Goodbye, FCIAC Football Blog?

Tim Parry has decided to step away from his internet baby in favor of his real baby.

The FCIAC Football Blog is for sale.

He had a great, at times tumultuous, run. He had five years of bringing people together in and around the FCIAC football world. Sometimes controversial, always informative. It was a home for all of us to come together and unless someone else takes it over, it will be gone.

I don't think that person will be me. You need to wear a lot of hats and have a lot of time to run that blog. Of course, I'll contribute if asked, but that's that. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the blog goes away in favor of the more "corporate" entities, like the newspapers, MaxPreps and such. Personally, I would have my eye on Sean Patrick Bowley to be the go-to guy going forward.

Tim handled things with class, going so far as to invoke Rule 55 (minus a video). I give him credit for that because, while I know that William Raymond Parry will become the most important thing for Tim and his wife Ursula, I also know that there is more to the story.

Tim handled lots of crap - from coaches, players, fans, parents, and other members of the media. Despite his normal "I don't give a bleep" outer shell, I know it bothered him. He thought about walking away several times, and became known as being "Brett Favre-esque.". It comes with occasionally wearing your heart on your sleeve.

What Tim did was to offer an outlet for all of us. He didn't hide behind "sources." He was a freelancer for several outlets, even helping us out on WGCH whenever I reached out to him. Yet all it took is one notoriously bad apple to ruin things. Out of respect to Tim, I'll stop there.

He shared his info with all of us, and shared his passion for football with us as well. He built a community, without getting hung up on exclusivity. I see cooperation all the time in the media; it isn't always so cutthroat. Matt Levine and I work for "rival" stations yet are good friends and share info (Matt even just had me on his show). Paul Silverfarb (Greenwich Post) is happy to share. We're all in it together, and are a community. A brotherhood.

Others should try to follow that lead. Some still act like they're better than all of us. Like they think they still wear a fedora, smoke cigars while traveling on the train, and have a patented disregard for the "electronic" media types.

Tim was, and isn't, without his faults but I'm proud to call him a friend. He has caused his fair share of trouble, but he has also been there for me. When he would read something vague on the blog or Facebook, he would immediately reach out to me with a "what's going on?" He's loyal, and so am I. And it's a relationship we built because of?

The FCIAC Football blog.

And for that reason alone, I'm saddened by this news.