Somehow, someway, we reached a traffic explosion never before seen in these parts. A typical literary satire got linked by the MIT Press and blew up my hosting capacities. Up until that time, I hosted my site on my cell phone and if more than one person visited, it would shake and I’d just call my mom and tell her to read cnn or something. But those simpler days are long gone…

But for the better. Futfanatico has also been translated into Polish, which was nice and due in part to Tom of Pitchinvasion. We also have a home away from home at FistedAway and Runof Play. Thanks for letting us crash on the couch and sorry about the stains – I swear it’s just cooking oil or something.

Still, the most important moment of this past year was….

Not the cyber-haunting by Ferenc Puskas. That was good fun and at times creepy, but it was only a matter of time before a Dead Hungarian footballer defaced wikipedia.

No, the most important moment was the first year in the development of Junito, the world’s future greatest footballer. And this year promises new twists & turns as I master Sony Vegas, Vimeo, and do my best to subtly rip off every idea Brian Phillips has ever had. Garrincha month starts October 1st!

Seriously, it’s been a blast thanks to the fantastic readers and other great bloggers. I hope the FF posts are a delicious treat in your Google Reader or a bizarre tweet that makes your presence at work unbearable. Either way, let’s all celebrate by consuming a wholly inappropriate “quiceanera” classic 80′s song set to clips from a cult Japanese animation program.

Follow the fun by subscribing to the RSS feed….

Don´t let the archives fool you, Futfanatico is one year old today! A little over a year ago, a hurricane struck the town of Houston, TX, forcing my relocation to Waco, TX and giving me a week of nothing to do. So why not start a soccer blog with my friends Santi and Giacomo?

The initial posts centered on game recaps, but we eventually evolved-retrogressed to more opinion pieces and unusual comparisons. Santi has not written for awhile – good luck with the PhD. Giacomo has also entered grad school and fallen off the planet. But we have enjoyed guestposts from Nick of FistedAway and Joel of SoccerAddictNews.

I must confess, though, that my initial online soccer site crush was the wonderful worldcupblog. Since then, I am thankful to RunofPlay and SportisaTVshow for opening my eyes to the endless bounds of sports media analysis. I shudder to think of my Catholic, discipline days of cranking out 10 paragraph game recaps. Although the trackbacks were bountiful. Sigh. Gasp. Sigh. Hiccup.

Also, since the recent move to wordpress, Ahmed of SoccerLens has been most helpful as well as the ranter of reds.

I look forward to another year of soccer analysisery, and will be taking off next week to recharge the batteries and enjoy a vacation with the missus and kids. No posts. You´ll survive.