Happy 21st Birthday to The Sonic Stadium!

[Dreadknux]

I know I run a fansite for a speedy blue hedgehog, so I should be used to things going fast. But wow, every year that passes makes me pause for a brief moment and wonder, where the heck has all the time gone!? It only felt like yesterday that we were celebrating our 20th Anniversary, and now we're right here talking about 21 years!

Today, I launched The Sonic Stadium website on a tiny little 20MB free hosting account - a collection of a mere four or five information pages and hopelessly cheesy quips about how I wanted to make this place last. Well, in 2021 I guess I've certainly done just that! It's been a wild two decades full of reviews, interviews, radio shows, conventions, special thank-yous in Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformeds, and awards ceremonies. To name but a few things.

I wanted to do something special for this occasion, to celebrate the fact that you all have helped make TSS and SSMB the best-loved place for Sonic news, information and community. You've kept this place alive by making this a true home for Sonic the Hedgehog fans online, and without that support (and the help of the amazing TSS Writers and SSMB Moderation teams) I surely would have packed this all in a lot sooner.

As it happens, I do have a couple of things on the boil, but unfortunately they won't be ready for today, so I just wanted to invite you all to reflect with me and celebrate this occasion with me. Recall your favourite SSMB topics, best features from TSS, most impactful news stories that we've covered over the years, or just meme it up with some cool fan art or banners or something. Whatever you feel like. And the stuff we have coming will hopefully be with you soon.

One thing I wanted to make sure we kept up was the (re)introduction of new themes for SSMB. Sorry to say that after our sixth theme (High Flyer) I kind of stopped for a couple weeks. There's been a lot going on in my life right now, and suffice it to say that there may be a little more turbulence down the road in the short-term regarding updates. If you haven't caught up with my Twitter account lately... I'm going to be a father very soon. And I'm truly over the moon. I'm so happy to be having a kid, but there's a lot of stuff to prepare for this kind of thing. So I appreciate your patience as I work through this new stage in my life. Now people can call me 'Sonic Dad'. And I might not necessarily hate it.

Anyway. Happy Birthday to us - all of us - and I'll keep you guys posted on upcoming updates as we get there.

[Indigo Rush]

21 years, wow.

I remember coming across this place in high school in 2005 and being too scared to join. Time flies. Now my neck hurts and I'm drinking shots with the Sonic Stadium. 

Rock on, here's to another 21 years and a midlife crisis! 

[Tornado]

okay but what about this picture saved on my computer from a bit after I joined

 

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

1 hour ago, Tornado said:

okay but what about this picture saved on my computer from a bit after I joined

 

It was lost in the 2009 server wipe, remember?

[Zaysho]

2 hours ago, Tornado said:

okay but what about this picture saved on my computer from a bit after I joined

 

"Oh, what did you do with your afternoon?"

Me, having a terrible idea:

(I can't find certain fonts on my system so I gave up partway through lol)

Happy anniversary, TSS. I joke about it a lot, but at the end of the day, I'm glad to be a part of the ride. Here's to many more years to come.

[Dreadknux]

13 hours ago, Tornado said:

okay but what about this picture saved on my computer from a bit after I joined

 

Haha! I love that you keep bringing this picture up without fail every year.

One day I should add a Gallery to this forum and perhaps add an archive of all the old images we used to run on the site... I have a big fat folder of them. Some of my favourites...

[Blue Blood]

Oh man, I remember "angst". When did we stop using that word in favour of "egdy"? 

[Cake]

Oh man, twenty-one years. eh? It's comforting to know that no matter how much things change, TSS is still chugging along, even if I'm not always around to see it! Seriously, major congrats for hitting the 21 year mark. I remember practically living here back in high school, haha!

[Himoney]

Man i wish i was here before now to be apart of this forums history.