Some 450 posts ago, just before the fresh start of the "new" NHL, a couple buddies and I had a dream: disseminate our amateurish Flames/hockey thoughts through the wonderfully accessible "blogger" portal. The inaugural Five Hole Fanatics (or Hello Hockey Fans) post was actually written by Alex way back on September 19, 2005. A day later, I added my name to the contribtutors list.
We toiled in almost complete obscurity back then. While there were already several Oiler's blogs up and running, the only other Calgary Flames voice I could track down back then was Matt from Battle of Alberta. Matt and company trundled along, already garnering a large audience, while I and the gang here at FHF basically wrote posts for each other. Thirty or less hits per day was the norm for a long time 'round these parts (to be sure, all 30 hits were from the contributors reading, commenting or posting).
Fortunately, a year and half later, FHF is a singular voice in the darkness no longer. Earlier this season, Hockey Girl and Kyle added their own unique tenors to the Calgary Flames Blogger chorus. And now, two more Flames fans are happily chiming in; even more Flames-based opinions and rambling can soon be found at "Completely Hammered" or "The Sea of Red". The former is penned by Randy (or Steal Thunder), a Flames fan laboring amidst the Leaf faithful in Toronto, while the latter blog is penned by Sean, an 18 year old Calgary local. Sean's is a nice looking site but, as of this morning, he has yet to bust it's cherry with his first post. I expect one will be up shortly.
Being among the first of the Calgary bloggers, I can't help but feel a sort of patriarchal pride for all the newer Flames blogs springing up these days. Im not sure precisely what part I and the entire "Five Hole Fanatics" experience played in their initiation - whether it be true inspiration or just a "I can do better than that!" kind of sentiment. Either way, more Flames blogs is a good thing. Welcome to the party guys! Here's hoping we can share many, many victory gloat posts in the future...
