Bleeding Yankee Blue: EMOTION, REFLECTION & LOOKING FORWARD TO A BIG YANKEE 2019

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

EMOTION, REFLECTION & LOOKING FORWARD TO A BIG YANKEE 2019

Every year at midnight I put a post out on BYB expressing my pleasure in creating and writing on Bleeding Yankee Blue for you, the fans and our loyal readers. I've done it every year except this one. This year was different for me, and a lot has to do with what where I am emotionally, plus what we've accomplished here... but subliminally, I was looking for some space... a reset if you will, and so I only put out this Tweet. If you were on Facebook, you missed it.

Happy New Year to the best damn readers in the Yankee Fan World. The Bleeding Yankee Blue Freaks. Thanks for your loyalty and your intelligence. You are amazing. 2019 will be great, for the @Yankees and for @BleednYankeeBlu
— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) January 1, 2019

My 2018 wasn't all what it was cracked up to be. There was struggle and minor successes in my own personal life. But I found a way to get around the negative by the end of the year and truly find what makes me happy. In the end, it comes down to my family... not you guys, but my real family whom I am crazy about. As they grow up they are doing many great things. Finding achievement when they can. Enjoying the journey in whatever sport or academic they choose. And for my wife and I, it's satisfying to now see them climb their mountain... the mountain of life officially. Sure... there's still time for them to be under my roof and grow up, but that time will fly by. And so I mentioned not writing you all at midnight. Well... last night was probably going to be the last official time my family as a whole will be together on New Years Eve. Next year I will have older sons with driver's licenses and girlfriends and new interests. There will be other things, other than mom and dad and their little brothers. And that makes me sad. But here's the good news... they are growing up. They are growing up into smart, strong men, something I always hoped for. And I'm very happy about that. And so the emotional roller coaster was big this year, but now, on January 1, I am able to think about it.

Now when it comes to BYB, there's still so much work to be done. I wish I could sit here writing you 5 to 10 entries per day and sharing them on all social media and really drive up our readership. It's always been in the back of my mind. Truth is this is a 'Mom and Pop' shop... not Walmart. We take time in what we write here. We care. We share with our group of BYB Freaks in the hopes that you all can pass along to your friends for us. It's a Grassroots movement if you will. Sure, one day we'll get there, but while my family is growing up and life gets crazy... you all need to be patient.

In 2019, we will move on to new merchandise officially. I know I've been promising this, and the truth is I tried working with other companies on this stuff, but it's hard. The products didn't come out the way I wanted them. And so, as you see above, we will be bringing back the now famous Navy Blue BYB Tank for women and will be losing the stuff below. The quality was poor... our audience deserves the best.

And so, I have heard your complaints, and I will work to change that, even if I have to figure out how to do it myself with my crazy schedule.

There were assholes this year. The haters.... there always are. We are strong enough here with our morals, our minds and our fan base to crush the haters and move on.

I love to publicly put them on blast because in the end, it just shows how small they really are. We will do more of that and let you know who they are so you can block them like we have.

Truth is there is literally NOTHING on Bleeding Yankee Blue that you can hate, other than the fact that you may disagree with a premise or opinion, and in which case hate is still not warranted. And so, chill. We write because we love our Yankees. When you're a fan... there is no wrong answer. There may be disagreement, but what should always follow next is educated debate. If you can't do that, go to the comments section of River Ave Blues. We're not interested in that. ( I say that fondly. I like RAB. Without blogs like that, BYB would not be here.)

There was kindness and love in 2018 as well.

I've said this once and I'll always say it. We literally have the best damn fans in the world. You guys are the ones that make folks like Suzie Pinstripe and Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa want to write every single day. You are the ones that make us happy, that get us excited about our favorite team in the world. You make us feel comfortable... we love your support and your encouragement and your banter... EVERY... SINGLE... DAY. It makes us happy. You make us happy.

And I'm being honest here... I want some of you out there to contact me. I want to have you write with us. I want you to be part of our staff... even if it's one article a week. Even if it's 2. 3. 5. I don't care. It's strength in numbers and while we have seen writers come and go, it was clear to me that burn out is definitely a thing. A lot of writers say to me, "Yes, I can write all the time for you." And yes, it starts out with an energy and passion like it did for me. But with life comes their lack of making deadlines and sooner or later... the writer that wanted to write couldn't hack it. Hey, I fault no one for that. What I am saying is writing for a popular fan site is hard as hell.

That being said, think about it. Find me, message me and let's get moving. We will guide you. We will help you get exposure and in the end, you will help us. BYB is a Yankee fan site built because one guy... me, was tired of the direction the Yankees were going and fed up with the blogs that were out there at that moment way back in September 2010. We helped change the landscape and made it less about stats and more about honest opinion and celebration or dismay. We want you to help be part of that moment now 8 years later.

It's about family after all. A big happy, Yankee/BYB Family. We love you guys. We love your thoughts, your matching passion and you as people. Thank you all for this incredible ride. While 2018 wasn't perfect for me, nothing is. All we can do it look forward to 2019 and work to make it better for everyone. Suzie, Jeana and I plan on doing that. We are even talking about our next step... a podcast. Bet on it.

I leave you with this. Something from one of our loyal BYB Readers since the very beginning, who reminded me of something I wrote on Facebook 3 years ago. Well... she brought it back to me. It reminds me of how far we've come, not only at BYB but in my own life.