Comments / New

UFA’s of the Day: Plank and TCY (Thanks For The Memories, Fear The Fin)

After four seasons filled with some of the best family-friendly fun that can be had on the internet, the time has come for us to hang up the keyboard and move on from our position as the Ambiguously Blogging Duo at Fear The Fin.

This decision doesn’t come lightly, nor is it easy. Fear The Fin was a tremendous part of our lives for such a long time and the memories we made here are undoubtedly some of the best we’ll ever have. It’s not that cool to realize you’ve peaked in internet fame in your mid-20’s, and we’re certain we won’t ever look at a Hamburger the same way ever again, but there comes a point in a man’s life when he must decide between a bountiful harvest of hot pockets or dedicating his time to other pursuits of grandeur.

What we’re trying to say is that we need more time with to re-enact famous Star Wars scenes in Matt’s backyard while his mom tapes it and our significant others bake us brownies in the kitchen. Whether they fill those brownies with laxatives to try and shame us into submission is their prerogative, but rest assured we will carry on the good fight. It is our destiny.

As nerdy bloggin’ types, the two of us have gotten the “It’s not you, it’s me” speech plenty of times over (if there’s one piece of advice we can offer Derek on his way in: Never offer to show a classy lady the size of your blog. Not as suave as you think). So it feels extremely weird for us to be giving that speech to you, our wonderful community. But this has nothing to do with any of you. In fact, you’re the reason that we stuck with it for so long. We’ve met a good number of you in person, but even the ones that we’ve never met we feel that we have a connection with. Even though the relationships we’ve built have been forged over a keyboard and worn down “z” buttons, they feel just as real to us that any that have been created in person.

The two of us barely knew each other when we started, but we can honestly say that we’re great friends now and will continue to be that as we move on to other adventures. And we hope to maintain the friendships we’ve built with you along the way as well.

It’s absolutely insane to think that this is the last time that we’ll be pressing the “Publish” button on Fear the Fin. Between the two of us, we’ve written almost 2,000 articles and posted 20,000 comments. Not all of them were gold (anyone remember the short-lived “Acid-Induced Dreams” articles?), but we had fun with all of them. And while it became more of a job than a hobby as we grew, it was a job that we loved doing every step of the way.

We stayed up until 3 AM on weeknights podcasting and making commercials for ridiculous Sharks-themed products that we invented, much to Matt’s wife’s chagrin. It’s not easy to record death-metal lines while keeping at a low decibel. Hell, we even got to go to and report from the NHL Draft, something that we’d dreamed about and were able to realize thanks to some great folks at SB Nation.

On that note, aside from thanking the great staff we have here, we’d also like to thank all that helped us along the way. From David Pollak giving us advice, to Brodie Brazil being a welcoming face in the dressing room, and the entire Sharks Media Relations department for looking past the blogger label, we thank you. To the guys at TFP for associating with us even when we couldn’t write as much for them as either of us wanted… heck, they got us a consistent spot on national radio. There have been plenty along the way that helped to make FTF what it is now.

So even though we won’t be using FTF as our personal manifesto anymore, we’ll still be hanging around. And if the depths of the internet have learned anything over the last four years, it’s how to goad us into a conversation that we never intended to be part of. So feel free to light the bat signal when a troll who just signed up suggests a Joe Thornton for a bag of pucks trade. Wherever there is comment board turmoil, we will be there. Like shining champions of unnecessary arguments, we will be there.

Rest assured Fear The Fin will continue to be in great hands moving forward. The Neutral has agreed to take over Managing Editor duties, and the phenomenal writing staff of mymclife, Jon Allred, Snark SD, idunno723, Ivan, and Jon W. will continue to deliver every ounce of Sharks coverage you deserve. Furthermore, we expect other writers will join the team in the coming months to help round out what is an already impressive writing lineup.

It is never easy to step away from a brand you worked so hard to build, and it is certainly never easy to say goodbye to something that was such a huge part of your life. But this decision was made much easier when we stepped back and realized that Fear The Fin will continue to be the best Sharks blog on the internet due to the talent of everyone on this writing staff.

We leave you in excellent hands.

Thank you so much for all of the memories over the last four seasons Fear The Fin. We couldn’t have asked for a better group of colleagues, readers, and fans to share the ups and downs of Sharks hockey with.

Most importantly, we couldn’t have asked for a better group of friends.

fear the fin logoAs many of you know, Fear the Fin is an independent site run by Sharks fans for Sharks fans. Help keep Fear the Fin independent by contributing to our GoFundMe or buying merchandise. Proceeds help us pay our writers and fund subscriptions to our favorite analytics sites.


Looking for an easy way to support FearTheFin? Use our Affiliate Link when shopping hockey merch this holiday season!