The Nominees for the 2017 SoBros Supporter’s Shield

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Last week, we announced that we would be hosting the first ever SoBros Awards in December. The two biggest awards that don’t actually involve anyone officially affiliated with out web site include the Tom Arnold SoBro of the Year award and the Supporter’s Shield.

The Supporter’s Shield was thought of to honor our most loyal fans, readers, and supporters in the community. After all, we are where we are because of those people. We’re all going to vote on this award and announce the winner via FB Live and Periscope at the December ceremony. Don’t worry – I’m announcing these names in Twitter handles so that no one’s name pops up on Google associated with this ridiculous web site. Carry on.

First things first – there are two people who we’ve decided to distinguish with this honor without even voting….two people who have been so incredibly instrumental in our development and have supported us like literally no one else has. These are the recipients of the honorary SoBros Supporter’s Shield.

First, Matt in Lebanon – this guy is like our one-man street team. I never thought we’d get anyone not affiliated with this site to push our brand the way Matt has. He likes and shares everything. He comments on everything. There’s no doubt that he has become our biggest supporter. Not to mention, he’s a dear close friend of the site. When I presented the idea for this award, his name was the first that almost all of our team mentioned. He’s been that valuable to us. Thanks, buddy.

Second, there’s Sam at Wax Pops. Sam has been along for this ride with us for a while now, too. But, recently, she’s been more than willing to help me sort some of the actual, technical business shit out. She’s also pitched in some designs for the site (Gin Friday t-shirts coming soon?). Not only has she been a good friend, but an incredible resource for us. So, there’s no way we can even think about presenting this award without making sure she gets one.

(Editor’s note: Yes, I’m aware this a MLS (Major League Soccer) award. Where do you think I got the name? By blatantly ripping off MLS)

The field for the 2017 SoBros Supporter’s Shield

Buffalo’s Billiards

The hosts of three of our four events so far, Buffalo’s means a lot more to us than just an event space. That’s veritably our second office. The staff is cool as shit, and you won’t find a better hideaway or a better beer tap around downtown. They’ve taken incredibly good care of your boy for about two years now (wow – Buffalo Fridays have been going on for two years now?). Now, they’re helping me take care of this web site, too.

Bear Hug It Out

R.I.P., Bear Hug It Out – still have to give it up for Nighthawk. Dude has been a pleasure to work with, bounce ideas off of, and to just chat with. He’s been good for a ‘keep your chin up, man’ and a pat on the back every now and then. And, when you work as hard as I do to make your dreams come true, those little pep talks go a long way. He and Torri have both been on the Twitter machine, liking and retweeting my work for what feels like forever now. I have to take a moment to give them a major ‘thank you.’

@TheRyanFranson

Fun fact: The Ultimate Worrier (bump: @DiveClubMN) was the first person to ever buy a SoBros t-shirt. Automatic nomination. But, even if not for that, the dude has really gotten behind us on Twitter, retweeting and liking our work like crazy. He’s also the winner of our first ever fantasy Wrestlemania contest. Gotta give him a nomination for all of his participation. But, all that aside, the guy is hilarious. Give him a follow.

@MikeHales9 and @DylanWaco

Papa Hales and Dylan were both instrumental in both getting our team down to Chattanooga for the Scenic City Invitational. They didn’t just set us up at the Best Western or sell us tickets, though. They welcomed us in with open arms. Dylan even basically did my job for me, and put together a YouTube playlist of videos for our readers to watch to catch up on the tournament’s participants.

@lonesome_hobo

Ryan has proven invaluable behind the scenes. I don’t think our own team even realizes how much content has gone up on our site because of this guy. He’s constantly forwarding stories or funny videos to me, and I always encourage him to keep ’em coming. It’s also worth mentioning that the man singlehandedly won both the Singles and Doubles foosball tournaments back in May. That’s right – he won the team championship on his own.

@doxom85

Dom has been with the SoBros Network since day one. Off the top of my head, I’d say he’s one of the 2-3 most loyal readers we have. He’s submitted content ideas to us, even gotten in on the Friday Jams action, submitting a couple of songs that have found their way into our weekly column. He’s a big ‘liker’ and ‘retweeter,’ too – so that’s always good for points with this crew.

The SCI Crew

We made so many friends down in Chattanooga that it’s impossible to name them all here. I mean, I guess it’s technically possible, but fuck – that’s a lot of names to remember. And, we couldn’t choose just one of you lovable bastards, so we had to nominate the whole damn field – looking at you Lane and B, Michael, Ben, Steven (or is it Stephen? I don’t know), Keith, Fray, Thor (sorry, I don’t remember your actual name) and Vic….shit, I’m sure I’m forgetting some of you, but damn, I’m trying.

@asteele1855

Austin is a big SEC fan and friend of the site – I know he and Poppa Bear go way back, but just because you go way back with us, it doesn’t always equate to being a loyal reader. We have several friends that don’t give a shit about our stupid web site. But, that’s not the case with Austin. He’s been loyal and active for us for a while now, and always jumps in on Poppa Bear’s SEC coverage.

@trtidwell

Tyler jumped on the SoBros train earlier this year through a mutual friend, but he’s been instrumental in growing our brand. He’s always liking, commenting, and sharing our work on Facebook. Tyler’s the type of guy we’re trying to build our brand around – a loyal reader who’s happily engaged with our content.

The Ultimate Predator

I know, I know. We nominated him for SoBro of the Year as well, but he’s both a public figure and a friend of the site. He ended up in the Nashville Power Rankings one week, was nice enough to retweet us, and he sent more than a few new followers our way. Not sure if I’ve even told him this yet, but this happened at a time when we were really trying to get our Preds coverage off the ground. So, it couldn’t have worked out better. Since then, he’s stood pat, retweeting us and checking in with us regularly. Also, we ran into him when WWE Raw was in town and he actually knew who we were. That was the first time anyone ever said, “oh, cool” when we said, “we’re the dudes from SoBros Network.” Points all around for this guy – a real class act.

So, that’s the field. We’ll be releasing the ballot after our quarterly business summit next month. The polls will be open for about a month before we close ’em up. We need enough time to make sure the trophy’s ordered in time for the SoBros Awards. Congrats to all the nominees and, of course, thank you for your support of this web site.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. A strong advocate of GSD (get shit done) and #BeBetter, he’s down to talk Tennessee Titans and Alabama Crimson Tide football over a beer any day. Check him out covering the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley@WrestlingNewsCo

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