His final post: A Final ReflectionREFLECTIONS OF BLUE CLOSES SHOP
A little over one year ago my friends and I started Reflections of Blue with no particular mission statement in mind other than our common admiration (ok, outright obsession) for the Los Angeles Dodgers. From that admiration grew an online destination where both euphoria and excruciating agony mirrored the daily journey that was, if nothing else, an emotional season of Dodger baseball. However, after an almost incredible year, it is time to hang up the cleats. There were never any goals laid out, so while I can't say we succeeded or failed in achieving any aspirations I can say we sure had a helluva good time.
When the site was started a year ago I never could have imagined the countless hours of research and effort needed in attempts to keep the site relevant. Even after posting I often found similar topics covered more thoroughly, and with greater resound, at other Dodger destinations throughout the web. It wasn’t demoralizing per say, but the internal pressure to elevate the content was felt on a consistent basis. That in itself is not the primary reason I have chosen to retire the site, but it's something that has frequented my thoughts over the past two months. I do feel however, that things did click at various points along the way as I found my little “Dodger diary” getting linked more frequently as the season wore on. The guys at True Blue LA and Sons of Steve Garvey were instrumental in making that happen, and for that I politely bow and pass along a humble thank you.
The original idea for Reflections of Blue was imagined after learning about a scrapbook of the 1962 Dodgers that my father kept while growing up in nearby Ventura. (For those unaware the 1962 squad tallied 101 wins in the inaugural season at Dodger Stadium; however, a 3-10 finish forced a three game playoff with the Giants for the National League pennant. If you’ve learned anything from being a Dodger fan over the years I don’t have to tell you how that series played out.) If nothing else, Reflections of Blue carried a sense of personal recollection, and my father’s mementos were the chief inspiration behind that theme. The newspaper clippings, pastel portrait giveaways, and ticket stubs included in that childhood collage were incredible links to the past, and I hope that one day the posts and images that appeared here will allow me to fondly recall the events that transpired as I was captivated by the boys in Blue on a nightly basis.
I can honestly say I've never followed an individual season closer, and never cheered louder for any team, in any sport, as I did for the 2009 Los Angeles Dodgers. However, much like my father’s scrapbook chronicles, the season has come and gone, and now feels like the appropriate time to step back and watch the 2010 season develop from afar. I bid adieu with the uncertainty of the future looming largely in the forefront, but also with the eternal hope of the distant Brooklyn Dodger faithful cry, “wait till next year" echoing constantly in the background.
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