Advance warning: Long ass post.
So I started full-time work three years ago after dropping out of college and moving away from Southampton where I grew up. It was a big change and I struggled to deal with it at the beginning, adult life is a lot different than what you expect it to be as a kid. I made a Reddit account a few weeks into starting that job. Online forums have always been something I’ve enjoyed, I could name several that I posted hundreds of posts on as a young teenager that will be full of cringey angsty naive comments, we’ve all got our online history! This account isn’t that old, I used two different accounts significantly prior to this. You could probably dig them out if you looked hard enough but I won’t mention them here. Next week is my final few days in my office, after that I’ll have a couple weeks to sort out a few things and tie up some loose ends before I chuck a few things in a bag and get on a one way flight out of here. I need a bit of a change, I don’t particularly feel at home in the UK for several reasons. I plan to find somewhere I do feel like I could settle down in in the near future as well as making the most of my lack of responsibility tying me down and travelling the world as I’ve always dreamed of.
I’ve become quite reflective recently, thinking back to a lot of my times at school and such. I definitely didn’t anticipate going down the path I’ve been on. The past three years have gone horrendously quickly, it doesn’t feel like I’ve been in this office quite as long as that. I think that’s down to two reasons. One is I’ve been able to do a decent amount of travelling including several long weekends in Europe and a few weeks in Canada. The other is Reddit as silly as that sounds.
This website has been somewhere that I can waste away the downtime at work and chat to other people all over the world with similar interests. I’ve enjoyed it so much. I’ve said some stupid shit, I’ve argued silly points and I’ve been a nuisance on multiple occasions; I’ll be the first to admit that. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been arguing over something with one of you and I realise I’m in the wrong, I love how much this website challenges viewpoints and debates everything and I’ll happily hold my hands up to being on the wrong side of many arguments. At times I may have divulged a decent amount of my personal life here, I still don’t regret saying anything but hopefully it wasn’t too much. I like to think I’ve made a decent contribution too. I’ve listed a few of my personal highlights below.
For a reason I’ve never quite understood, my Eastleigh vs Macclesfield Town thread still sits higher up than the Brazil vs Germany WC Semi-Final
I had the pleasure of covering the FA Trophy Final last season which I still think is the most exciting game I saw all year; The most fun match thread I’ve done was a pre-World Cup qualification warm up match between Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica. I’ll never forget the commentary on the stream, it was fantastic.
Researching the AFC WC Qualification preview was enormous fun, some nations have an absolutely fascinating history at International level.
Anyway, that’s all filler really. I’d like to say a few things about the users that I’ve enjoyed talking to the most on here over the past few years. For various reasons, there’s an awful lot of users that have stood out for me. Many more than I could list and I’m bound to forget a few, so apologies if we’ve spoken lots and I’ve missed you out.
/u/miomike : Well I have to start here really. You’re a fantastic friend, I’m so glad I met you here and I’m sure we’ll stay in contact for an awful long time. You won’t get rid of me that easily! Rotterdam was a great weekend, hopefully you’re not still salty about me destroying you at pool so many times in the basement of that pub.
/u/redoralive : I’m still surprised you never ran off after searching through my post history when you first discovered my main account. Glad you didn’t though, you’re pretty great.
/u/jebsticles : Your inforgraphics are second to none and I’m still amazed at how much Guinness you drank in that Irish Pub we eventually found (still think I wasn’t far off looking in the Car Park).
/u/theskian : I still think you’re a complete nob for your opinion on our away kits, wish I didn’t bump into you so often at matches. You’ll always be second place to Mike. Long live the Southampton Mafia hierarchy.
/u/LocksTheFox : I know a surprising amount about Eastern European Ice Hockey thanks to you, my favourite match thread creator by far.
/u/joethesaint : A right miserable bastard but a loveable one at that.
/u/Thesolly180 : My favourite non-Southampton user. We’ve had some great discussion here, I’d love to meet up for a pint one day.
/u/NickTM: My girlfriend always talks about how cool you are and how much she enjoys your chats, I happen to quite enjoy ours too. Hope everything works out for you mate.
/u/wwxxyyzz : Always enjoy reading your comments, probably the most consistently good user on this subreddit. You’ve changed my opinion on so many things.
/u/PureDarkness93 : Top notch banter most of the time, I can never keep up with you.
/u/sam3123 : The only Stoke flair I ever regularly see around these parts but I always enjoy reading your thoughts, you’re fantastic at explaining your points even if we’ve never agreed on everything.
/u/Chrisixx : Probably the only person that outdoes me on obscure International knowledge, always popped into my match threads to chat footie and have a good laugh.
/u/deception42 : Hope you manage to get a few more trips to Manchester under your belt, I’ve really enjoyed chatting with you.
/u/ABCDE_FC_2 : Hopefully we’ll one day completely convert that crest of yours.
/u/shake_n_bake90 : Thanks for taking an interest in my spreadsheets, it’s been nice talking to someone about it!
/u/ttitd : I can never remember how to spell your username and you deleted your old account but I’m almost positive you’ve got a new one now. Good luck being a Dad mate, don’t forget to tell your missus that I like her feet.
/u/druiked : Even though you’re French, you’re a decent bloke.
/u/fuzzedlogic : You’re a good laugh, I wish you all the best in the future. Starting Monday.
/u/MorDon1 : Hope I can meet you for a Pint at Plough Lane sometime.
/u/Gospartan7 : Sorry I’m a nob sometimes (most of the time…), you know your stuff and I hope you don’t hate me too much. As I said before, there’s loads more of you that I’ve enjoyed talking to. This is a really fantastic community and I appreciate everything the mods have done to keep it this way. As bad as some shitposts and reposts are, I’ve never found a better place to talk a load of wank with footie fans.
I know this is a long ass post but it’ll be the last Free Talk Friday I’ll properly be around for and I just wanted to thank a few of you, better here than in a separate post; I’ll still pop my head round the door once in a while if I get some WiFi somewhere and the timing works out but otherwise you can celebrate in that you’ve finally gotten rid of me!
If you do want to stay in touch or follow my trip or anything then here’s my Website: www.bobbingaround.net and here’s my twitter. Thanks again everyone. You’re a fantastic bunch of cunts, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed talking a load of shit with you all.
-DazzaWright96