I told my mom, girlfriend, and sister. They all know how much this site means to me so I thought I would share it with them because I was super upset (I only shed a few tears when I was talking to my mom which was right after I heard). My father passed when I was 6 years old. I know loss and still this has deeply resonated with me. It is well-known by this point that a bunch of people who never met Ryan feel like they have lost a friend. I feel the same. Me @orange_tory and @shimmy all attended the same school and could not believe it. As soon as Rorie gives us information on how to donate to Ryan's wife I am going to be right there. This makes me so angry that life can be so arbitrary in choosing who it takes away from the rest of us. Ryan gave me a lifetime of joy and for that I will always remember him.
Did any of you guys tell your loved ones about Ryan?
I told a few of my friends, my parents and my brother.
Edit: I also told my girlfriend, who was a casual fan of the site. We shared a moment, but she wasn't as deep in as I was.
No one really understood why I was so upset, or crying yesterday, but damn it..
I knew, and so did every single one of you true duders out there.
@rabbykayn: same here. she agrees that it's sad but didn't really get why I was so upset. She just doesn't have the kind of connection I've had with Giant Bomb over the years with anything herself so I suppose it's understanding that she wouldn't understand.
I told my parents and sister about it, but they don't exactly care about the game industry. When I tweeted about how he influenced me despite me never knowing him personally, my sister said "Normally when people say someone influenced them, they don't mean with Gameboy stuff." This is the kind of family I live with...
I told my parents, that's it really. A couple of my friends know about the site but don't use it much, I'll probably let them know next time I see them though.
My 12 year old nephew just posted about his death on Facebook and wished his family and friends well.
I live in New Zealand and when I found out he had passed I was lying in bed on twitter. I turned to my girlfriend and told her then just cried. She understood because she saw how happy Ryan and the rest of the crew made me feel and would witness me sitting on my PC for hours watching live streams losing my shit. I think she was upset as I was and just as shocked.
Since she asked why I didn't go to class today, I told my mom that "my friend" died. She reacted dismissively. Yeah, I'm gonna move out as soon as I can.
1 friend texted me because he knew it would be huge news to me (he's a big gamer but doesn't really follow this site, but knows I do). We sort of exchanged texts. I provided context for what a big loss this was, and how exceptionally bad the timing was due to his marriage.
Sort of explained it to 1 co-worker and an in-law, because I just had to talk to someone about it. I would say this is the most upset I've ever been about a 'celebrity' death. I'm the same age.
I read Dave Lang's words while at work today and actually had to fight off tears. Some other people have written some beautiful things, but for some reason his hit me a little harder.
It's still all quite surreal, and it's going to take quite a while for that to wear off I think. I don't even know how the guys are coping with it in office. I'm sure they've woken up a few times since wondering if it actually happened. Nothing but time is going to make this easier for anyone.
I told my parents and sister about it, but they don't exactly care about the game industry. When I tweeted about how he influenced me despite me never knowing him personally, my sister said "Normally when people say someone influenced them, they don't mean with Gameboy stuff." This is the kind of family I live with...
Bleh, you have everyone here duder.
I don't really have "friends" IRL so when I first heard my only option was my Mam. I balled my eyes out to her and I'm sure she thought I was ridiculous for being so upset about someone who never even knew me but Ryan was like a friend to me. He was such a powerful personality. His laugh.... Miss you already Ryan, Peace and Love.
I first heard about it from my cousin and we talked about it. Other than that, I live alone so I can grieve privately.
I kept mostly to myself on Monday, and after the Harmonix tribute stream and watching the other Twitch stream I was feeling a lot better, in that I could at least watch footage of Ryan and laugh. I went upstairs feeling more at peace and my mom, having seen my brother's facebook post, asked me who it was that died. I couldn't even say his name, I broke down right away. I tried my best, but it was really hard to explain to her why I was crying, and how much he impacted me and the community. I'm still not entirely sure why this has devastated me like it has. Oh look, now I'm crying again.
I also talked about Ryan with a person I wouldn't consider a friend but more of an acquaintance. I spoke of him as someone I knew personally. I think if I had said he was a person that I watched playing videogames he would have thought I was an idiot/madman but I grew to love Ryan Davis and felt like he was a friend. Peace and Love buddy.
I told my girlfriend. She told me she understood, but I don't think she really did.
My girlfriend actually broke the news to me. I told my mother and she didn't seem to get that I cared.
Also that's a great Matthew Good b-side album.
I told my girlfriend, but she's away and can only talk on he phone. I haven't told my parents yet but I plan to, just need some time to calm my mind, but everytime I even try to remember him I can't hold it together. I want to be able to explain to them, in a way that they will fully understand, how this person whom I never met was such a huge part of my life and is a huge part of who I am today.
I called my mom as soon as I found out and texted my dad. They both knew how much I love Giant Bomb. I also posted my favorite videos of Ryan on facebook and wrote something about him on Facebook even though most of my friends don't know what Giant Bomb is. My dad was able to relate it to when he was younger and his hero Robert Clemente died at a young age from a plane crash. Both of them were our heroes and had to leave us too soon.
No. I don't really have anyone in my life to talk to. I have a guy I play games with on Steam but he doesn't really go to the site so he doesn't care.
@noobsauceg7: Glad you were able to relate with someone. I wish I had someone who didn't just think "oh he didn't even know this guy, he was just someone who p[played dumb videogames".
@pinner458: Exactly, me too. I tried to tell a friend about it, but I couldn't figure out how to explain it.
I told my wife, who knew how much I loved the Giant Bomb Crew. She read the post by Rorie and cried. She understood and hugged me while I cried. I'm also 6'2 250lbs and have a huge beard she is 5'3" and tiny. What a sight, lol. I love my wife.
I didn't expect it to affect me so much. I almost pride myself on my ability to hear about celebrity deaths and think "that sucks" and move on. But Ryan, or any of the Crew for that matter are a HUGE part of my life. 3hrs of podcast a week, 2hrs of TNT, 3hrs of Unprofessional Fridays and countless other videos, I spend more time with them than most other people. I blame GB for making feel this way, they made a site based on personalities and getting to know these people....
Ryan was somebody I specifically looked up too, him and his wife reminded me of my wife and I. Even our weddings seemed very similar. I'm 28 it seems odd to look up to some one 6yrs older than me, but Ryan seemed like a real grown up but he still seemed like a kid. Thats how I want to live my life, grown up but still a big kid at heart.
Anywho... yes I did tell my wife.
I told my girlfriend and my mom. The GB guys have been so inspirational in my life and I know I wouldn't be doing what I am today without them. No matter how shitty things were I always saw GB as this awesome place of joy and fun, and now I feel like that is slowly falling apart. It just feels crazy that the death of someone I've never met could shake me to my core in a way nothing else ever has. This makes it really hard to talk to people that don't really understand what these guys mean to all of us who have been following them for so long.
Thankfully, they understood as best they could and they didn't make me feel weird about it. I'm still pretty upset about all of this, and I just want to hear what they guys have to say on the podcast. Hopefully we can all use this tragic event to motivate us to be even half the man Ryan was.
I spoke to my fiance and my mom about it throughout the day yesterday. Both of them understood my feelings. My mom is a big reader and we came to the conclusion that even if you haven't met the person doesn't mean losing them won't hurt, like losing your favorite character at the end of a great book... only in Ryan's case, he was real and therefore I feel like it hurts much more.
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