Mr. Moderator, Mrs. Moderator, members of the commentariat, distinguished readers, and fellow Buckeye fans.
2012 was a pretty wild ride for Eleven Warriors. Thanks to a talented and diverse stable of writers and an informed and often riotous – and I mean riotous in the best way possible – community, this site grew into something that I don't think many of us saw coming. In every conceivable metric, our numbers were eye-popping and we have all of you to thank for that, so thank you.
We started 2012 with a bang, with Ross Fulton joining the team to provide us with the kind of football strategy and analysis that you'll only find here. It follows that it was no surprise that we topped 2 million pageviews in a month for the first time ever in January.
In February, we saw one-day records – since eclipsed – for visitors and pageviews (172,724) for our coverage of National Signing Day. Urbtopia was flowing and we had a lot of fun with our story and live blog coverage of the event. Thankfully, we upgraded our server for the fourth time in a year prior to NSD.
2012 was a lot of fun.March brought great conversations with our coverage of the Ohio State men's basketball team and their thoroughly enjoyable Final Four run. One of the things we really pride ourselves on is our attention to basketball. Football is king in Columbus, no doubt, but basketball gets us through not football season and can often be just as fun.
We concluded our first and only site fundraiser in April, with hundreds of you respecting the basement and generously donating $21,275 to enable us to proceed with plans to hire a beat writer for the site much sooner than we would have been able to, otherwise. Later that month, we held our first Spring Banger, partied into the night after the Ohio State Spring Game and in the process, collected over 100 pounds of food for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank.
In early May, we initiated a search through Ohio State's Fisher College of Business, leading us to our first marketing intern, Andy Urbanski. Later that month, Walt Keys joined the team as the Eleven Warriors Art Director. His work would be noticed rather quickly.
On June 6, we hired Kyle Rowland as Eleven Warriors' first beat writer and full time employee. He's been entertaining you with stories, game coverage and interviews with the people that matter ever since. Four days later, we reached a milestone of sorts with our 12,537,413th pageview of the year. That number was one more than the total number of pageviews recorded on this site in its previous five years of existence.
July saw a partnership with Lindy's to edit their Buckeye annual, 2012 in the Huddle - Ohio State. Later that month, Elika Sadeghi represented Eleven Warriors in our cable television debut, appearing on the Rome Show on CBS Sports Network. We capped off the month by covering Big Ten Football Media Days for the fourth consecutive year.
RACK HER! /ROME'DIn early August, we recognized Sarah Hardy for her tremendous writing ability by promoting her to the position of Senior Editor. Don't make her explain the difference between lead and led to you again.
We were approved for a full slate of Ohio State football road games for the first time that month, effectively handing us a full season credential. We picked up photo passes for a couple of games as well, and Walt brought you football as a beautiful game.
The end of August was a busy time for us. Walt released the first of what would be 13 iconic Ohio State football game posters with GAME ONE, and we relaunched Eleven Warriors Dry Goods with expanded product offerings, better shirts and cheaper prices. We then christened the relaunch with our first eBook, our 2012 Ohio State Football Season Preview.
In September, we launched Helmet Stickers, a way to reward great posts and comments, while punishing trolls. Since launch, over 185,000 votes have been cast.
We held our third annual charity tailgate, Eat Too, Brutus, on October 6 and you guys helped us raise more than $10,000 for DS Achieves. While watching the 11W community grow has been gratifying, the joy we feel when we're able to give back to local charities is a fantastic feeling. We're often most proud of the work we do away from the site in this regard.
At the sold out event, good times were had, Steve Rehring spent the entire day at the Yuengling truck and, oh, Ohio State went on to throttle Nebraska later that night, moving Eat Too, Brutus' record vs top 25 opponents to 3-0.
Later in October, Ross Fulton would make our first appearance on the ESPN family of networks, going on ESPNU's UNITE to own a hapless Penn State writer. A few days later, we covered our first Big Ten Men's Basketball Media Day in Chicago.
Ross knew what would happen in Happy Valley.October also saw the site top 3 million pageviews in a month for the first time with 3,429,962 and the community voiced their opinions more than 27,537 times in the form of comments.
November saw us once again set one-day visitor and pageview records for our coverage of the Michigan game. Readers and fans seemed to really respond to our expanded game coverage and we're grateful for that.
Although Ohio State wasn't eligible for a bowl game, you kept us chugging in December as we cracked each other up in open threads following other teams in their bowl games and anxiously analyzed everything Alex, Derek and Miles had to say about Ohio State football recruiting.
Eleven Warriors has become more than a community to the point where it's somewhat of a city now, with different districts, norms and protocols. For instance, you're most likely to get stabbed in the forum, which really grew into an orbital moon to Planet 11W, contributing nearly a third of our total pageviews.
You've helped us create the most popular free destination for Ohio State fans on the Internet. If we continue to work hard on our end, there's a chance 11W could soon be the largest Ohio State outlet of any kind on the web.
We're very fortunate to have what we feel is the best Ohio State sports bar in hypertextland and we take our responsibility to provide you with fresh, accurate and fair Buckeye news very seriously.
We decided long ago to remain indie, and we love that, but at the end of the day, we don't have the support of a large network or a Twitter echo chamber to promote our work. We do have our credibility and a devotion to bringing you the Buckeye coverage you deserve, and we promise to continue working to improve, add new features, and account for your feedback on how to make 11W what it should be.
2013 will be a big year for us on the technology side as we're currently neck-deep in a redesign process that will retain most of the charm of this site, while freshening things up and ensuring the site looks and performs great on mobile, tablet and desktop.
We want to expand our coverage at road events and line up more exclusive interviews for you. We'll continue to bring you the best Ohio State recruiting, game and event coverage and we promise to keep things free while doing so.
We face challenges, however. As we've grown, we've evolved from a tight-knit community with informed opinions on Ohio State athletics to something a little larger and trickier to manage. With your help and systems like Helmet Stickers, we hope to keep things elevated where they belong, above the HURR-DURR of communities of similar size.
As always, we're open to your suggestions on how to improve things around here. This site is just as much yours as it is ours.
This past year has been a blast, and it’s because of you. Thank you for visiting, reading, following, and sharing.
Comments
This is one of the biggest reasons I love 11W.
Truly the best Buckeye site! Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication.
Having been a member/reader of the site since 2006, it has been amazing seeing the growth that this site has achieved.
Best site on the internet for Ohio State content. Thanks for all the work. Go Bucks!
11W, you're the best.
Help is on the way.
This website is a daily (multiple times) fixture on my computers (work and home) and my iPhone ... thank you 11W.
JT
Love 11W! Best OSU site on the net. I'd like to donate to the site. Can I do so through the Respect the Basement fundraiser link in the article or is there a better way to go about this. Thanks for all the hard work!!
Thank you and congratulations to the 11W staff on a great year.
THE BEST. HANDS DOWN!
Thank you 11W - for all of your hard work and efforts to keep all of us crazy Buckeye lunatics sane with valuable and entertaining information day in and day out!
Champions Bleed Scarlet & Gray
Thanks to all the staff and contributors on this site. There is no better place on the web for coverage of theeeee greatest university on earth.
WIBUCKEYE
just wanted to point out that i joined the staff in 2010. COINCIDENCE?????
...yes
I was in grad school with you in 07-08 Johnny and you tried to tell me about 11W. I dont rmember much on here about recruiting back then, it would be interesting to know. either way, It took me two years to listen (I was much more stubborn then) . You were way ahead of your time, wish I would have listened earlier.
to be fair, i was a giant idiot in grad school like 75% of the time
You guys are killing it. If you keep doing what you're doing, this will become the most popular and most visited OSU site on the internets.
Chart really puts it into perspective. Congrats everyone!
“Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect.” - Woody
Best in the World Buckeye coverage. This is the only state of union address that I will be paying attention to today. Great work all the way around.
Class of 2010.
The Best Damn Band In The Land.....
The Best Damn Team In The Land.....
The Best Damn Fansite In The Land.
Glad to be a Buckeye, so glad to have 11W.
Appreciate all you do folks!
"Success - it's what you do with what you got" - Woody Hayes
I think your pic is my favorite. Makes me chuckle everytime I see it.
Thanks.....paying homage, two birds with one stone.
Fred G. Sanford, the 'G' stands for Go Bucks!
"Success - it's what you do with what you got" - Woody Hayes
I just thought it was an older Mo Clarrett ;)
LOL. You can see a little Mo in Mr. Sanford.
I came to 11W in January of 2011, but didn't comment until maybe July or so. I had never really wanted to get involved in that before on other sites/forums, but I couldn't help it.
Unfortunately, I found 11W in a mad scramble to try and get inside info on what the hell was going on with the team during Tatgate.
Jason and others, does my story fit with the beginning the exponential gorwth? Do you think the site took off because of the exposure from a horrific period of time in Buckeye football?
Great job to everyone at 11W. It's most definitely a staple of my day.
It seems so, and then with the hiring of Urban Meyer, it exploded even further. I started after the Senator resigned and have only visited this site ever since for my Buckeye news.
35 hours to Pasadena! Go Bucks!
I think a few things really helped us out along the way. Our non-panicky, measured coverage of The Troubles helped put us on the map, so to speak. Ramzy, in particular, really shined during that difficult time.
Breaking the Urban Meyer to Ohio State news in November of 2012 exposed us to a lot of new fans that hadn't really seen our work before, so that definitely provided a huge spike.
Alex, Derek and Miles' devotion to delivering top-notch recruiting coverage has also been a big factor in our growth, as has been the excellent writing of everyone on the team. We've been lucky in that we have been able to find great writers.
I followed Ramzy to this site from Bucknuts.
Ramzy brings a priceless dimention to this site. It wasn't too long after he defected that I learned of this wonderful site too.
"Get him a body bag, Yeah!"
I think you mean "dementia", ;)
Boxley
I've been a regular reader for a long time, it took quite a while before I actually set up an account. This site has since become nearly the only source I even consider for Ohio State anything. The recruiting coverage is always spot on and reliable, as are all of the other writings. I don't start a day until after I have read the Skull Session, occasionally reading it from my phone before I even get out of bed in the morning. Thank you 11W for all of your hard work!
Once again, thank you for all that you guys do. Just seeing the exponential growth in this website and its features has been fantastic and kinda crazy to step back and take a look at.
Thank you, 11W!
"Winter is coming" - Urban Meyer
When I started hanging out here midway through the glorious 2012 campaign, I quickly realized that I truly need not go elsewhere for all things Buckeye. Thanks for saving me countless hours and clicks out there in the untamed jungles of the interweb.
Hey Jason, can you do a similar "Who We Are, Where We Come From" (or maybe it was titled something slightly different) that you published last year? I thought it was really cool to see those demographic breakouts. I don't know if that's readily available, but I think the last one was towards the beginning of 2012. With the above stats, I'm sure the figures have changed quite a bit since then.
That was fun. I'll have to publish an updated look at that data soon.
Yeah it was also BuckeyeCommentary and Elevenwarriors that I would visit for years, glad 11w is continuing to grow.
Jason et al,
With such knowledgeable and well-written current articles, tidbits, and Buckshots, you're making BuckeyeNation a more educated and competent fanbase.
THANK YOU!
dbit
Jason,
Your vision of this site has come true. From your first stab at this sort of thing with Chris Spielman's Dirty Socks to what 11W has become, I'm damn proud of what you & the 11W staff have done. I'm sure you're proud too.
I wish I was able to stay on as a writer, but my 2 little boys take up most if not all of my spare time. It was fun while it lasted. 11W probably a dozen or so page views per day back then. And it was probably all on us. :)
I still lurk on here often and post here & there. It's a damn good site. Can't wait to see your plans for mobile. I know it'll kick ass.
Thanks, Mark. I'm guessing most don't realize that Chris Spielman's Dirty Socks was likely the first Ohio State sports blog of sorts way back in 2001 (no disrespect to Keith and Buckeye Commentary, who did it better years later).
And yeah, the early days were great. Although we only had friends and family visiting, we could also write entire posts about how high Jason Whitlock is. #nostalgia
I don't think i can get through a workday without 11W. I'm being serious.
I can't go through ANY day without checking in.
Yep^^^^^^^. I do not comment often, (don't want to dilute the product) but I love me some 11W. Daily dose helps keep one healthy.
Boxley
Thank you Eleven Warriors for being my ONLY place for Buckeye news, or any news for that matter. I used to go to other sites and read other bulletins, but right now you guys/gals have absolutely everything. I tell everybody I know about this site. Keep up the great work. I truly love this site.
Hard to believe how big this site has gotten. You guys do a great job keeping us informed.
This is one of those daily must check sites for me. I know it takes a tremendous amount of effort to keep the news fresh and we all appreciate it.
Keep up the good work.
Pretty much sums up why I make sure to check out 11w every morning before work. Thanks go out to the Staff and to all the awesome commenters that make 11w such a righteous community! Oh, and Go Bucks!!
Thank you Jason and all 11W writers. I often send links to your site to all my Buckeye friends (and sometimes to our lone TSUN friend). This site is great!
Like countless Buckeye fans that come to this site, let me reiterate what others have already said by saying THANK YOU 11W!!! You guys and gals are the best and your work and dedication is the main reason for such exponential growth. Thank you very very much.
Shout out to being link-bros circa 2008. BLOGS.
Taquitos.
Thank YOU, Jason and the rest of the 11W staff for the hard work and dedication you guys put in every single day. Our fanbase is truely spoiled to have such an awesome and entertaining resource to look forward to browsing day in and day out.
I'm not sure I could start my workday without a good skully and a hot cup of coffee, and I'm sure many others feel the same way.
Time and change will surely show how firm they friendship... O-HI-O.
Been here since the very early days, and you guys/gals have done nothing but make it better. Thank you for all you do...truly the BEST Buckeye site there is.
You're good people with great coverage and you make me laugh. Nice work.
You guys are the best! Keep up the great work and we'll keep supporting you guys as much as possible!
"...but then again 'Michigan' and 'huge mistake' are synonymous so that shouldn't have been much of a surprise to anybody." - Mark Titus
Thanks 11W! I now barely get any work done & am hooked on this site...& I love that. You guys kill it!
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
Congrats on the great year!! think I speak for all readers it has been a pleasure and we are looking forward to 2013.
Thank you Staff for personilizing OSU athletics. I love all the stories that come on non game days for all the sports. Makes me feel better that I'm not the only one obsessed with the Buckeyes.
I started with this site in 2007 (I know my profile says 2010, but I had to reset my screen name after some weirdo situation). This site was a bit of a Godsend to me. Living in the deep south since 1998, the distance between myself and Buckeye Nation was getting larger (and harder to stomach). I used to go between OurHonorDefend, BuckeyeBattleCry and AroundtheOval until I found my home here (which at the time I was thinking, what the hell kind of name is elevenwarriors--where is the Buckeye in that, lol).
I cannot thank you all enough. This is my home away from home and it keeps the connection to my Buckeye family stong. Thank you ladies and gents. Thank you.
Buckeye born and bred. Buckeye til I'm dead.
Nothing like dancing on the field in 02...
It's been a pleasure to watch the site grow in both size and quality. The Staff produces high quality articles and expert analysis. I have especially appreciated Ross' offensive and defensive breakdowns following football games. I have also started following the recruiting process thanks to all of the information on the site.
Love the site. Keep on truckin'
vacuuming sucks
It seemed like the time between Tatgate and Urban being hired the site exploded, but not so much after that, other than new people came around. It's crazy to see that the 2009-2011 growth was pretty small when you compare 2011-2012. WOW what a jump. Great job guys! Did you ever imagine something like this when it all started?
I couldn't get through a work day without you guys...11W is my sanctuary
Proud to say I was part of that small sliver from the chart in 2007. I honestly know i wouldn't be as big of a Buckeye fan if it wasn't for this site. I know every player in the two deep every year strictly because of the amount of coverage you guys and gals cover each day. Never ever leave us Eleven Warriors!!
Proud to have been a loyal reader since 2007. 11W, I salute you. Well Done.
Hands down the best Buckeyes site on the interweb. I've supported a handful of them and none have brought as much information as well as create such a great community of users like 11W has. A sincere thanks to the entire staff. It's been a fun ride and I can't wait for more!
Very few sites I visit, but your/ours, aka Eleven Warriors is almost a daily one. Not just a Buckeye site, but a great site, with funny, intelligent writers that have their pule on the nation. No surprise that this is a site founded by members of The Ohio State University. Carry on fine Buckeyes. Carry on.
My patients ask me all the time what I think about the football or basketball team. I can respond knowledgablly(;P) because of this site. Now, if I just knew Dentistry as well.....
Funny you say that. My step father & I talk OSU football & Bball all the time & he always asks 'where did you find that out' and the like...I tried to turn him on to the site, but he's something of a 'I hate that darned interwebs' person.
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
I stumbled upon 11W through a google search about the Tress mess. It was a superb find! I visit everyday, actually several times a day. I am totally addicted! Thanks to all who make this the best Ohio State site on the internet!
Has the site only been around since 2007, or did you only go back to 2007 for the graph. I thought it's been in existance longer than that.
Thank you for the kind words, everyone. I know for me personally, it's a lot of fun to cover and write about something so close to my heart. Go Bucks.
From someone who has dabbled a bit in the world of Ohio State blogging himself, congratulations to Jason and the entire 11W team. This platform is the most amazing in a community overloaded with blogs - a mother ship of sorts - yet what they've accomplished is no small task.
The Ohio State fan base obviously STARVES for information and while there are many options out there to find it, 11W has constructed an outstanding recipe to find news, entertainment and comradery all with one simple click of the mouse. Bravo, guys and gals.
Go Bucks.
Everyone has said it all so I will simply add that this is the best site with the best OSU fans around. You guys probably could never understand what you provide to those of us that truly love OSU football and all its history. Thank you for what has to be a lot of work and just know that it is very much APPRECIATED!
Yep, a big thank you to all the 11W staff members for what you all provide for us. Thank you!
AWESOME site folks!!! It is the only place I go for my Buckeye news and it blows everything else on the web out of the water! Plus I get to say FUCK MICHIGAN and get helmet stickers for doing so!!!
The best thing about Pastafarianism? It is not only acceptable, but advisable, to be heavily sauced
Especially love the layout and design - so user friendly and easy to read. Also the ability to read comments and just sit on the site blows away the competition (if there were any). Keep on keepin' on!
Go Bucks!
Jason,
You and the guys have far exceeded my expectations from the get go. It was a little sketchy at first, and believe it or not I used to get my news from Around the Oval. Like that site, many have come and gone, but 11W has remained. Not only has 11W remained, but now it is regualarly quoted in mainstream media almost on a daily basis. That kind of growth is amazing and unbelievable and a testiment to the greatness of the staff here.
I was looking the other day at the 11W stickers that you guys sent out eons ago as site promotional materials and was thinking how cool it would be to reissue that for the dry goods store. Also more clothes for us that are growing around the middle as fast as this site is growing!
Thanks for keeping it Buckeye for Life!
This. I remember trying to get Jason to send me some of those while I lived in TSUN. Must have been 6 or 7 years ago. Crazy!
The 11W crew showing everyone else the way it ought to be done. Many thanks to Jason and the whole team for everything you do. I'm grateful this site exists!
I love the site and read it multiple times per day, and is the first thing I read every morning. I do believe I was one of the first people here back in 2006ish, when it was merely a link on Everyday Should Be Saturday's website. Once again, great job.
The only thing i can think of for an "improvement" would be something similar to the Houndie for the NBA. Or at least an update. I know 5 years ago this would have been void since we don't have anyone in the NBA, but thank you Matta, we now have quite a few, and I will watch NBA games, but I would watch one if I knew Conley, Dequon, Koufas, etc. were playing.
Maybe a Houndie type award wouldn't work since Conley may be the only Buck playing significant minutes, but maybe an update?
Thanks for all your hard work guys. It makes stalking OSU a lot more convienent.
Multiple times a day site for me, probably second after only Google. Nothing's better than morning coffee with the Skull Session
"But I'm tryin' Ringo. I'm tryin', real hard, to be the shepherd"
Excellent writing, level-headed commentary, edgy humor. A Buckeye nerd's paradise. Having been one of those for nearly fifty years, I believe I am uniquely qualified to pronounce 11W the best tOSU sports blog in the history of the universe. Which, of course, began when Woody was hired. I salute the smart men and smarter, infinitely more attractive women, who work so hard to make me laugh, think, yell, and bask in the greatness that is Buckeye Nation. May your peanut butter toast always land bread side down!
Thank you 11W! You guys are the best!
Every day I have my 11W with my morning coffee. Can't imagine life without it.
Jealous that all of you have your dream "jobs". #YoureDoingItRight
Keep Calm and Ignore the Trolls.
I'm usually so busy I can't take lunch until 2-ish.......always pumped to have Skully in the AM with breakfast and Gene's Quick Bits with lunch in the afternoon.
"I'm One Bad Buckeye, and I approve this message."
11W begins my morning routine. Coffee on, iPad fired up, a 11W quickie, email, news, 11W again (time permitting), off to work. Love the work the gang does, keep it up as it is much appreciated!
BamBamBuck
Not just the best Buckeye site; one of the best sports sites, if not all-around blogs, in all of cyberland.
Thanks everyone....very flattered
What I really like about this site is that everyone really gets along pretty well. There aren't two different camps taking sides over who was the best coach and the other side is wrong. We agree to disagree some times, but it seems to be a bunch of mature adults having intelligent conversations/discussions with no name calling and fighting. Thanks for making this a "happy" place to come.
It was really smart of you guys to keep religious/political issues verboten.
p.s. You really need to have your name on the dry goods stuff. I wear my Skully shirt and have to explain what it all means. It would take a lot less time to point to one of the sleeves and say, "Just go to the site and have your mind blown." Just sayin'.
Doc, I try to explain your point about the mature community here and the no politics and religion things to people all of the time and they just don't get it/believe it. They think this is just another blog. You said it so well, this has become like a family member.
I don't comment much, but I've been coming here pretty much every day since the rumblings of Urban Meyer getting hired started. I use to check ozone and buckeyeplanet every day until I found you guys. Now I can't even remember the last time I was on buckeyeplanet. This site is awesome you guys are awesome, keep it up
12-OH
The Best Damn Buckeye Website in the Land!
"if irony were made of strawberries, we' d all be drinking a lot of smoothies right now."
I am an 11w addict. The ease of use is number 1 among Buckeye enthusiast sites. The gifs are one of the highlights of my daily reading. I will continue to make my Amazon purchases through the website to support 11w.
Great job 11W. Yes you people deserve The Clap that so many want to give to yuz.GO BUCKS!
I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then.
I personally don't want to give anyone the clap. That's a personal issue and I'd like you to mind your own business. Medicine should clear it up, though.
Words cannot express how much I love this site and how much a part of my everyday life it has become. Like everyone else has said above, this is THE site for OSU sports info, and so much more.
And you guys aren't satisfied, you keep doing more and more and more for us. 11 Warriors you are something incredibly special to so many of us nameless (well, not real names anyway), faceless lurkers.
And the best part of the recap of how 11W has grown and improved? There wasn't a "hey, can we get some of your cash" request at the end (although you justifiably could have done that). This site is free. Let that sink in for a second. FREE. And not just free, the info is more in depth and more accurate than any other site I have visited.
Thank You, Thank You, THANK YOU.
Reading 11W is the first thing I do every day. EVERY DAY. I keep my ipad next to my bed. Not to mention, I read it throughout the day. It is The best coverage of OSU anywhere. Thank you.
the bar graph sold me.
::buys 11W stock::
As someone who grew up in OH as a huge tOSU and Browns/Indians fan, I lost the Browns when they moved and the tribe because it was too damn painful. Like many, I read from afar for since the troubles, but I finally had to get connected last month. I feel like this has become home for me and has reconnected me to all the great OHIO memories and moments. This site is more than just information, it is people that have become part of a bigger family.
You guys really knocked it out of the park this year with recruiting coverage, and you did it in a sane way. -No soothsayer hiding behind a moniker, no mystery uncle making declarations, no faction creating mods overseeing an online kindergarten run amuck.
11W may be indie, but it is highly professional and is rapidly becoming the gold standard among college fan sites.
-Keep it up!
There's a reason this website is an icon on my front-page of my phone, my most visited site at work, and favorited on my laptop. It vastly increased my buckeye knowledge on recruiting, history, and game-analysis. I didnt think i could love ohio state football anymore and i think thats grown too. Thank you for that.
I like football
Better than Bucknuts or the Dispatch, and it's free! How do you guys do it?
"Here officer, hold my beer while I find my license."
It's a good reason not to use ad-blocker...
In the last two months 11w has become my favorite site the internets.
The one downside to this is 11w has gotten me addicted to recruiting.
"YOLO" = I'm about to do something extremely ignorant/stupid & I need an excuse to do it.
I started on bucknuts back when it was free and still its own site, not just a name on another, and when ozone was .com but 11w is the by far the best and most reliable OSU site. This community provides information and OSU news I used to get by going to 5 different sites, not to mention much more current and reliable. Incredible updates on recruiting and news daily. Look forward to the best days ahead. Keep up the amazing work guys and gals. Go bucks!
I love "The elevenwarriors.com" and appreciate all the dedication it takes from all of you to pull this off. I have voiced this appreciation to the staff before. Equally, I have voiced my displeasure to that other site for making everything, even forum posts VIP. Having formally frequented that other site daily, I can't express enough my disappointment for the "corporate" path they have chosen. I must say I am encouraged that I can share my opinions with other buckeye fans and get timely updates about my bucks without having to buy in to the "corporate" VIP model. I for one have every intention of supporting this site financially and encourage everyone who appreciates the efforts of the staff to do the same. The articles are better quality, more in depth, more timely and best of all they aren't VIP. "The elevenwarriors.com" will be the site I turn to the most for my buckeye news and I just want to say thank you not only to the staff, but also the fellow posters who bring their unique insights on a daily basis.
Go8uck5!
Thanks, 11W guys and gals. I would say it more often but I'm a dude and we repress our emotions and pretend nothing gets to us and I promised myself I wouldn't do this and I can't believe it I just I can't [fanning face] ... sob ...sob ...
Pretty incredible to read all these comments. Thanks to all you loyal readers. You're the ones that allow us to do what we love.
Since finding out and joining eleven warriors I think I am a more complete Ohio State fan. Thanks for everything you guys do.
What more can be said that hasnt already....11W is simply the best. Thank you all for everything you do! Go Bucks!
Yep, you're pretty good alright. But I still access bucknuts whenever I feel like reading only the first sentence of what might be an interesting srory.
So how DID you know about Urban coming to OSU before everybody else ?
Thanks Jason and the tremendous supporting cast you've assembled. It's all about the love here, my favorite place in cyber land. Go Bucks!
I feel like the guy who snuck in the back door. One of the big thrills for me in coming over here was the opportunity to write for a multitude of well-informed readers. Thanks to all of you who give us your clicks, your opinions, and your thoughtful feedback.
11W - easily TBDBITL - The Best Damn BLOG In The Land!!!
"Leave...Your...Mark..."
Hey!
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
First time, long time.
Congrats firstly on the big year- you guys deserve it. Keep up the fight to remain free and independent; it appears you guys are in the process of really taking off. Hands down the best Bucks site out there (with Land Grant being a distant second- sorry espn, rivals, bucknuts, and all the other pay sites), and my go-to every morning- before espn, before Deadspin, etc.
Keep on keeping on and I'll do my best to spread the word about the quality of the writing here. Go Bucks!
The postgame show is brought to you by... Christ, I can't find it. The hell with it...
I remember when I first read one of your articles that was linked to a page on ESPN. I was immediately hooked. The writing was vastly superior and the coverage was much more in-depth. I still wonder how some of you are writing for an indie blog and not making the big bucks writing books or movie scripts. ESPN is stupid for linking a site of this quality to theirs, as I have not relied on them for buckeye coverage since. The commentariate is also pretty amazing when compared to other sites.
When I am linked to an opposing fanbase's blog I am always appalled when I first get there because I always compare it with this site. This is easily the best college sports blog and is one of the best blogs out there period. Its amazing to think that a couple of guys started this on a whim one day. Thanks for being the best!
"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment."
Thats how they got me too. damn them.....
sneaky artiiculate, well informed writers. They will not stoop high enough to fulfill my every dream.
I am pretty sure it was a Ramzy piece tagged as a great article to go see on another site that led me here. I will never go back.
It is like family, sitting around dicussing what the kids are up to, without all the animosity and steroid users found elsewhere.
Boxley
11Warriors is fantastic. Buckeyes...... 24/7...... top notch and accurate. To all the people who put this machine together and help keep it running--Thank you. I first saw this site while searching google for any info on the rumors that some Buckeye players might be ineligible for the Sugar Bowl. I thought I was a hardcore Buckeye fanatic (and probably am) but the information that gets presented here and the fellow poster dialog has stretched my head to Mr. Mackey proportions with Buckeye knowledge and anticipation.
Thanks.
Proposal:
11w doesn't have a Facebook Mafia or a Twitter Scam team to promote itself because it hasn't sold out to a larger conglomerate like ESPiN or SbNation. So, as 11w-ophiles, we should all follow every single writer here on Twitter and retweet anything that links back to the site. Page views instantly go up a bit and we, as the 11wth Man, might help reel in some unfortunate souls who have never seen this glorious site. We could all possibly bump up the registered users count here, as a kind of payback to these amazing writers. I'm doing it. You all should too
Can't really add anything to what everyone else has said other than a very grateful thank you. The crew and what you all do is simply amazing. I'll tell you one thing, if it wasn't for 11W the last deployment would have been extremely boring and I would have probably lost it since I visit everyday, several times a day when I can. Again thank you again for creating such another amazing aspect of Buckeye Nation.
It will be an amazing ride in the coming years. I cannot wait to continue to race to my macbook or iphone everyday to find out the truth about Buckeye Nation.
Semper Fidelis 11W
Thanks for your service to all of us, Semper!
I appreciate that. But I really only had a great job before my injuries. I only can dream of that job today. Again thank you for your comment.
When I now have it set up on every place I go that this site is the homepage and not espn, yea 11w is awesome......
This is the best site by far for following TOSU. Thanks to the entire 11w staff, fantastic work.
Thanks for all you at Eleven Warriors do.
After I found 11W it became the only place I'd go for all my Buckeye related news. To be honest I feel like the 11W staff is just as, if not more knowledgeable than any other sports site in the country. I rarely go to ESPN anymore since everything I need is right here on 11W! Keep up the great work! Go Bucks!
"Do not pray for an easy life. Rather, pray for the the strength to endure a difficult one" - Bruce Lee
Late to the party but I still gotta say it, Great Job 11W!
You folks have put together / run The Best tOSU site period! I jumped ship from bucknuts when the squawk with scout & rumor mill got to be to much to bear. I bounced around the Buckeye sites landing at The-Ozone & OTE back when it was The Rivalry Esq. I found 11W thru them and since the autumn of 2010 Eleven Warriors has been my ever increasing source for all things Buckeye. You've got me in a Figure-Four Leglock. I'm not going anywhere.
I only joined 11W in November so I am still a relative newbie to the community but not to sports writing. The site quickly became my favorite place not only for OSU news but for entertainment. I know I can count on 11W to educate, enlighten and make me laugh m ass off. What I also adore is how knowledgeable everyone here is and how everyone brings their A-game to every discussion. You don't do your homework you'll get torched. My ass has already been burned a few times, but you live and learn and I still enjoy coming here.
Ross' breakdowns are awesome. I'm still convinced you're really an OSU assistant in disguise.
Sarah is my favorite writer. Her hidden movie references are the journalistic version of DVD and video game easter eggs.
Alex is one of the best investigative journalists I've ever seen, especially in recruiting news. I wouldn't be surprised to see him going through someone's garbage to get the dirt (I totally mean that in a complimentary way. I know you're not homeless) LOL
I'd never seen Elika's pic before. Wow <3 <3 <3. I like her articles because she always keeps a level of no-BS common sense no matter what the subject. Anyone can write but only talented writers can tell the whole truth.
Keep up the good work.
Go Bucks!
"Sherman ran an option play right through the south" - Greatest.Civil.War.Analogy.Ever
an 11w app would be stellar.. and easy to do.. let me know if you need help..
thanks for everything!
Great Site! Keep Up the Good Work, and Thank You!
That pageview graphic is astounding! Well Done!
Can't remember how I actually stumbled across 11W, but needless to say, there's been no need to go anywhere else for anything Ohio State ever since.
I started reading back in 07 leading into the LSU game then the Pryor recruitment. Amazing to see the leangths that the site has come since then, and am beyond proud to be a part of it. Amazing work everyone.
Thank you for your service to us. I don't even bother reading other articles as your content is brilliant, bright, and bro-tato-ly alliteratively amazing.
-dtan
Even though my profile doesnt reflect it, I started reading 11w I want to say 2006-2007 I remember you guys had stickers in eddie george's and I was worried you guys were getting to big... You've done a wonderful job maintaining that original intimacy while gaining more features/content. I cant start my day without 11w.
You guys do a wonderful job.
Now, can we get a dedicated app already?
Congratulations, guys. You do a great job.
Wow, wasn't aware this site had grown so much so quickly. Congrats. I used to frequent another competing independent OSU site almost exclusively, before stumbling over here late last year. 11W definitely gets the majority of my page clicks now.
I've been a long time lurker and just recently signed up. A day doesn't go bye without repeated views. Thanks for everything!
"It all goes so fast, and character makes the difference when it's close."
Jesse Owens
Thank you everyone past, present and future at 11W for this site!
I first started following the site after Tress was let go. I'm thinking I did a search on Google for "next OSU head coach" it was then I started finding information and ended up here.
Also, where does "Respect the Basement" come from?
I swear I heard it was about someone in the national media saying that "what does bloggers in their mom's basement know about anything?" after hearing about a story that was broke by 11W before it ended up being true. Or, maybe it was when you guys said that Urban would be the next tOSU coach and no one believed u?
I'm guessing that is the origin since many blogs are stereotyped this way.
Or, maybe it simply was the origins of the blog being in one your basements and you respect your roots thus, "Respect the Basement".