So Long and Thanks for All the Soccer

This is it. My final post here at Stumptown Footy (at least for the foreseeable future). When I originally created this site back in 2010, I never had any intention of leaving, but I also knew one day I would have to. It's an unfortunate fact of life that I'm not able to blog about the Portland Timbers and Thorns for a living. Though even if I could I'm not sure I would.

Writing has always been a hobby for me. It's how I better connect with the world. In this case, I used writing as a way to better connect with the Timbers, and subsequently the Thorns. While I've certainly had a few controversial articles here on Stumptown Footy, all of it was done with the passion that grows out of that sort of connection. Waking up everyday at 7am and writing two, three, or sometimes five articles a day was never a chore for me... it was fun.

I've written for many different outlets and websites covering many different topics over the last 8 years. That said, never, not once in any of those years, have I had a community as active, passionate, or dedicated as you guys. Writing an article and being able to have a community discuss the topic in great depth and detail is something most writers never get to experience. So while it was the Timbers who originally brought me here, to SB Nation, it quickly became you guys that kept me coming back every day. It's also the hardest thing to leave behind.

In my absence, William Conwell will be taking over as the site's manager. You guys have probably noticed that he has stepped up his contributions to the site over the last few weeks. This was not unintentional. He's going to be a great manager and I have no doubt that he'll take the site to heights I could only ever dream of.

As for myself? Well, I'm off to start my actual job. Something that requires 100% of my time and energy. I'm very excited, even if it's with the bittersweet emotions that go with departing something you've created and helped build.

That said, I have no plans to disappear entirely. I'll still be reading Stumptown everyday and, perhaps, you'll see me in the comments. I'll also be far more active on my personal Twitter account now that I'm not the primary steward of Stumptown's. I'm sure I'll be very active during Timbers and Thorns games, especially. You can find me there at twitter.com/geoffpg.

And not to get all anticlimactic or anything but... that's all.

Rose City Til I Die.