June 26, 2017. I was sitting in my room in Ireland during my study abroad program with a buddy of mine, just scrolling Twitter. To this day, I still don’t know how it happened, but I came across this tweet from a fairly new account:
So, I DM’d fearless leader Joe Binder, and the rest is history.
For the past two and a half years, I have been very privileged to have the opportunity to write about the sport I love and the team I love for Sox On 35th. And, over the course of time, I don’t feel I’ve adequately taken the time to stop and thank the people who make everything we do possible: you, the readers, the fans.
The White Sox fan community is certainly an incredibly interesting one. We have a lot of different blog pages, a lot of different personalities, and, as a result, a lot of different opinions. But, all of us have the same goal: to inspire conversation among the fans of our favorite team, and get our opinions out there in the process. Without readers, what we do is pretty meaningless. I’ve had the chance to meet quite a few of you, and I hope to meet many more in the years to come – you are all incredible characters.
For those of you who have been vocal supporters – and you know who you are – I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support. You make what I do ever more rewarding – and, selfishly, it’s always a good feeling when someone appreciates your work. I hope that both myself and the rest of this page continue to create content that you enjoy.
For those of you who read my work and don’t really agree with what I say – whether it’s because I’m too optimistic, too analytical, or you just don’t like me – I also want to thank each of you. You help to make me a better writer by forcing me to continue to consider other opinions I might not have originally considered. Because of all of you, I can continue to grow as a writer, and I hope you continue to challenge me in the years to come.
I had a grandfather who passed away before I was born. As a Irish White Sox fan, my grandma always says he would be proud of what I’m doing, and I do my best to keep him in mind all the time. As we start a new year and decade, I hope all of you can focus on who and what is important to you – I’ve found I’m much happier when I’ve done that.
And, as we start a new year and decade, I hope you’re as excited as I am for what the future holds for the boys on the South Side. We’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – the best is yet to come for both the White Sox and us here on Sox On 35th. I hope you stick along for the ride, because it’s going to be a fun one.
Once again, thank you wholeheartedly for your support – my White Sox fandom has been taken to new levels in the recent years because of all of you. I hope to see a lot of you at 35th and Shields this year. Don’t be afraid to say hi if you see me, or make fun of me for my love of Carson Fulmer. It’s okay, I own it, just as long as you remember I was Giolito’s only supporter once.
Thanks again, Happy New Year, and Go White Sox.
– Jordan
Excellent work, enjoy reading your articles.