Thank you all – A note from BTB writer Tom Ryle

A heartfelt thank you and goodbye (somewhat) from our Tom Ryle.

It has been an honor and a privilege to be a front page writer for Blogging The Boys. But after fourteen seasons covering the Dallas Cowboys alongside some of the greatest people in their huge fan base, I’m taking a big step back. I will no longer be writing regular articles for the site, although I deliberately left a door open for an occasional drop-in. I may be pausing my writing, but I am still a fan of the team, and there is always a chance I will have something to say that I can’t stand not sharing. But I still feel that I need to say goodbye to the many people that, somewhat inexplicably for me, liked to read my thoughts.

This decision comes because I am making some significant changes in my life. I am pursuing a new mission in my life as a volunteer fireman. It’s an auxiliary role. You won’t ever see me going into a burning house, but I will be assisting the certified firemen of the Elderville-Lakeport VFD in East Texas. I’ll be more of a glorified gofer, especially while I am still learning how best to assist the real firefighters. But I am excited. I just need to have more time to devote to being available to respond to calls and to train.

For those that know how old I am, this may seem a strange decision, but I still have reasonably good health and just want to contribute. Mostly, I want to do what I can to help other people for as long as I am able.

This also reflects the many changes in my personal life. I have been widowed not once, but twice since I became a writer here. There were times that writing here was vital to my mental health as I dealt with long, slow motion tragedies. Now, however, there is also a new chapter opening in my personal life, another reason I want more time to devote to cultivating my relationship. In many ways, I am living my best life ever.

But enough of that. This has been an incredible journey for me on this blog. I found BTB during the lockout of 2010, and during the dead time with almost nothing to report about the team, I started doing Fanposts. A lot of them. I caught the attention of One Cool Customer, who suggested to our founder/managing editor, Dave Halprin, that he reach out to me about joining the staff. It was surprising and amazing to me. I have always wanted to be a writer of some sort, and for the first time, I had an audience that actually read my words! There are not enough words to express the gratitude I have for OCC and Dave in giving me this opportunity.

I also have to shout out the two other writers that were the main content producers back then, Rabblerousr and K.D. Drummond. They also served as mentors and coaches for me as I found my footing. Along the way, I got to know so many other writers here, and I can say with honesty that I love them all. One of the reasons I was able to come to the decision to step back is that Dave has built an incredible and diverse staff that continues to produce some of the best writing about America’s Team anywhere.

Along the way, Michael Sisemore recruited me to start podcasting with him, and after he left the site, Roy White stepped in to extend my podcasting career. The recent decision by SBN to terminate podcasts was not so much a reason to step down as it was a sign that the time was right.

I also have to offer a word of praise for the tireless R.J. Ochoa. He does so much for this site, and like so many others, I consider him a true friend here.

This has been mostly a tremendous amount of fun as I tried to peel back the layers and figure out what was really going on with the team through the years. But one problem with writing for so long is that you start to feel you have already said about everything you can. I am at that point. My own articles feel repetitious to me. I am no longer satisfied with what I produce, and if I don’t feel I am giving you something good to read, I don’t want to keep going through the motions.

But I have loved it all, through good times and bad. It does get tough when season after season ends in disappointment. Still, it always does for all but one team. There will always be things to report about the Cowboys, and you will always find the best stuff here.

And maybe I can finally be a reverse jinx. What the heck, at this point, we’ll grasp at any straw.

It’s not exactly goodbye, but it is farewell, at least for now. Thank you, each and every one of you.

And always, go Cowboys!

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Ed. Note from Dave Halprin:

It’s hard to encapsulate just how much Tom Ryle has meant to Blogging The Boys. He, along with some of the others mentioned in his article, helped make BTB an on-going Cowboys site for close to 20 years now. When I started BTB, I never imagined how it would grow, and people like Tom are why it did grow. As he mentioned, for 14 years he and I have been colleagues and friends. It has been a tremendous ride. Like OCC before him, Tom will still be around, and he will drop in when he gets the itch. I can’t thank Tom enough for everything he has done here. May he thrive in the new chapters of his life, as he did in the chapter here.