A Pretty Big Housekeeping Note Regarding the Future of Red Cup Rebellion

If you're a regular follower of the Cup, you've probably noticed that things have slowed down around here over the last month. We haven't been writing as much, recording episodes of Red Cup Radio, or getting too deep into the minutiae of the football program in our coverage. That's because I, like everyone else who helped get this little corner of the internets up and running, have actually become an adult with a real job and a real career - a career which is going to be too time consuming and demanding of my attention for me to continue to serve as the Managing Editor of Red Cup Rebellion.

On Monday of this week, I emailed Luke and Matt, the managers of SB Nation's College team, to let them know that I'll have to turn the reins over to someone else soon. Next week, we're going to work on a transition plan to make sure that this place doesn't just shut down and that y'all will still have an odd little e-home to talk Ole Miss football, pie, The Big Bang Theory, and other stupid things we're always getting distracted by.

So, yeah, it's official. I'm out. Sorta.

Just because I won't be the Managing Editor doesn't mean that I won't be popping up here or there. For the next few weeks my responsibilities will wind down, and after that I'll take on an emeritus role of sorts, offering advice and ideas to help those who end up taking over. After that, I'll likely pen something here or there on rare occasion, whether it be a story or a really dumb comment. Don't worry, I'm not just abandoning y'all.

To be frank, I always had an idea deep down that this post would come. I never imagined turning this thing into a career - I always thought of it as an overgrown hobby - and this change is something that Juco and I had begun discussing over a year ago. There just wasn't a way that he nor I could keep things thing going much longer. But, now that I have the opportunity to be reflective, I never had the slightest clue that the past six-and-a-half years with y'all would be so damn fun.

It's been equal parts very unexpected and highly enjoyable. I say "unexpected" because I never thought that this website - started on a whim by Ivory Tower, Juco All-American, and me in March-ish of 2008 - would be anything more than us shouting things into an internet void. Now, with over 18,000 Twitter followers, 4,000 Facebook likes, and just shy of a half of a million pageviews a month, I can bewilderedly say that we've created what is one of the places on the web for Ole Miss fans to waste time and sacrifice productivity in support of their Rebels.

And I say that it's been enjoyable because of all of the places we've been able to go and people we've been able to meet under the auspices of this site. Whether it be earning credentials to SEC Media Days, traveling to Omaha to watch the College World Series, or tailgating with a whole mess of y'all outside of Jerryworld before a Cotton Bowl, I and those who have helped me throughout the years have been able to do fantastically fun things that we probably didn't deserve to do. I've had the pleasure of interviewing Wright Thompson and Archie Manning; meeting SB Nation heavyweights Spencer Hall, Ryan Nanni, and Dan Rubenstein; and visiting with Ole Miss fans from all across the country. It's been a hell of an experience and one whose opportunities I hate to let go.

As always with these sorts of things, a few thank yous are in order. First, a thank you to a few forgotten Cuppers - One Man to Beat, Brian Walker's Elbow, and The One That Got Away - for helping get this thing off of the ground in its early years. Thanks to Jeff Gray for all of the work he's done to enhance our social media presence. (We're gonna lean a lot on you in this transition bro. Fair warning.) Thanks to Peter Bean and Joel Hollingsworth for convincing us to join the incredible SB Nation network and supporting us through that transition. Thanks to all of our SEC on SBN colleagues for continuing to work together to produce absolutely kickass content every damn day. Thanks to Jason Kirk for not being too hard on me in comments threads over on the dot com. Thanks to Jim Bankoff for telling me that I should join Twitter. Thanks to all of you who made every Red Tent Rebellion a rousing success (you know who you are - give yourselves a pat on the back). And, most importantly, thank you to every single one of you who make our comments threads the dysfunctional, hysterical mess they've become. Y'all really are the reason that people keep coming back, even when the content is slim or not particularly positive. I owe a ton to y'all and have enjoyed meeting so many of you in person. Keep it up.

Speaking of those of y'all who have helped keep this thing interesting, some of you might be thinking to yourself, "hey, this sounds like a great chance for me to step up and produce some content for the Cup. Maybe even become a regular contributor myself!" You're right! This is an opportunity to do so! Email redcuprebellion at the gmail variety of email addresses and we'll (eventually) get you in touch with the right people. Because while I'm going somewhere, the Cup ain't. It'll be here as long as y'all want it to be.

So, again, thanks. It's been fun - irreverent, stupid, sometimes-informative, hastily slapped together fun - and I wouldn't have wanted to enjoy this any other way.

Hotty Toddy.