TOW-19

Well.......

Well.

I think, first off, it should be known that I sat staring at this keyboard for the last 15 minutes now. I know this because I also kept glancing at the clock on my screen in an effort to find motivation to write this. Those that have known me through the tourneys and through the years know that communication is something that comes quite fluidly and easily for me.

Doesn't seem to be the case tonight.

Nothing of the following is going to make sense.

And it won't be in any order.

Much of what I'm about to say can be attributed to Sniper as well. On most things UF, including our farewell, we're usually like-minded. But I know he'll be along shortly to type up his sentiments as well. He and I have had a whirlwind of emotions around us these past few weeks....of relief, contentment, sadness, longing....and a little bit o' horny. But that's not here nor there.

This is just the rambling of a man saying farewell to something he loves so dearly, but knows for the better that it must be let go.

But I'm going to begin typing anyway.

This is my very first-ever post on the Urgent Fury forum as a member of the UF community. Not [uF Creator] Undertow......but just [RVN] Undertow. Up until now, you have known me, and my partner Sniper, as the creators of this grand arena of tournament gaming. Many people respected us. Quite a few disliked us. Some even despised us.

None of that ever mattered to Sniper and I. This is evident in the longevity of the tourney and in the stay-our-course attitude we've run this tourney with since day one. Sniper and I always believed in each other and we always believed in what we were doing. We knew we couldn't please everyone out there...so we did what is natural to gaming geeks when no one is looking...we pleased ourselves. We made a tourney for us. What WE wanted to see in a tournament community. We wanted to play games like SOCOM with honor...with dignity...with passion. And we wanted nothing more than to surround ourselves with like-minded gamers to share in this fantasy world. Surround ourselves with more than just our clanmates...we wanted to create a movement.

And you know what?

For six long ***king years...we did just that.

Mission accomplished. ;D

These years have afforded me many a memory...

I remember Sniper and I, along with an original third creator, first designing this tourney. The excitement. The confusion. The wide expanse of possibilities.

I remember Sniper and I removing that third original creator...a friend...from the tourney in order to preserve its true identity and nature. We questioned him. We questioned our dedication. Then we created our answers.

I remember Sniper and I confronting one another when one thought they were losing wind in his sails at various points through the years when clans or players seemed to want nothing more than to ripple the waters.

I remember pulling all-nighters before a tourney deadline to make sure it launched when we said it would launch all while the forums filled with anticipation on invite nights.

I remember creating a tourney in memory of a player's fallen wife and child, and giving all the proceeds to St. Jude's. Gamers coming together to help children in the name of someone's painful loss.

I remember finally meeting the man I had worked on Urgent Fury with for years for the very first time. Six years spent together like best of creative friends and only sharing the same air for one week in our lives.

I remember other tourneys out there constantly circling round UF. I remember some would try to be us, but then fall in failure. I remember some would try to stay out of our ocean, but saw that their pond could never create a wave of its own.

I remember the birth of a podcast, the emergence of a Commander, the integration of a news channel, a falling rotten apple, and somewhere in the middle of all that, like a needle in a haystack...I remember a very small.....very small.....penis.

Remembering all of that....I see now that Sniper and I are players who have a story.

Players who created a story.

Many people out there love gaming. Not so many can claim to have done what Sniper and I set out to do.......and did it.

I want to thank Sniper, first and foremost.

Sniper....I do not even know what to say here. I feel like we should shake hands. I feel like we need to hug it out. I feel like you and I should be sitting across from one another at a table and clinking some shots of tequila in celebration. On second thought, strike that...you're still the only Mexican I know that can't hold his tequila.

But what I do know is that you were the architect of Urgent Fury here, my friend.

No matter what crazy idea I had...no matter where I brought the next tourney...no matter what system I had devised for the newest Tacmap tourney.....you walked up to me, slapped me in the face and said "do it better." And I did. Because you made me. You made me want to top myself tourney after tourney. It was that great creative energy you and I shared that made UF so great. I believe that. I know, without a doubt, that whenever we were ready to roll out the newest tourney, that it was you and I who made it...and that it was going to knock the pen is mighters off of everyone who rushed in to sign up for it. They loved our tournaments, Sniper. Go back if you need to and check out every thread from a clan who got eliminated from a tourney.

They thanked you for a hell of a ride, win or lose.

That's your legacy here, Sniper. You took the mindless mechanics of my brainwaves and made them flesh and blood. You truly were the wizard that brought our golems to life.

Yours and my friendship will last long after UF has moved on without us.

I am so much more fortunate as a human being for having the opportunity to work with you all these years. You were my favorite "co-worker" of all time.

ALL time.

Cheers to you.

To the Staff of UF.

Urgent Fury will never....NEVER give you guys the credit that you fully deserve, because the community of UF have NO idea just what you guys do and contribute behind the scenes. That blind ignorance is your greatest disservice here. Since the launch of the very last Tacmap tourney, these guys have been handling the day to day here at Urgent Fury as if they were the very arms and eyes of Sniper and I. The Staff allowed us to take a breather to near hands-off reliability. The Staff love this tourney inside and out and put in countless amounts of effort in order to provide all of you with the experiences here at UF that you return for month in and month out.

Rooster - you're one of the batteries of the Staff. One of the guys who's boundless energy help fan the flames of creativity behind the scenes. Thank you.

Bandit - More than you know, I would default my decisions towards things you would say and, anytime I had to make a final determination on something within this community, I would not respond without first hearing your input. Thank you.

Chili - Your presence here annoyed the shit out of me. Your constant rubbing against the grain. Your incessant prodding for Xbox and your non-stop bashing of Sony. But it was your different way of thinking that brought you into the Staff. We needed that thinker outside the box, and I always respected you for that. I have more respect for you than you would ever dare to wager on. Thank you.

Goat - Because of you, I now know just how irritating it is for the community to read one of my long-ass posts (much like this one) because I could never get past sentence three with you...which is probably why I never remembered anything you posted. But what I will always remember was your respect for tradition here at UF. You always knew our mission, and you never strayed from target. You're a hell of a leader for our UF Rangers and they have a dependable man-at-bat in you. Thank you.

Inadub - For some reason, out of anyone I asked to be a Staff member, you were the one that made me smile the biggest when you said yes. I don't know why. I won't try to explain it. I just want to say "thank you" for saying yes when we asked. So thank you.

Johnson30 - I relied on you for your bracket-making expertise and your never-ending support of this tourney. You were a great asset to this endeavor and UF would be at a loss if you were ever to vacate the Staff position you now hold. Thank you.

Sequoyah - If ever Sniper and I wanted to just "give" UF over to someone, I think it would have been you. Yes, in the end, Sniper and I felt justified in believing after all these years, a nice payoff was a great thing...and it is. But for solid dedication to the cause, there's no other we could put more trust in than you. Thank you for it all.

Sgt.JoeFriday and PuddyTat- With your ever-evolving commitment to UF, you were the ones that seemed like the bulls of the Staff. You didn't take shit. You ran tourneys as they were supposed to be ran, regardless of the opposition you may have faced from a dissatisfied player. You made us smile each and every time you kept UF on course....forcibly. Thanks to both of you.

Viper - Many in this tournament community just don't know how much you've given them throughout the years. They don't know, and that makes me sad. But knowing that you never needed accolades for your work...that shows me what kind of person you are. Thank you for being the kind of person that you are. Thank you for sharing a clan tag with me. Thank you for being a friend on the phone.

You know what? ***k it. Viper is and always was "Commander Fury." All those years listening to AWESOME podcast after podcast episodes, wondering how the HELL Urgent Fury put together such a funny and professionally-prepared podcast....well, we didn't. VIPER did. He is the talented mother***ker that made you laugh, made you smile and made you WANT that podcast when you didn't get it. So someone, anyone, PLEASE finally thank this guy for entertaining the hell out of this entire community. He never got a thank you for the amount of work he put into it.

I believe now it's time..and since I made him keep it a secret all this time, I feel it's my duty to make sure I make the call-out for his accolades. So THANK HIM. edited for reasons of national security

To the community......

Guys...and a few gals out there....I love you.

I ***king love you.

I ***king love you. You don't EVEN know.

I can't stress that enough.

You've given Sniper and I so much...and in comparison, we've given you so little.

We gave you a place to have fun and meet others.

You have us a place to be HEARD....something too many people in this world live without nowadays.

Take a look around, people.

Thousands.....THOUSANDS of you playing in this same tournament space....with ONE thing on your mind....to play in an honor-bound community with players of like minds.

It's amazing, people. Simply amazing.

I sit here and imagine a week's worth of Tacmap matches going on in those Socom servers. The number of players arriving at a designated time, ready to fight and defend their clan, their locations, their honor. This is a game and yet the competition...the matches can get so HEAVY. I love it. And I love all of you.

I'm no longer a creator here at Urgent Fury. I'm no longer an admin. I'm no longer anything. I'm a guy with the letters "RVN" in front of my name and I lead and play with a clan named "Ravenfall." But THIS is the community that I am a part of. THIS is the legion of gamers that I look around and say "why the hell would anyone want to play ANYWHERE else?" There are so many of you here that I never would have had the honor of playing alongside and against. I have made friends along the way. Great friends. I have met a few of you through UF meet-ups and RVN meet-ups. I wish I could embrace you all as one body and just convey how much you all have meant to me through these last 6 years of my life.

I've run Urgent Fury since I was 28. I'm 34 today.

I've run Urgent Fury through my divorce.

I've run Urgent Fury through unemployment.

I've run Urgent Fury through personal tragedies and heartaches and heartbreaks.

And through it all, all the things in life that get shoved at you....UF was a constant. UF was a distraction. UF was often what kept me sane when life's turmoil could have potentially driven me mad.

I have a clan of about 40 players.

I feel like, for the past 6 years, I have had a family of THOUSANDS.

I'm not blowing smoke here. This is how I feel. Whatever level our friendship...whatever amount of time we play together online...however you think of me, either fun, dependable, genius, crazy, annoying, long-winded, untiring or too tiresome....I consider each and every single one of you an extended piece of family. You can't GET that anywhere else. We've spent TIME together, either on the phone, in game or in person. Time is what we all afford one another. We CHOSE to give something as precious as our time to one another. No matter how you feel about me, or how I feel about you.....we still gave one another precious gifts of time. If we didn't give a shit about one another, we never would have given each other the time of day.

So to you all...each and every single ***king one of you.....thank you SO much for your gift of time spent here with Urgent Fury, with me, with Sniper. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I have a clan that I love very much.

I have a tournament here that I will miss very much. Too much.

But this was the right decision for me, for both Sniper and I, now in our lives.

And we're not going to regret it. We're just going to miss it.

And now.....now to the new owners.

The new owners will be along soon, I'm sure. I've spent time talking with them now, picking their brain to see what their intentions for this tournament were before even considering offers. Sniper and I could have shut this down upon our exit....but this is Urgent mother***kin' Fury. Not even Sniper and I could hold it down for long...so we weren't going to even try.

Urgent Fury needed to live....HAD to live...and we just had to find the right wranglers that could handle this wild beast of a tournament.

We believe that we have found those wranglers.

Their names are Shane, John and Armond.

They'll be by soon enough to say hello.

In them, Sniper and I are entrusting the legacy of UF. In them, Sniper and I are entrusting the UF community. I have heard their plans...I have listened to their intentions...and as I did, over the phone, I had to try hard to suppress my smile as I listened to them speak. I couldn't believe the sincerity in their voices...the plans that they already had in place...the future that they kept speaking of and not just visualizing the exciting present. They have a place they want to take UF, not just keep it in the same spot. They have a goal and I can only say that I hope so very much that they make it there. You ALL will be better for it if they can. And in their endeavor, they will have Sniper's and my full support and well-wishes. These are a good group of guys that have the drive, the will, the capabilities and the down and dirty ***king desire to make sure that UF not only lives, not only thrives, but morphs into something so much more dynamic, so much more powerful than what it is today.

Sniper and I created Urgent Fury.

These three.....they're going to make Urgent Fury BETTER.

They're going to take what we both did...and they're going to knock this ***ker out of the park.

They will.

And I could not be happier. For both them and the community.

That's all I got, everyone.

Fingers are tired...brain's tired...and I feel like I want to say goodbye to all of this with a cold Guinness in my sun room tonight with the lights off, watching some foot traffic on the sidewalk below and just feel good about what Sniper and I have done these years...and miss the hell out of UF tonight and what I'm walking away from.

I wish you all the best in life and the things you will all do.

I wish those who are taking control of UF the very best. Take care of this tournament, boys. She's been very good to all of us all these years and deserves nothing but the most tender of touches.

And now, I just wish you all a good night.

Tomorrow is a brand new day.

Each and every one of you...players and new owners alike....EMBRACE IT.

Most sincerely,

- Jay Donovan

[RVN] Undertow

Ravenfall

aZyOuThInKeYeIz ]

Fail for timekeeping

Thanks.

Great post!

And I concur.

HusH- ]

Undertow ]

I will be posting up my farewell to the UF community as well as announcing the new ownership tomorrow.

No false alarm here.

 

See you all then.

 

- TOW

 

 

Your not completely leaving, are you? You plan to keep Raven fall within these walls, right?

As long as we are welcome, Ravenfall will ALWAYS be an Urgent Fury clan and no other.

mikejaxon ]

Hmmm.... Im sure the 10:19 has some sort of significance

 

 

LOL.....a little....but not too much.

It's just my birth date....

I will be posting up my farewell to the UF community as well as announcing the new ownership tomorrow.

No false alarm here.

See you all then.

- TOW

Chili-Palmer ]

Who is this Sniper guy.. are you in a clan.!?

We could use a gfx guy in our clan. ;D

Last I checked, pilfering through other clan's rosters wasn't looked kindly upon around here, Chili.

Look at this guy....creators are on the way out and he throws all the rulebooks out after them....

Ah Chili.......

SNIPER ]

 

We will have an announcement TODAY about the transfer of ownership and the new owners. Tow and I are very, very pleased with the new owners. UF will be in very good hands. Stay tuned...

Oh Sniper......LOL

We're not committing to an announcement tonight.

It may or may not happen.

However, there WILL be an official announcement NO LATER than this Friday evening, for certain.

Sorry for the teaser folks...LOL

- TOW

MaluNYMets ]

Oh I asked because I always thought Raven Fall was. On the banners it says Official Ops clan of UF or something like that right?

Yeah, by storyline in the TACMAP tourneys only (if you've read the storylines).....but not in an administrative capacity.

MaluNYMets ]

Will Ravenfall still be associated with UF? Is UF the only tourney RVN will be playing in still? Any changes with RVN?

And please let me clarify here that the only association my clan has with this tourney is that they PLAY in it.

Ravenfall and UF have never been associated hand-in-hand in any administrative capacity before.

But yes, Ravenfall will continue to play in UF and NO WHERE ELSE. Why would we...? LOL, this is UF!

And I'm not sure what this has to do with the transfer of UF to new owners, but no, RVN will not be going through any changes.

BLACKCLOUD ]

Just a question Tow. Do you ever foresee a day when you and sniper want to buy it back but the new guy's wont give it up?......?? Are you ready for that?

Yes.

We wouldn't be selling it in the first place unless we were 100% sure we were ready to part ways.

That's not to say the next few days and the months following won't be bittersweet. Sniper and I both want and deserve this retirement. It will be pretty emotional for us both when we transfer UF over, but our icing on the proverbial cake will be that we're fairly certain UF will continue on a great path with what's to come.

Really.

And for the record, we will not be wanting to buy it back.

We'll just play in it from time to time as supporters of a great tournament community.

IRISH BULL ]

You mean "farwell" as the the new owners, right?

I mean farewell as a former owner...

CDBS14 ]

so when is the official statement coming?

 

THE SUPER LONG POST' date=' lol

[/quote']

 

1: Statement will be coming in approx. 1-2 weeks concerning the new owners. And yes, Urgent Fury has selected who the new owners will be, and both Sniper and I are very confident about the individuals involved AND what they have in store for UF. We wouldn't have chosen them otherwise.

 

2: There will be a "super long post" when I make the announcement about the new owners, as I will also be posting up my farewell message to the community. I know I'm known for a long post from time to time, and my farewell will be no different, I'm sure. If anything, and after all these years, I think Sniper and I can assume we can write a NOVEL of a farewell to all.

 

Announcement is forthcoming.

 

- TOW

Polaris ]

The program used up available funds, from what I understand.

 

If you want in on the initial go-round, the transaction must be done by tomorrow, 8/2.

Program got another 2Billion pumped into it on Thursday, though.

Read that last week. Was very surprised at that.

ShadowOfaSolja ]

screw them, Technically you may owe them money but to wait 6 months to cash a check can totally screw someones bank account.

It shouldn't REALLY screw with someone's bank account if they keep a good tracking of their account.

If they subtracted an amount from their check book, then that amount no longer EXISTS to them. Right?

Do the honorable thing. You owe him money.

You have his goods, he does not have your money FOR those goods.

Thank you.

MaluNYMets ]

Same here that is good to hear. I hope the new owner can come close to what you have done for UF. In are hearts and minds you will always be Urgent Fury because of what you have done for the past several years in making a fun/mature tournament community. I've been on this site at least an hour or two a day for the past 3 years now LOL.

 

I hope the new owners instill the values and leadership that you both have shown over the years.

Thank you very much.

Sentiments like that make this transition all the more harder. :'(

But thank you. We're very confident that we'll make the right choice for UF's future. We really are making that choice for you all. We can see in comments how much this community means to so many players out there, and that's really Sniper's an my testament through all the years of hard work putting UF together. So our LAST wish wouldn't have been to leave all the players of UF out in the cold.

BigMoneyNacku ]

I am the new owner. My first order of business will be to hire Havoc to oversee all operations. ;D

 

 

Oh and ban everyone that disagree's with me hiring the greatest creative force to ever step into the gaming arena.

Goodness, Nacku.....LOL

I don't miss that person....but I do miss his stupidity. LOL

Ah well...

Welcome aboard (back).

BigMoneyNacku ]

Undertow ]

Well, -I- have some news that may only be exciting to me for right now, but will be BIG news in the coming months for all of comicdom. Got talked about over San Diego Con this weekend...

 

And it has to do with me, Terry Moore, Rob Liefeld, Marat Mychaels, Whilce Portacio and a few others....

 

Looking forward to unveiling it very soon to all the comic news outlets.

 

 

 

 

NO shit? You should get me some signed gear from Rob and Portacio!!

 

 

I'll love you long time if you do. ;D

Remind me....later.

That won't be a problem at all.

- TOW

FEAR_WADE ]

Cool Tow, looking forward to that.

 

I have been following the Lost stuff, the last con for them and they had a pretty decent panel. I am way geeked out on this damn show.

 

This is part 1 of the panel, the rest link from there.

 

Wish I would have known you were a fan.

We had dinner with Hugo. LOL......

Was able to get Season 1 signed for a friend of mine here back home.

IRISH BULL ]

I don't know if this has been answered, but what happens if there is not a buyer? Will this site shut down??

We currently have active bidders who have made the minimum requirement.

For those that would appreciate knowing, we are currently holding our "interview" phase where we are asking all bidders what their immediate and long-term plans are for their running of UF, which factors into the overall decision Sniper and I will make in a week.

As far as we can tell, this site will not shut down.

We would not want it to.

It's been a very interesting emotional ride this week, I can say that.....

Well, -I- have some news that may only be exciting to me for right now, but will be BIG news in the coming months for all of comicdom. Got talked about over San Diego Con this weekend...

And it has to do with me, Terry Moore, Rob Liefeld, Marat Mychaels, Whilce Portacio and a few others....

Looking forward to unveiling it very soon to all the comic news outlets.

Please do not publicly post IP addresses for something as innocuous as this.

People sign up to forums and lurk all the time.

You have the right to remove him from your forum if you like for this reason, but it's not a reason to post his IP address for everyone to see here at UF.

We have thousands of accounts here in UF but only hundreds check in and fewer post.

If we deleted all the lurkers of this forum here, the population would be thinned dramatically.

But there is no harm in lurking so there is no reason to post this IP address here on this forum.

LOL....that's a pretty funny find right there!