I didn’t make this an NFT because my topic is related to this great Giants discussion forum. I bought my first PC - a Packard Bell - in late 1996 and once the incredibly slow dial up modem put me on the web for the first time? The first browser search I did on the now long defunct “Netscape” was “New York Giants” and BBI “Letters to the Editor” popped up. Back then, Eric used to field questions from BBI contributors and answer them. The hot topic then was Dave Brown and the lack of speed at receiver. I remember being shocked when Eric answered my question. That was 27-28 years ago. I can’t believe how time has flown by.
There are a few guys I still see here from back then. To all of you “newbies” (last 10 years or so) BBI was a whole other world back then. Not saying it was better or worse. Just way different. The group of posters was way smaller and we kind of knew each other better. We’d meet up in person sometimes. Also, many of these people have died. There were fewer restrictions on conversation topics back then and for a while politics became a point of contention that overtook football talk. BBI was an obsession to the core contributors and a contentious forum of discussion about everything going on in the world. Many contributors, including mysellf came to BBI first when 9-11 was happening and truthfully? The contributors at the time gave the most compelling descriptions of what was going on.
Anyway - BBI is still great now even though it’s “Wild West” days are long gone.
So my first post was 1996.
What was yours? And how did you discover the site?
One of our biggest regrets was NOT going to Albany with the BBi crew back in the day. We totally should have done that.
What year did the site crash and everybody had to re-register?
dont remember if there was a forum when it started...
so I guess it was 94 when I arrived on BBHP....
In the days of frequent BBI gathering at CCSP.
One of our biggest regrets was NOT going to Albany with the BBi crew back in the day. We totally should have done that.
What year did the site crash and everybody had to re-register?
Albany was such a great training camp environment. For the fans it was incredible, and I bet it was better for the team too. Literally being at camp.
first post was 2007 pre-season.
All good fun history...
Man it’s been a while, I’m getting older
heard about the site in 2005 and always read the home page articles, Eric suggested I join the forum when I sent in a question/opinion to him via email.
03/05'er here. I was on the Giants message board before that. There was no going back once I discovered BBI.
I too remember the Letters to the Editor
And discussions with Eric on colicky kids lol
I stumbled onto Letters to the Editor and Pete’s Corner doing internet search on NY Giants.
I use to send Eric letters back in the day and he would always respond to them.
I would be lost without BBI.
I was more of an optimist back in the realists/ optimists discussions on Pete Corner
first post was 2007 pre-season.
Actually my first post was in March 2007 before the draft and it was "why don't the Giants draft linebackers?" or something like that.
Me too Gidie, I was posting mostly on the Giants.com website if I remember correctly, and somehow started following Blogger (Who really had an amazing Blog) and that was how I learned about BBI. I lurked for a bit but I can't remember if I signed up to post in 2003 first? I can't recall exactly but I remember having fierce discussions around Kerry Collins (Much like another current QB) with GoTerps... lol.
Also a big shout out to Gidie for welcoming me and my daughters and a fresh air kid we were hosting to his organic farm for a tour. I still think about those shallots you gave me (awesome) and if I remember correctly my kids snuck back to the chicken coop after we told them not too and left the door open? Some more apologies for that!!
Stumbled upon “Pete’s Corner” on BBI on the rest is history.
handle was JonS
I didn't realize that there was a crew. Thought it was just Eric (though that was over 30 years ago, so its a bit hazy). How many were part of the "crew"?
What was funny is that Charlie at Columbia (one of our sons, who used to hang out on BBI too) discovered BBI at around the same time. I remember us being glad to have a source of Giants news, but also him saying about BBI something like "... and there are all these ... people...." That was back in the wild and wooly days of BBI! There were a lot of characters posting.
I met a lot of BBIers in person in those early years. Things are different today for a variety of reasons, including that I'm not in NYC much anymore. But, can't believe it's been 21 years - that's a pretty long time.
I found BBI in 2003... Holy shit, 20 years!
Ha! Who can forget the "3/05'er" moniker?
Good times
Same, it's insane!
Me too. Forgot about that website.
I think you mean Darwinian ;-)
I'm pretty sure I have checked BBI at least once per day ever since. Didn't decide to post until years later. Still prefer to lurk.
Website is a huge part of my life.
Ah right... I think that's one of the sites where I was doing a lot of posting back in the day. Forgot about that one.
I think the forum was called Pete’s Corner back then.
I also got my "start" at BBWC...
In the days of frequent BBI gathering at CCSP.
Same for me and definitely Reeves was coaching. Watching games in the basement of the CCSP and then some you (not naming names) would go across to the Crystal City Restaurant for post-game entertainment.
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Those early days were awesome - BBI unplugged. Very Darwninistic...
I think you mean Darwinian ;-)
Ah...that does sound better.
Ha. That’s right!
Anybody know what happened to Tony from Ninerland? He was a good poster.
In the days of frequent BBI gathering at CCSP.
I used to go to CCSP. Did we ever meet??
I remember Eric, ray, Dave in MD, old timer, etc.
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Came here through the old Big Blue Wrecking Crew forums.
Ah right... I think that's one of the sites where I was doing a lot of posting back in the day. Forgot about that one.
Oh, yeah. I used to post on bbwc. Wow, that was a really long time ago.
I was 13 and he was 20.
Later I would sneak into the computer lab at school for bullshit reasons jut to create stupid handles (I believe it was still a daily handle thing then?) with my friend Justin and just wreak havoc on here.
I took a short hiatus in high school and the Marines but when I got home and settled back into BBI I found a lot of the same characters then and that are here still today.
My handle changed a few times (none you'd remember, I was as useless as posting then as I am now) but not due to bans, just passwords and emails lost over time and new devices.
All around.
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Came here through the old Big Blue Wrecking Crew forums.
I also got my "start" at BBWC...
Those were the Joey vs The World days.
He was spectacular.
Discovered BBI in April 1998, the Shaun Williams draft.
Met a bunch of BBIers in DC in the early 2000s at a big bar that used to be a car dealership?, I think.
25 years, still come here every day I'm not out in the field.
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me and Joey from Va use to go at it....now I love the guy.
Those were the Joey vs The World days.
He was spectacular.
I almost said on my post earlier in the thread, I legit thought Joey in VA was going to come to Fredericksburg and kill me when I first started posting, lol. Turned out to be one om my favorite BBIers, despite us not agreeing on much.
My first post? No idea but I'm sure it was full of brilliant football insights.
I told my buddy (now BBIer DavidinBMNY) asked me if I shared it on BBI? I had never heard of it, which shocked him. Once I posted the recount of that evening, I haven't looked back. Been here ever since.
But we found some common ground at some point and it was good sailing from that point on...
I used to print out threads and read them on my commute home.
I recall sitting in my cube at the time copying and pasting the threads into a Word doc so I could make one giant printout of them.
I recall posting about our OL, or lack thereof... Some things never change.
in 1999 and 2000 I used to track every offensive play and post a play by play grade of each player on the OL including the TE. The grades I gave out were --, -, 0, +, ++. Then I added it all up for a final grade for the game. I actually had access to the All 22s through a friend at the time.
I managed to avoid 9/11 because my Mom had surgery that day so I didn't go into my office across the street from WTC. However, I dis post about the fact that I used to work at Cantor Fitzgerald, so I knew a lot of people who did not make it that day. Took me years after the memorial was built to get past it enough to visit.
I posted a ton about the crash in '08... I was even posting that it was coming about 8 months before. I was working on bond models and realized they didn't account for a potential systemic failure in mortgage backs with a recession and a rise in defaults of questionable loans. I was sounding alarm bells, but the business people were giddy with the euphoria of all the money rolling in... Until they weren't.
Then a few years later, my son was born and a long hiatus, before returning in 2017 using .McL. instead of just McL
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Can't recall if Reeves was still HC or year 1 of Fassel.
In the days of frequent BBI gathering at CCSP.
Same for me and definitely Reeves was coaching. Watching games in the basement of the CCSP and then some you (not naming names) would go across to the Crystal City Restaurant for post-game entertainment.
I may have joined you at CCR.......because they had great burgers.
I just lurked for a while, then finally decided to make my first post. My timing was terrible, it was after a very disappointing loss and moments before the world would change forever on 9/11 2001.
I'll never forget it and BBI is part of that memory for me.
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It no longer feels like just yesterday, but hard to believe it was nearly 30 years ago!
Same, it's insane!
There was a hilariously mean poster back then—Fan of Simms (“Thank you Lord for making me a Giants fan”). He’d always fight with some Eagles fan on here. Always gave me a laugh.
Matt in Syracuse was the first nutjob I remember, there’s a long line of contenders since. Mostly read (and sometimes shake my head) but post on occasion, think my first one was in the 90’s.
Great site and fun to gather here to enjoy the good years and commiserate during the down years. Thanks Eric for running a great site.
And there were still dinosaurs roaming around.
Scares the crap out of me it's been almost 20 years now lol