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"Come on in and get comfortable; we plan on being here a while." That's how we introduced ourselves to the world back in 2011. You probably missed in all the excitement of the last week, but Banners on the Parkway turned four years old as July transitioned into August. We didn't have a cake, but as we lasted another year (something the internet never promises) Xavier played softball and got a commitment from Quentin Goodin.
Banners started more than four years ago as a different site on a different platform. When we made the transition we had a grand total of 48 Twitter followers (@BannersParkway) and had days where double digit hits seemed like reason for celebration. Since then, we've grown into what you see here today. We've added recruiting coverage, added staff, and obtained press credentials to the NCAA Tournament. For what started as two guys exchanging Facebook messages, it's heady stuff.
At the most rudimentary level, none of that would be possible without you all taking a bit of time out of your day to read about Xavier basketball. In the same article announcing our arrival, we mentioned that Xavier had a passionate fan base. I don't think we realized at the time just how passionate. The United States generates most of our traffic, but a special thanks goes out to those of you who consistently log in from Australia, India, and the Philippines. Vox and SB Nation wouldn't provide us the domain if you all didn't keep coming by to read about everything from breaking news about a 16 year old to mandatory reflection sessions. It seems it doesn't matter what it is, Xavier Nation is ready and willing to devour any scrap of information about their team.
So thank you for that. There are times in July and August when covering basketball can be a bit of a grind. Logging in in the morning and seeing 10 comments about Quentin Goodin or finding Twitter mentions full of more good questions is always a boost to the morale. As long as you keep stopping by to read, we'll keep giving you the content that you want. Like I said four years ago, we're here for the long haul. Thank you for being here with us.