understand. I know it's hard to do all that is needed. But I personally greatly appreciate all you have done to make this site and to keep it running. It's been a great place to have rational discussion about a team that makes irrational decisions. It's extremely difficult to find that anywhere on the interwebz, but we could find it here. I appreciate Boone and Om and the rest of the staff who have put countless hours and dollars into making this a great place to be for the rest of us.


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Sad news to hear, I've been coming here for so long when the day finally arrives to be honest, I'll feel a bit empty. While I understand the decision, hell my posting and enthusiasm has waned over the years, it's still tough to imagine Redskins football without the BGO crowd. Much thanks to the owners for providing a place where we could congregate, ten years, hard to believe. Nothing but love for everyone here.
 
Thanks guys. It really sucks, but I understand the decision. I loved the site but real life has gotten in the way of my time here. Bottom line, I see BGO as a victim of a perennially bad team.
 
I have to admit... I don't know how you guys have done it as long as you have, for a lot of reasons (the most being the state of the team). It's been awesome, enjoyable and a really wild ride.
 
I've got to agree with everyone else. It's been a great ride, but I can certainly see the multiple reasons leading to the end of the ride. Thanks so much to all of you for what you've done over the years.

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It is a sad day, but it's been an outstanding journey. The work the staff has put in over the years has been amazing, and with such a great group of members, this has been the best site for Skins fans bar none. Been discussing the Skins with some of you since the days of the old sporting news forum, so it's hard to say good by...
 
Aw this saddens me immensely, but like others I totally understand the reasoning behind your decision.

Being in the UK there are almost no Skins fans near me, or that I interface with day to day. This site was the best thing I found in respects to a fandom that was passionate and intelligent.
I loved reading the debates here on a day to day basis.

Thanks for everything you guys have done. :D
 
It is a sad day, but it's been an outstanding journey. The work the staff has put in over the years has been amazing, and with such a great group of members, this has been the best site for Skins fans bar none. Been discussing the Skins with some of you since the days of the old sporting news forum, so it's hard to say good by...

Not a good-bye, brother ... it'll be a see you down the road.

Hoping that's true for all of us.
 
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