Unofficial/official RandBall historian Jon Marthaler has taken it upon himself, once again, to write a guest post commemorating our blog birthday. It was eight years ago when we started RandBall. Where does the time go? No, really. We'd like it back. If you see it, send it to us in an unmarked envelope.

Every year Jon comes up with a different spin on the blog history. This year's effort particularly amused us. Jon?

————-

It's the eighth birthday of RandBall! EIGHT! I don't know how many people are aware of this, but when Michael started writing this blog, he was just fourteen years old. He has aged in blog years, and now, at age 52, spends his days complaining about millennials, watching the Big Ten Network, and telling people off on Twitter.

Yes, Mr. Rand is truly on the way to becoming Sid, just like we've long predicted. He's already started recording his interviews on an ancient tape deck; soon, he'll give up on the blog, and assign his Twitter to some intern, and start breaking some REAL news on Page 2, the way that Joseph Pultizer intended.

With that in mind, we should probably enjoy RandBall while it's still around. Here's an increasingly-unlikely list of things we have to look forward to in 2015, the blog's ninth – NINTH! – year:

  1. The comments get turned off, temporarily
  2. Stu starts writing the blog every day
  3. RandBall starts appearing in print advertisements holding a basketball, just like old times
  4. Rocket starts writing a new hockey-themed post, only to be banned by Star Tribune higher-ups due to some unfortunate and ill-timed comments about somebody's mom
  5. Yet another argument about buffalo wings escalates into Aaron Gleeman smashing a bottle of Frank's Red Hot sauce over Michael's head
  6. The comments get turned off, forever
  7. After RandBall's fourteenth consecutive day writing about the Wolves during a Wild winning streak, a caffeine-crazed Michael Russo cross-checks Rand into the wall during a newspaper happy hour
  8. Rand quits the paper to pursue his dream job: the 1am-5am weekend slot on The Current
  9. A physical altercation ensues over who is really responsible for the enduring delightfulness of Nuclear Wessel
  10. RandBall draws an ESPN-style three-week social-media suspension for calling Brian Stensaas a completely unprintable slur, relating to a 1985 UND-Wisconsin donnybrook at the Dane County Coliseum
  11. The RandCast makes its return to the airwaves
  12. The blog pauses for a brief but heartfelt celebration, following the Twitter identification of the 500th person who looks a lot like RandBall
  13. Jeff Brady calls back
  14. John Sharkman starts writing the blog every day
  15. Aaron Rodgers flips Stu's hat off his head, a la Matt Kalil
  16. RandBall quits to, quote, "Spend more time with my four enduring loves: My wife, my daughter, my pug, and of course my nearly-worn-out cassette compilation of LFTR PLLR B-sides"
  17. Michael finally gets his own KFAN show, tentatively titled "The Brett Favre / Johnny Manziel Old-Timey Radio Hour"
  18. RandBall adopts Dana Wessel's hairstyle
  19. Michael goes on sabbatical after being knifed by Manny Lagos in a Blaine back alley
  20. Ken Chia starts wearing a cardigan and writing a blog, leading to an unfortunate, "Single White Female"-style incident in which he unsuccessfully attempts to replace Michael's Page 2 column and headshot with his own
  21. The Great Baseball Road Trip visits no baseball games, instead choosing to spend four days sitting in a parked car in front of Dale Murphy's house
  22. There is another Redactular, anywhere in the Twin Cities
  23. Clarence Swamptown starts writing the blog every day

It should be a great year! Happy birthday, RandBall! Here's to years more of tremendous entertainment!