As the old adage goes, “Time flies when you’re having fun.”
While owning and operating ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive for the last 12 months has certainly been fun, it has also resulted in long hours, late nights and more hard work then I could have possibly imagined.
Exactly one year ago, OGGOA was created to be THE stomping ground for die-hard Florida Gators fans on the World Wide Web – an online home base to serve as your all-inclusive, one-stop portal for everything you wanted or needed to know about your favorite team. Looking back on our accomplishments over the last 365 days, I am confident that goal is in the process of being reached and hope to continue providing content that you, the reader, will enjoy.
In normal anniversary fashion, allow me to recount what has been accomplished over the past year while simultaneously paying tribute certain individuals and organizations.
BRAGGING
As of press time, OnlyGators.com has registered 1.75 million total hits. We are also approaching 6,000 followers on Twitter and have just under 2,000 Facebook friends. OGGOA has published 1,424 posts on the website, tweeted 17,096 times (since August 2009), received almost 7,000 comments on the website and have been sent (and responded to) more than 2,000 reader e-mails.
FRIENDS and INTERVIEWS
Since last October, OGGOA has interviewed 13 Gators, 12 of which have been published on OnlyGators.com. We sat down for half-hour sessions with former dazzler now ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, New Orleans Saints defensive end Alex Brown, Heisman Trophy winner quarterback Danny Wuerffel and free agent tight end Cornelius Ingram; we were even granted extensive time with QB Tim Tebow.
OGGOA also interviewed Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin, Atlanta Hawks All Star Al Horford, New England Patriots linebacker Jermaine Cunningham, Chicago Bears safety Major Wright, Montreal Alouettes LB Earl Everett, free agent C Chris Richard, current Florida DE Lynden Trail and NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Luckily breaking a number of news stories over the last year, OGGOA has been referenced, covered or linked to by a variety of major media outlets. We appreciate ESPN (four times), Sports Illustrated (two times), USA Today, The Huffington Post, SPORTSbyBROOKS, NBC Sports, AOL FanHouse, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel (five times), the Palm Beach Post (two times), the Sun-Sentinel, The Press-Enterprise and WWSR radio for providing us with additional opportunities to reach the masses.
APPRECIATION
As mentioned previously, a lot of hard work has gone into making OGGOA a success. Without the following people and organizations (listed in no particular order) we may not have progressed as far as we have in such a short period of time.
– Acceleration.net (web hosting, site design, technical backing)
– Southeastern Conference
– Palm Beach Autographs and Steve Dodson
– Erin Andrews, Danny Wuerffel, Dan Shanoff, Jeremy Fowler, Brady Ackerman
– All of my friends who have supported and promoted this website
APPRECIATION PART DEUX
While everyone listed above has certainly influenced and assisted OGGOA in one way or another, no one has had more of an impact on us than you, our readers. In addition to your endless passion for the Gators, your enthusiasm for what we are doing here keeps us going day-in and day-out. In fact, between the commenters on OnlyGators.com and our biggest fans on Twitter, OGGOA has grown into a bit of an extended family.
Please continue “Liking” and sharing our posts [below each thread], commenting on articles you find interesting and letting us know what features and coverage we can add in order to help you enjoy your OGGOA experience even more.
I appreciate all of your continued support and dedication. It astounds me each day how many new visitors come to this site and how you have made OGGOA the fastest growing Gators website on the Internet. I am truly grateful.
Here’s to another year!
Adam Silverstein
Owner, editor
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