Spring of 2004
As a State fan, it was the best of times. It was the worst of times. I had recently met the guy that was causing all kinds of ruckus on genespage. He went by jsireland, and we now worked in the same building. We began to share many laughs and frustrations about being a State fan at the time. It wasn't long after that he was banned. Only a couple days later, I was banned. Being the mild-mannered, level-headed poster that I was at the time, this action really confused me. So, I sent Gene an email requesting an explanation of my bannation. The next day, he called me at work, apologizing for his mistake.
"I'm sorry. I noticed you had a similar IP address as <redcated> (jsireland) and I thought he was just posting under a different ID. He's a real pain in the ***...yeah...he's a real pain in the ***."
With no desire to go back to genespage, anyway, I now needed an alternative. Jsireland told me of a magical place called Sixpack where people were free to speak their minds (mostly). I threw my hat into the ring, and, before I knew it, I was rubbing elbows with the founders at the sixpack table during the Croom alumni banquet in Vicksburg.