Hawk was reluctant at first...... but unapologetic afterwards. (P-shop of the year, by thecip)

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The season is long gone.  

The Twins have won the World Series twice since the last time you saw the Sox take the field.

Jerry Owens is still dead.
God didn't come through, like Josh Fields promised He would.

The cold winds are whipping off the lakefront (or in my case, the Sound), foreshadowing the lonely, gray, baseball-less days ahead.   Like any respectable armchair GM, you're on your 4th draft of potential 2010 rosters - 3 of which lead off with a guy you may or may not call "Chode" because you like that word and crave the context to use it.  The word; not a chode... you don't have much use for those.

Anyway, the Sox didn't exceed our expectations this year, but for most of the season, they put on a good show.   
We've already reflected on the games that made us proud to be Good Guys, but for this particular stroll down memory lane, I'm going no further than the SSS Archives. 

We all know that humor and friendships emerge from the pain and adversity of watching your beloved team collectively crap themselves, so here is an unrefined, uncensored, unclothed (you need to take your pants off for this) recap of some of the finer moments for SSS in 2009.  

Since I am only one woman and know I've overlooked countless mentionable comments and moments, please add to this with your own favorites (links, please! - ones that open in new windows!) in the comments section.

                                                              

But This One Goes To 11...
Early in the year - Februrary to be exact - Cheat offered larry editorial keys to the site.
Some SSS readers rejoiced, while others lamented the taming of the brute, as larry was asked to take it down a notch or four.
Despite oft-longing for his jovial old self and the cat-like precision with which he used to pounce on tasty new posters, larry has done us well as an editor.  Best known for keeping our fingers on the pulse of the minor-leagues, it is easy to forget some of the other moments in which larry shined as a commenter. 
Including - and I know this will embarrass him because he is usually way too cool for gamethreads - one of the best gamethread performances by a single poster.  He also undertook the role of undertaker, respectfully laying to rest the fallen members of the Sox and certain sandy members of SSS. 

Like Peas in a PicklePods
Nobody - not even Carl - could have predicted the season that Podsednik gave us at the top of the order.
But for every game-winning hit or rally he led, Pods had a baserunning blunder or a defensive DOH! to match it. 
He was our hero one minute; our scapegoat the next. 
One of Pods' more notable gaffes came in the July 28th game against the Twins - Buehrle's first start after the Perfecto, in which he retired another 17 batters before the devastating meltdown, led by Pods' inability to catch a routine fly ball in left field.   Appropriately, vince had just coined the term "Podspalm" the week before when Senor Pods tried to catch one with his face. 

And on 7/28 after the blown catch, e-gus and his 1984 TV gave us this:

Buehrle is Perfect and So Is My Birthday
Hard to pay much lingering attention to the May game in which Buehrle went perfect through 6 innings against the Tigers, when you have July 23rd taking every ounce of the Sox spotlight this year - deservingly so, I might add. 

As most of you recall, that glorious day happened to be my birthday, and I was initially thrilled just to have my favorite player on the mound.  U-god even dedicated the Gamethread to me, obviously prior to knowing that MB was actually going to deliver the gift of a lifetime. 
And then, as Hawk would say, "HISTORY!!!!"

I've watched The PerfectGame a few (hundred) times now. And each time I reflect on it or watch it, I get the same giddy feeling.  I cry every time that Dewayne makes the catch - the 25th out that made my 25th birthday, the best birthday ever.  What a day, Sox fans.  What.a.day.   It's hard to imagine that any other regular season game could provide such joy in our hearts.  The Perfecto is up there in Best Days I've Ever Been Alive - right next to 10/26/05. 

And in a way, I shared it with all of you.  So thanks SSS, for helping to make my birthday even more magical...because believe it or not, most of these Seattle people didn't give a shit. 

The Fateful Night That We Met and Drank Schlitz
The most notable SSS event ever - the First Annual Meet-Up, took place on Friday, the 22nd of May. 
Organized by one really awesome long-distance poster, 20 of us gathered and toasted and hugged and hit on Mrs. e-gus and pet colintj's fur and high-fived and made our presence known to all corners of the South Side.  

Gavin Floyd came off a shelacking of an outing and pitched a shut-out against the Pirates that night. 
This game was significant for the regrowth of Floyd's Big and Hairy, and also because that home stretch in late-May led us into the best month of our season, which included the dawn of the Beckham era. 
e-gus's recap here.

Illustrated recap, from Carl Skanberg:

Miscellaneous Awards and Honors
Word of the Year:  Orgullo  (particularly when spoken by Stone Pony)
Phrase of the Year: Just Fuck It / FNS / "My ____ is white."
Innocent Passerby of the Year:  The Prostate Exam Guy 
Comeback Poster of the Year: Nordhagen, bhoov, Toonderstrook (who also falls into the "Not Here Nearly Enough" category, the hippie fuck that he is)
SSS Rookies of the Year: billyok, Scotty Ballgame, Carbiner
Heated Dispute of the Year: Tdogg vs. The Actual El Guapo, MarketMaker vs WTGTD, WTGTD vs Science
Most Improved Poster:  WhereTriplesGoToDie (aka: SouljaBoy, SoB), The Artist Formerly Known As picktoclick
Lucky Duck of the Year: e-gus, whose alcohol addiction and astute wife earned him a trip to the mound.
Best Attitude and Overall Demeanor: HappyHuman
Not Here Nearly Enough:  Catbrains, MarketMaker - Look buddy, just because your waitress girlfriend demands your attention, it doesn't mean SSS has to suffer...post more, dammit.   We did get a little gold from him, prior to his balls being snipped. 
Confused OPOS of the Year: WU and Chiburb, bestowed with cloaking powers in 2009...if only they knew how to use them.
Fanpost of the Year:  TAEG's Guide to Using Words On Your Computer-Based Internet / thecip's South Side Sox: 20 Years Ago / hsa's Mad Men thread (link not available) ;)
Fanshot of the Year: thatshortkid's 2010 Pie
Comments of the Year:  thatshortkid's Mystery Boobs / Trooper Would Like To See Pods Jack Off / larry On Sea Creatures /  many more that I hope will be added to the comments
Mike Huff Stand-In Moments of the Year: On JD / On White Guys Running
Discovery of the Year:  The Hirsute Stone Pony
Most Fun With Hawk: Hawkless Joe Hawkson / Bacon Gets Bucked

Notable Photoshops by e-gus:

C/O thecip:

C/O Jim/SoxMachine/Who?:

C/O explodingwheelsforfunandprofit:

C/O vince_:

Please - Add your favorites to the comments.  Pics, quotes, comments, reactions... Don't be shy!  Create your own award too, if you've got something in need of awarding.  Or suggest a different winner for a category I've already listed.  These are just some highlights to get the conversation going....