EEEEEE! hit the World Wide Web a year ago. I'd spent July putting a few stories and some season notes together, and finally launched the website in early August. I'd wanted to do something like this for years: some kind of newsletter by and for Giants fans, without the "official sanction" of the Giants themselves -- or, in other words, generally critical of this team that so many of us love so much.

Doing EEEEEE! is better than doing a newsletter, though. My only deadlines are self-imposed. I'm not limited in terms of column inches. I can say pretty much what I want. I'm doing this for free. And it's tremendous fun, a wonderful challenge, and, for me, a terrific creative outlet.

Sure, sometimes EEEEEE! feels like my second job, although I get paid nary a dime for it, so a good 20 hours a week nets me nothing but -- I hope -- improved writing.

That and support. Lots of support.

When EEEEEE! first became "public," its only readers were my sister, Debra, and me. I e-mailed a few friends and some individuals in the Giants newsgroup with whom I'd swapped a few notes. I didn't even tell people about it publicly until one day I was asked to post messages to the group to let them know when I'd added material to the site. I was reluctant to do this because I felt funny about shilling for myself -- I guess I wanted people to discover EEEEEE! by accident, or through word of mouth or something -- but all indications are that I needn't have worried.

The counter down at the bottom of the EEEEEE! home page, at this writing, reads "1263." I'm keeping track of the number of times I check the counter, either to see how many folks have accessed the site or to make sure everything looks okay once I've uploaded it, and subtracting my visits would appear to tell me that over 1,100 times, EEEEEE! has been accessed by readers. I'm beyond pleased.

I've made some friends through EEEEEE! and through the newsgroup. The people I correspond with the most are the ones who sent me an e-mail out of the blue and said either, "Hey, love your site," or that they appreciated what I had to say in the newsgroup. I am grateful for these people, and for these friendships. (You know who you are.)

If you've read EEEEEE! over the last year, you know that I'm all too happy to take my shots at the Giants -- both uniformed and non-uniformed personnel -- as well as "real" sportswriters and other media members. You know that I agonize about the state of the team itself. But you also know that this team matters a great deal to me, way more than it should. I tell you this in every article -- but I try to be fair and keep things fun.

The e-mail I've received about EEEEEE! has been overwhelmingly supportive this entire time. The only "negative criticism" I've received was from one person who said, basically, "Glad to see there's a site devoted to the Giants -- but you're kind of negative. Lighten up. Enjoy." And it's not that this person doesn't have a point.

I think one of the main reasons EEEEEE! has gone over so well is that readers see themselves in it. Almost literally. A huge percentage of the writing (in the season notes) is done by members of the Giants newsgroup, the Giants mailing list, and the general baseball newsgroup, as well as folks who send me private e-mails (and evidently don't mind the text of those e-mails winding up in a public forum). I've had people tell me they've gotten a kick out of just being quoted in EEEEEE!, and I've gotten a kick out of that. I've had others say, "I'm afraid to write something for you, because I'm not sure it'd be up to snuff" -- which has made me say, "C'mon. This is just some guy's website, not The New Yorker. Besides, who wants to hear just my voice in all this?"

So saying, I would like to thank David Beck, currently EEEEEE!'s lone contributing editor, for his articles on Giants' tweaks, free agency, and major league baseball in general. I've been reading Dave's stuff for 20 years, and he's the first person I contacted for outside material. He's glad to contribute, despite the knowledge that any payment would be in the form of gratitude, because he's my closest friend to whom I'm not married.

Heartfelt thanks go out to the people who hang out in the Giants newsgroup, too. Not only are many of them quoted, many of them actually read the stuff, too. They treat EEEEEE!, and me, with respect and astounding friendliness, and the group feels almost like a close-knit community -- albeit a community in which actual, physical, personal contact is limited, to say the least. I have a tremendous amount of respect, gratitude, and even affection for these people. I cannot say enough good things about them. I'd name names, but I'm afraid I'd leave someone out.

At the risk of making this sound like a book dedication, I would like to thank Deb for her encouragement, love, and support, which have been constant throughout my life. The same is true for my parents; my other sister, Karen; my wife, Kimberly; and my son, Adam -- not to mention my close and long-time friends Pat and his father, Bob. I mention Deb first here because, as far as I know, she's the only one of this group who actually reads EEEEEE!

As you've guessed by now, writing, the Giants, baseball, and a sense of community are very important to me. I would like to thank you all for enabling, helping, and encouraging me to tie them all together in EEEEEE!

This is more or less what Gregg Pearlman looks like when wearing neither a string bikini nor a baseball cap. Sorry, girls, he's married. (And you girls from high school: see what kind of a chance you blew? How do you feel now, huh? Huh? Huh?)

Gregg Pearlman, gregg@EEEEEEgp.com

Back to the EEEEEE! Home Page