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Tiger Beatdown Birthday Party! (SPOILER, It Is Just A Post.)

So, here’s a fact that’s somewhat alarming to contemplate: Today, Tiger Beatdown is officially three years old.

This is — for me, anyway — a very strange sentence to type out loud. For the past three years, this blog has been one of the most central facts of my life. It has taken me decisively away from my responsible, stick-in-the-mud early 20s, been with me through my “WOO GIRL DRINKS ON ME” mid-20s (it turns out that she who has not been properly 21 will have to behave like a 21-year-old, and make her 21-year-old mistakes, late in the game), and led me into my calmer, more responsible, “let’s see how badly I fucked all this up” late 20s. (For a few months now, I’ve been telling people who ask that I am “like 30” or “around 30;” I am 29, but I figure if I start saying it early, it will soften the blow of the transition.) Even if I’m not posting on it, Tiger Beatdown defines my life in so many ways I can’t really count them. It’s how I met the vast majority of my friends. It’s how I met my current partner. It’s how I got most of the employment I’ve gotten, in the past few years; it’s how people know me, it’s what people know me as, and to a large degree, it’s who I am.

Which is not bad, for a blog that started off with a 300-word post about Silver Jews records and the Olsen twins. (NO DON’T LOOK FOR IT. Jesus. Everything I wrote in the first six months of this blog is so massively embarrassing.)

And — crucially — Tiger Beatdown is not The Me Show any more. In fact, it hasn’t been, for a very long time. So much of what is good here has come from the people who have passed through. From the people who’ve written guest posts, likeĀ Sarah Jaffe and The Rejectionist and Lindsay Miller. From people like C.L. Minou and Amanda Hess, who consented to show up here over and over. And now, from the fact that we have an amazing team — Flavia Dzodan, S.E. Smith, Emily Manuel, Garland Grey, all people who are essential to defining what Tiger Beatdown is and what it does.

The five of us have been having conversations, all this week, about what Tiger Beatdown is and what it does best, what we can do for readers (a stated comment policy and editorial guidelines, WOULD NOT THOSE BE FUN), what it personally means to us. And you can expect to see more of that, over the next few days. In fact, you could leave suggestions in the comment section! As long as your suggestions are not “SUCK LESS!” That would be nice.

But, in the meantime, I think it is best for us to keep it simple. With a reminder that Tiger Beatdown is (alarmingly) three years old, with a reminder that you can give Tiger Beatdown a little birthday present by donating or pay its allowance by subscribing — the option is right there! On the sidebar! Only 3/5ths of Tiger Beatdown Editors will use the proceeds to buy fancy party hats! — and by thanking all of you for reading it, commenting on it, contributing to it, and otherwise being a part of this strange, obnoxious, unpredictable, oddly life-transforming little blog. And, of course, by giving a special thanks to the two people whose early contributions were so central to making this blog a success:

[Pictured: MARY KATE. ASHLEY. HEROES.]

Thank you, ladies. For all you do.

12 Comments

  1. clay shirky wrote:

    Two things:

    1 Fuck yeah birthday!
    2. Its been transforming for a bunch of us as well, so thanks, and here’s to many more.

    Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 5:25 pm | Permalink
  2. Woohoo! I’ll bring cake, pies and assorted sweets to the celebration!

    Really, I am damn proud to be part of this, Sady. Thank YOU!

    Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 5:39 pm | Permalink
  3. smadin wrote:

    I’m kind of amazed that it’s been three years already! But also, amazed at just how freaking much you’ve accomplished in those three years.

    Personally, I insist you spend my subscription fee this month on fancy party hats.

    Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 5:45 pm | Permalink
  4. Other Becky wrote:

    Awesomeness! Happy Birthday, Tiger Beatdown!

    (Also, being thirty is kind of great. Look forward with anticipation, not dread!)

    What I Would Like To See From Tiger Beatdown:
    1. Continue to rock.
    2. Keep hiding the pill in the applesauce.
    3. MORE IDIOSYNCRATIC USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS.

    Seriously, the “pill in the applesauce” style is one of my favorite things here. Mixing the serious with the snarky helps make unpleasant realities less overwhelming.

    Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 6:27 pm | Permalink
  5. Flewellyn wrote:

    Merry Blogmas!

    And blog bless us, every one!

    Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 7:37 pm | Permalink
  6. Kathy wrote:

    Happy 3rd Blog Birthday! And thirty was a great year for me, not for any one goal achieved, but just the sense of really coming into my own, to coin a fairly hackneyed phrase.

    Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 8:25 pm | Permalink
  7. tomslee wrote:

    Funny, stimulating, educational, feminist and, as Other Becky said, WITH ADDED AWESOMELY IDIOSYNCRATIC USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS. All of you deserve massive congratulations.

    Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 10:19 pm | Permalink
  8. Christen wrote:

    SPRING BREAK!!!!!

    Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 10:53 pm | Permalink
  9. Lynne wrote:

    Yay! Keep up the wonderful, snarky, smart work.

    Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 10:05 am | Permalink
  10. eastsidekate wrote:

    Congrats to you Sady, and to Team Tiger Beatdown past and present!

    This is seriously an amazing and inspirational blog, but it’s also soooo much fun to read.

    And holy fuck 3 years? That’s hard to do for a blog, especially one with the level of commenting and (at best) trollery y’all get to experience.

    Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 11:04 am | Permalink
  11. Lindsay Miller wrote:

    Happy Birthday, Tiger Beatdown! Thank you for inspiring me to annoy people with my opinions on the Internet. To many more!

    Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 11:04 am | Permalink
  12. Kat wrote:

    I have to say I’ve been reading Tiger Beatdown a lot less since so many different people have been posting to it. It feels all over the place. Sady’s distinctive voice was a unifying note, no matter what she chose to write about, and while the other writers are good, it’s just not the same. Maybe this is just the transition from an individual blog to a team effort? I don’t know.

    Monday, October 3, 2011 at 2:35 am | Permalink