A big hearty thank you from Cincy Jungle; a message to veterans and newbies

Even though this is only the second week in the NFL season, we've been hard at work since way back during the NFL draft; well, I guess we really haven't taken a break, so to speak. Since then, our site has grown exponentially. We have new readers everyday. New members join and to mix it up with the rest of us. I wanted to take this time out to reach out to the veterans and the rookies.

All of you guys have helped build this awesome community of diverse fans that spread the entire country. We have guys that are willing to forget the past 20 years because they just want a winner today. We have fans that will never forget the past 20 years unless we have a winner today. Then there's everyone else in between. We have a good core of writers, like Jay, Darren and Mike who write feature pieces when they have time, about what's on their mind. We have Craig who recaps the games with his impressions (which scares the hell out of us because he and I come up with the same damned thing without even talking). Jake's helping with the links and notes and even spreading the good word of the Cincinnati Bengals with other team fans. And Chris, the guy that loves him some Ochocinco, is also the guy that scared the hell out of me when I opened my browser to find Chris Crocker -- not the Bengals safety -- crying under a sheet. He's been on double secret probation since.

Anyway, I wanted to take this time out and salute all of you guys; readers, members, writers, everyone that keeps helping me build this place into a great community of Bengals fans. We started this gig in March of 2006, when the SB Nation league manager, who blogs at Blogging the Boys recruited me from BengalsZone, where I kicked off my hobby, featuring pieces and initiating their blog with content. We've come along way since then and I plan on taking this far into the next level -- like actually going to the games in the press box. How bad ass would that be? But we're still just bloggers and mostly beneath the mainstream media, as well as looked upon as creatures that eat Cheetos in Grandma's basement. For your information, I live in her shed. And there's nothing wrong with Cheetos. They're actually quite tasty. Haters.

And for you new guys (and a reminder to you old guys), make sure you apply yourself to the rules of the site. It's easy. Treat each other as you would if you were sitting next to each other, talking shop. Things get passionate. Things get heated. I both expect that and respect that. But if you're looking for a fight, and acting like a childish clown, then the hand of God (aka, Jack Bauer) will smite thee. Other than that, I've always been very liberal in what's allowed and said on this site. Make sure you keep within those ideals by not forcing our roles into a bunch of babysitting moderators. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

• In the FanPosts, there's something called Recommendations. This is a useful tool with our more chatty discussions. The more a post is recommended, the higher it stays on the navigation bar on the right.
• If you have something on your mind, have your way on the FanPosts. I do ask that with FanPosts, you keep it as clean as possible. If it's a really good piece, thought out intellectually, I've always been known to promote it on the front page.
• When you copy other people's work -- like ESPN, Bengals.com or PFT -- make sure you cite that information and either put quotes around what you copied, or place them inside a blockquote (it's the quotes button). The more we grow, the more we're reaching people. This also means the more liable we are to properly cite sites. This is very important to keep in mind.
• If you're a constant reader and have an opinion but haven't created an account yet, do it. It's easy. It's free. And it makes Chuck Norris happy.
• This is to you veterans. In the past year, CincyJungle (through SB Nation) has partnered with CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports and Sports Illustrated, in which our pieces and posts are fed into their team pages. We've also become a regular guest panelist with the Washington Post's The League. We're growing everyday. This means that more people keep finding us. New members join and introduce themselves. Make them feel welcome. It's not that they're late to the party; it's just they've taken a bit longer than the rest of us to find their way here. So be nice to the newbies.

Other than that, I hope that we have a great season. Both on the field and with this site. And thank you guys very much.

(end emotional thank you speech and back to hard core football)

Bob Bratkowski just pisses me off....................