QCI DECADE IN REVIEW... 2000-2009

Awe... what a decade huh QCI-ders? Yeah... Turns out 10 years is a long time... duh. But what may be so ancient... seems like yesterday in some regards... Anyway, I had a tough time figuring out how to do this decade in review thinger... but... upon further review... I think I'll stick to being random... but will try to keep to a few things... Politics, Sports, G$ Landmarks and Random... for each year... here's to hoping this post doesn't suck...

2000

POLITICS - George W. Bush. Yups... Won the Caucus... and then Florida... and I was there for the ride. Spent my Thanksgiving in Ft. Lauderdale with Wayne Newton... or he sang at our party. Recount was crazy.

SPORTS - Um remember when Iowa was good in basketball? 2nd year of the Ferentz era... remember when we still had Stoops on the brain? Yeah... Sadly... We lost Derrick Thomas that year. Gunther was head coach... Chiefs go 7-9...

RANDOM - Peeps began hating on Metallica... mostly because of Napster... no new album but "I Disappear" did alright with the MI release... Epic U2 album that year... wore out that tape, yes a tape... in my 87 Crown Vic... aka the Shark...

WHAT I REMEMBER - I guess I became what folks call a full fledged "Bushie". That's where I cut my teeth in this stuff... met great people and made great friends from there on. Spent a good month in Florida... Kind of a first full year as a staffer. Lived or stayed for long stints in like 6 different states... which was wierd for a 22 year old kid who hadn't been out of the state. Good Times.

KEYWORDS - Chads, Y2K, W., Burning CDs

2001

POLITICS - We had a new POTUS sworn in... new era started. In Iowa we were gearin' up for a Guv race... Sukup and BVP... A Harkin challenge... and had a primary in the 3rd... new district... Stan Thompson and Dick Johnson primary... Polk Straw Poll win and hard work started to pay of for SJT...

SPORTS - Welcome to the Dick Vermeil era in KC. Went 6-10... but a special time was happening... The Hawks have a winning season and end up winning the Alamo... Suddenly... no one is talking about Stoops... wierd.

9/11 - Changed everything. Such a wierd time. Everyone knows where you were when you heard and/or saw... I was getting ready for work over at 3000 Grand where I lived with Barthy and Wingert... heard it on the radio... then turned on the TV...

RANDOM - Newstead leaves Metallica... starting to wonder if my favorite band will still be together... sure enough they did... whew.

WHAT I REMEMBER - First time in DC... living out of the Embassy Suites off of K Street or something... learned its a fun town! Also had a gun pulled on me for the first time... Also... Definately 9/11... but it was kind of a coming of age year for alot of my peeps and I. We weren't all doing the GWB thing or punk cock college kids anymore... we were on our own now... do I dare say... epic?
KEYWORDS - Stem cells, Terror, Rudy, United We Stand

2002

POLITICS - Primaries heat up. Enter Doug Gross. Also... Enter a heated Senate primary Salier v. Ganske. Dick dropped out... Stan's the nominee. Sadly... lost a friend and mentor that year... I miss you Luke. Despite GOP gains across the country... there was no wave here... but, the only CPA in the race won... #goodjoboutofyou Watch Dogg.

SPORTS - Chiefs even it up and we learn about this guy named Priest Holmes... turns out the dude can run. The Hawks are Big 10 Champs... off to a BCS game... but the sting still burns from that Iowa State game. Damn you Seneca Wallace!!!!! SMH.

RANDOM - 3000 Grand place was a good joint... probably too nice for 3 young campaign guys... 9th floor was a good view tho... Steaks and Sopranos anyone? That was epic...

WHAT I REMEMBER - I had mono that year... it sucked. I also lost the Shark... one of my many epic cars... It was called the Shark because... if you went in reverse... it died. Plus... it was bad ass. Huge. Then scored another crown vic... the trooper car. It had some giddy up. Plus random cop things... epic. But also remember... how long that year seemed... maybe that was the mono...

KEYWORDS - Iraq, Brad Banks, RedBullVodka, Euro, Enron, Whacked, Bada Bing, The Only CPA

2003

POLITICS - Other than being invaded Iowa by every Democrat who thought they should be POTUS for the Caucus... not much... other than the Governator and the California Recall... All were waiting for the gearing up of the Re-Election Campaign... which would start earlier than you think...

SPORTS - Start with a bang in the Orange Bowl... or at least the kickoff return... The Chiefs... go freaking nuts! Won 10 in a row... Vermeil tells Larry to take off the diapers... and LJ runs angry! Bummer... they lose in the 1st roun dof the playoffs... but not a bad season... 13-3.

RANDOM - Metallica is back! New bass player Robert Turillo and new album... St. Anger. Yups... picked it up at midnight of the release. Caught the Chicago show. Freaking insane.

WHAT I REMEMBER - Yeah... went back to Iowa City for classes... dropped a hundred pounds... I just remember being the old guy in class... A cool short stint with the Metalli-wagon after the passing of the Hoopty... was ready for a new hoopty... Got back in the DeMo in the fall... recharged and ready for a Re-Elect...

KEYWORDS - Cal-ee-forn-ee-ah, Atkins, Columbia, Husseins, Franitc

(starting to see a pattern with cars here... wierd...)

2004

POLITICS - Caucus ends with a Scream... Kerry is the nominee. BC '04 team becomes well oiled machine... President Reagan passes... and Bush gets re-elected... with no recount. All good to go... New faces emerge in the hack scene...

SPORTS - Hawks are Big 10 champs again! Chiefs play like crap... dip a little bit... like they had a Super Bowl hangover... urgh... too bad they didn't actually play in one the year before... double urgh... Red Sox Nation rejoices... my pals Sealine and Garneau were bauling for sure the night they won... it was warranted... Suddenly everyone is a Red Sox fan... don't worry fellas I know who the real ones are...

RANDOM - The first real Birthdaypalooza was that year... Or at least the first year for lanyards...

WHAT I REMEMBER - I just remember '04 being this one big blur... I mean... everything was about the campaign... there wasn't much time for anything else. Just a blur... I mean millions of good times and triumphs... but... it was a fast year. But man... remember how big those rallies were? Dayam...

KEYWORDS - Gipper, Out of staters, W., Do you have your ticket, Purple Stuff

2005

POLITICS - Everyone gets a chance to hit the Inaugural in DC. In Iowa, BVP starts his 2nd run... and Nussle's worst kept secret comes true, running for Gov. In the 3rd, Jeff Lamberti gears up against GMLB...

SPORTS - Drew Tate and the Hawkeyes give us The Play at the Capital One to start the year. Insane start of the year. This would be Vermeil's last year as head coach of the Chiefs. They win 10 games... but no playoffs... Son of a...

RANDOM - Katrina kind dominated everything once it happened... but we did get a new Pope... and peeps who didn't know how much of an impact Pope John Paul had... got educated.

WHAT I REMEMBER - Iowa Youth Hostel? Well... that was the first wedding year in my family, my brother Adam got hitched. So most of my plans and stuff were around that. Plus... I just started working for who would soon be a great mentor and friend.

KEYWORDS - NOLA, Steroids, NHL canceled, Yellow Stuff, 50 plates

(interesting enough... no car issues... wierd)

2006

POLITICS - Nussle and BVP join forces. Culver beats out Blouin. Fallon makes splash. Enter Krusty Konservative and the Iowa Blogosphere. Rough year for Rs. We come close at GMLB... and the Caucus season seems to start already...

SPORTS - Herm Edwards era (if you want to call it that) starts. Chiefs make the playoffs! Playoffs? Playoffs!? Sadly... we lose Lamar Hunt... the father of the modern NFL... Hawkeyes are decent... but lose at the Alamo.

RANDOM - Question of the year: Who is Krusty? Became the Iowa political "Who shot JR" question as blogs go nuts... peeps were always trying to krack the Krusty Kode.

WHAT I REMEMBER - It was just a tough year for the good guys... history finally took its turn in political cycles... Also... the campaign was pretty hard... I mean... it was intense at all levels.

KEYWORDS - Crocodile Hunter, Who the hell is Krusty, Blogs, North Korea

2007

POLITICS - And so it begins... the Caucus season that is. Everyone gets swooped up by somebody. McCain, Romney, Brownback, Huckabee... Thompson... Peeps were everywhere... Which made for tons of stories that would take at least a week of nights at Wellman's to tell them all. Peeps showing up in costumes everywhere? Flipper? Rabbits ER Varmints? Chickens?

SPORTS - Steve Alford leaves Iowa. (high five!)... Grumbling in Iowa City starts as the Hawks go 6-6 and no bowl game... The Chiefs downward spiral begins... Trent er TrINT Green is traded... and Herm forgets that you play to win the game... urgh.

RANDOM - I became an Uncle for the first time that year... as my family welcomes little Ainsley. And it was the first year of the Stanhope State University Softball tournament... an idea longtime coming... finally happened.

WHAT I REMEMBER - It was a little wierd that year... I mean I had buddies on all of the other campaigns... but only saw them at events. It's kind of the campaign code that you hang out with you camapign crew... and that's it. Because... usually someone will say something... and there might be a fight... and/or say something your weren't suppose to say.

KEYWORDS - Brittany, Knocked Up, Hokies, I-35 bridge, McCain Meltdown & Comeback

2008

McCain v. Obama... but we covered most of this in last years year in review. So we'll just do the rest of it.

RANDOM - I started this blog in '08... and retired from the day to day stuff of being a political hack... Oh... and lost the hoopty... and got my car stolen... got it back. Welcome back car issues.

WHAT I REMEMBER - How wierd it was that people read this blog. Still is... Also... became and Uncle again... Harrison! Thus starts his many cameos here on this blog... Lived then moved out of the hood...

KEYWORDS - QCI-ders, Facebook, Randomnous, Death Magnetic, El Camino Republicans

2009

OK... This is your year in review... to end this decade in review...

POLITICS - Guv Primary in full steam, Branstad returns... BVP begins trilogy... Rants... 3rd district battle royal... Matt Strawn is Chair... New fire in the GOP belly... The VBC is the place to be... Tweet Tweet!

SPORTS - Hawks give us heart attacks... The Chiefs... where do I start... King Carl gone... Herm gone... Pioli we trust... Haley... and we still suck... Derrick Thomas in the Hall of fame...(finally) Zach Greinke shows some #powerbluepower... oh, did I tell you the Chiefs still break my heart? The good guys are Midwest Division Champs! The Bearcats return to glory

RANDOM - The year of the MULLET. It was awesome... I miss the mullet. Also... social media... everyone is on it now... even the Facebook haters... they joined in. Kind of crazy...

WHAT I REMEMBER - This blog kind of becomes mainstream... not really... more and more readers... oh... and I got inspired to write a book... I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry That I'm Awesome... its a ton of work... and hopefully people read it...

KEYWORDS - Epic, #goodjoboutofyou, mullet, Child Please, #wingertvoice, Bean Walker, the TIR, Ricky Stanzi, the VBC and Epic.

So... there it is... The decade that was... I know I left out a ton of stuff... but... anyways... many of you were there when it happened from way back... some a long the way... some just recently...

Not a bad decade though... right? All in all... not bad... not bad at all.

Thanks to all who made it... memoriable... Here's a little song for you all to crank... Have a safe and happy 2010... Oh and thanks for the memory...