Gordon: My very first job as a web programmer started in 1996 when I was a production intern for an independent serial web company (Anyone remember the cyber soap The East Village? Well, I helped to work on it). I first actively started looking for game show news in the late 1990’s, once Millionaire popped out and became a huge hit. It was at that point that I stumbled on to Steve Beverly’s web site for the first time and realized that there were other game show fanatics like myself. From an internet and a social standpoint, that was a new experience because I then knew that there were other people like me – people who not only watched and followed game shows, but who analyzed everything about them.

With Steve Beverly’s site as a staple for my internet journeys, I was a daily follower. I was going to go to the first Game Show Congress (knowing about it via his site), but a flurry of work stopped me from doing so. In 2003, I was able to free my schedule and go to the Second Annual Congress, which overlapped nicely with the TRASH Invitational. It was at that point where I met Jason Block, James Dinan and Steve Beverly for the first time. Despite me being an ‘outcast’ (meaning that I knew no one there), Steve made me feel right at home and was incredibly friendly. My interaction with Steve not only convinced me to go to the next GSC, but to also play a role in being an active member of the GSC. As a result, I now co-moderate the Game Show Tournament with Joe Van Ginkel and have also brought the rest of GSNN down for WLTI.

I can best describe Steve as a Southern gentleman. He is a very nice guy, and although he and I tend to disagree on some issues (him being from the conservative South and me being from the very liberal NYC area), he is very passionate on his craft and is a very intelligent man. There is a reason why he is on the forefront on any news program that needs a game show ‘expert’, as he certainly typifies that.

I was very saddened when Steve announced that he would no longer operate his site on a daily basis – not only on a professional level, but on a personal one, as Steve was one of the reasons why I joined up with GSNN in the first place. Though I am honored that we have been described by him as one of the future torch bearers, it feels like the only reason why we have the flame is because, like a candle, we had to take it from Steve’s wick. Although you have truly earned the rest that you will be taking, you will be sorely missed.

---

Chico: I've always believed that my greatest friendships have come from rivalries. I don't want to say that Steve and I were rivals for the last three years (though in essence, that's what we were), but it seems that when Gordon and I took the reins from Jason Elliott, I found myself wanting to beat Steve at his own game. Over time, I came to realize that I wasn't trying to best the man, but rather, I was trying to best myself,  and seeing what Steve did with his own site helped me improve this one. I guess you can say that I have Steve to thank for making me be better than myself.

I remember saying two things about him. First, I said in an episode of WLTI that while our differences are many (he's a professional journalist in his 50s whose favorites date back to the classics of the old school, I'm a med tech in my 20s whose first game show watching adventures involved Dick Clark, Alex Trebek, and a cartoon devil), the fact remains that far more unites us than divides us. Even as he has his detractors (and who doesn't really?), his heart is in this genre like no one that I've ever seen short of the many legends that we revere. Which brings me to the second thing, which I told him face to face - people like him breed people like us. I stand by both sentiments.

I think I can speak for every here at GSNN when I say that it's going to be quite a chore to fill his shoes. After all, he's the go-to guy for the rest of the world. While I don't see myself as an ambassador for competitive television any time so, I promise that I will do what I can with what I have where I am.

So Steve, if you're reading this, do yourself a favor... Take a nice vacation. You deserve it. We'll mind the shop from here. Thanks for everything.

---

James: Hard to believe that Steve Beverly is stepping aside full time from TVGameshows.net, but I understand his reasoning. As someone who is about to be married myself, I know I'll have to make some changes in the coming months as well.

Along with college quizbowl, Steve's site helped me get in touch with others who shared my love for game shows. If it weren't for Steve, I probably wouldn't be involved in the Game Show Congress, or assist the folks at Game Show NewsNet with WLTI or news tidbits.

Thank you Steve for allowing me to provide updates for Beat the Geeks and Stump the Schwab during its runs on the air, and thank you for providing one of the first forums that game show fans could call their own.

Gordon Pepper can barely form a sentence without using the phrase GSC. E-mail him at gordon@gameshownewsnet.com.