Merry Christmas from the Staff of Hammer & Rails

I know it has been a rough couple of years decades lifetimes to be a Purdue fans, but it is Christmas Eve, and it is time to celebrate the positives.

The number one best thing about Hammer & Rails is the community we have built here. I started this blog just before the 2006 football season because I was looking for more of a writing outlet. I never once envisioned it would get even half as far as it has now, but every year it gets bigger and better. I am blown away that getting 500,000 page views in a single month is nothing now, and even in the midst of the tire fire that is Purdue sports right now H&R is on its way to its best ever. We're truly blessed and as site manager I deeply thank everyone, whether you agree with you or not.

We cannot forget the co-writers, either:

Juan Crespo - My right-hand man and the expert on facebook. Juan has done more than his fair share to increase the brand overall.

Zach Langdon - The former writer of The Boiling Points, Zach hasn't been able to do as much this year, but he has a great basketball mind.

Andrew Ledman - Andrew came over from Jumbo Heroes and has done an EXCELLENT job of being the more sane, rational voice here.

Drew Schneider - You know him as TheLegendOfShawnMcCarthy, but he has done a great job with football recruiting and other articles.

Andrew Zimmerman - Another wonderful recruiting writer who has developed a great voice for football. Drew and Andrew have taken their assignments and I haven't had to worry about a single thing.

Andrew Marking - He did a great job handling baseball this past year and hopefully will be back again.

Thomas Chapman - Another guy that has been unable to write as much as before, but He has come out of the bullpen for some great football recaps.

Rachel Van Gessel - The Swiss army knife on the site, Rachel is wonderful at covering volleyball and women's basketball, even getting a season credential for basketball this year.

Jackson Brunner - Though he mostly comments nowadays, he is another voice of reason when I lose my mind.

So I thank you all. Life is honestly kind of rough right now, but this is a place of unending joy for me.