I’ve written 700 goodbye posts in my head over the last 10 years. Most of them when I was discouraged about something or frustrated because the site was broken or up until 3 a.m. making sure there was content for the following day. And now that it’s time to actually say goodbye, I don’t really know what to say.
I am leaving Pistols Firing. I sold the business to Marshall Scott, and we closed the deal last week before Thanksgiving.
There it is.
After 10 years of thinking every single day about J.W. Walsh’s passing accuracy, how many guards Travis Ford could play at one time and whether or not comments were in fact good for this website, I will no longer be thinking about (most of) these things.
This is – as you might imagine – a very bittersweet thing. Bitter because ending any joyful, successful chapter in life is always hard, and I’ve had some days where I was incredibly sad about this. But also sweet because I’m proud to have built and sold a business and because the time and mental space I’ll get back to give elsewhere in my life will be invaluable (especially with our kids at such tender, impressionable ages).
I’ll write more to the broader OSU world tomorrow, but I wanted to let those of you who are PFB+ members know first. Just as recruiting is the lifeblood of any program, you have become the lifeblood of PFB. The No. 1 way you can sustain what has been built here and push Marshall and Co. into the future is by getting friends, family members and OU fans who want to hate-read stuff to sign up for PFB+.
I’m convinced there’s no good way to go out, to leave anything. Only less bad ways. I’m hopeful that this is a less bad way. There are so many factors that played into this decision, but three of the main ones are 1. I’m tired (10 years is a long time to do anything) 2. The time I’ve gotten back (and will get back) has been (and will be) great for our family and 3. Transitioning to Marshall at this moment while the business is thriving is good for him and the future of what PFB is going to become.
If you have questions about why, why now, why Marshall or anything, you can post them below and I’ll try to answer as I can. But for now, goodnight Vienna. I hope the show was as enjoyable for you to watch as it was for me to create.
This is understandable. Your absence over the last few months was definitely noticed and I felt you were probably stretched thin. Congratulations on the success! I’m very happy for @marshall and I can’t wait to see how it goes! I feel he’s got the time and energy this place needs and I’m excited.
A couple things for @kyleporterCBS: I realize it’s a business, but will you return in any capacity such as on the podcast (even for guest appearances) or in the forum? How much of this was driven by your continued success at CBS and was there an ultimatum by them? Best of luck and thank you for beating OSU to the punch in releasing those unis to the public early. Not sure I’d be here without it.
For @marshall: what does this mean regarding staffing? Will you be able to bring on additional writers? Do you plan to keep the ship running smoothly or do you have big plans? Can I get a discount on PFB+?
Thank you for the past 10 years Kyle. You’ve done a lot of things right and I think even the trolls on this site will be sad to see you go. I hope you find continued success and comfort in your many new adventures.
To @marshall, Thank you for taking the reigns and I’m excited to see what PFB has in store for us!
Thank you Kyle. Really appreciate you giving us a way to stay connected to the university and other fans and alumni. Very thankful for the community you built and the work that has gone into that.
When I was writing for O-State Illustrated back in the day, you often featured my articles in your daily bullets, and I always appreciated that you read and helped my write-ups get more exposure.
• Carson and I are planning on doing one final pod together.
• I will maybe bop around in the forum but I won’t be writing. I should note that part of the terms of our deal are that I am around until the end of 2021 to provide any behind-the-scenes assistance for Marshall. So I’ll be around.
• No ultimatum from CBS. They have always been great about PFB and we’ve always had open convo about it. But my job there has changed from 95 percent writing to now writing, podcasting and video work which is (I think) more demanding … so that played in.
• I’ll never forget Weeden tweeting “well, I guess they’re out there now so here they are” about the unis. Feels like both last week and 100 years ago.