I don't know that I have anything to actually say today. I just need to type something so I can not think about it too much.

I never met Ryan Davis. I never shook his hand or gave him a hug. I never spent a day playing video games at his house or making jokes with him. I never even corresponded with him via email. But Ryan Davis was my friend... and I will miss him.

I work a job, like many of you I'm sure, that is not fun. It pays well, the hours suck and it offers no room to be creative. For 2 or 3 hours a week though, I get to listen to duders talk about the hobby I indulge in the second I get home. Now, that conversation will be missing a key voice, the anchor, the ersatz leader, if only because he introduced the show and kept it on track week in and week out. Ryan Davis was my friend and I will miss him.

I have been to every gaming site I know and seen that the whole gaming community knew Ryan and loved him deeply. If you haven't read it, Greg Miller at IGN posted one that shows Ryan's influence went far beyond the games journalist world. Anyone who knows the Harmonix community knows how many times Ryan turned up to judge Rock Band nights at PAX East. Ryan was a friend. We'll all miss him.

My condolences and sympathies go to his co-workers, his friends, his family, his tragically short lived wife, who is now a widow who must go on without him and anyone who knew him or met him or wanted to. It's just a post on a gaming website, a blog that will be forgotten in a day, maybe a week if I'm lucky, but it's one of the most difficult things I've ever had to write. It's said that no one truly dies until they are forgotten. Never forget Ryan Davis, because China don't care. Because he tried breast milk live on stage. Because a bat beats a knife. Because he was our friend and we miss him.

Rest in peace, Ryan.

In Memorium, Ryan Davis, 1979-2013

This summarizes exactly how I feel. Well said. I never met the man, but he was my friend and I will miss him as one.

Thanks for this. I feel the same way. The whole Giant Bomb crew are my friends in a way that's only possible in this crazy Internet enabled world we now live in. Video games are an important part of me and that's something most of the people I know in real life will never understand. But the Giant Bomb crew understand.

Ryan Davis understood.

Let me say as someone currently living in China... can't speak for everyone but screw it, China Does Care.

Beautiful, yeah you pretty much took the words from my fingertips, beat for beat. Thanks duder.

Thanks. That made me smile... perhaps "China do care" should be a shirt just for you, duder.

Anyone who got the opportunity to actually meet him should consider themselves lucky.

Ryan was awesome, it saddens me deeply of his passing because of how friendly and funny a person he was, he will be missed. R.I.P. Ryan Davis

Well-said.

You summed up my feelings exactly my friend. We're all going to miss him terribly. At least now Will Smith is able to pronounce 'executable' as weirdly as he likes.

Yes, he was our friend. Well said.

I like this post.

One of the difficulties I'm struggling with here is why and how can I feel so sad for the death of a person I've never met? I always looked as the Giant Bomb guys as my "friends," but then feel a little... I dunno. Embarrassed, or pathetic inside because they aren't reciprocating any thoughts or feelings back at me. I can't articulate it well right now, but I always wondered how and why I can feel so connected to a bunch of guys that never met me? I guess that happens after spending so much time with them throughout the years via audio and video.

Anyway, I have a fun little Ryan story. A few years ago I emailed the bombcast asking if I could get one of the versions (season two?) of the bombcast theme because they changed it to something else. My fiance and I would pick up our cat, Plump Etta, and dance to the version I was looking for every time it came on the bombcast.

Ryan wrote me back saying that my story melted his icy heart and he sent me all of the versions because I wasn't entirely sure which one I was looking for.

After working in a professional setting for 21 years, I've cried at my desk for the first time today.

I was just thinking of writing something like this but you probably said it better than I ever could.

@gatehouse: @willza92: @anund: Thanks guys. Nice to know it's not just me who feels this way. I can't imagine facing the Bombcast this week without him and I doubt they'll put up a full length one, if at all. I wouldn't blame them.

I feel the exact same way. When someone is so embedded in your weekly rituals for as many years as Ryan Davis has been for many of us, how do you not feel SOME kind of connection and genuine feelings for the man. So, today I can't help but be saddened, and even admit to the tears shed for a man who, during some of my worst times, never failed to make me smile with his beautiful enthusiasm for every damn thing he talked about.

It's that laugh. That infectious, unforgettable, genuine laugh that I'm gonna miss the most. It almost makes one jealous of how damn much that man enjoyed everything.

@bonorbitz: I understand what you mean. Don't feel embarrassed or ashamed. We're all dealing with it today, this week and for the rest of the time we'll spend at this site or gaming at all. Friendship comes in all sorts, sometimes it's just knowing that a sense of humor meshes well together or that you have interests in common. I have the feeling that I could spend a day with any of the Bombers and never feel awkward or out of place. Whether you met him or not, Ryan was a part of our lives and he made us smile.

@phoenix654 said:

@homer39: You too. See above.

@phoenix654: you expressed exactly what I (and I'm sure countless others on this site) am feeling after hearing this news. Ryan (and the rest of the crew) actually helped renew my interest in video games and for the past 6 or so years I knew every Tuesday my spirits would be lifteed with another Bombcast.

I'm still trying to process this because yes, I've never met the man but damn, it really felt like I knew him...

His poor wife...

I'll miss him. RIP duder...

This hit the nail on the head. As others have expressed, it's odd to feel this way about someone I never met, but this is why. We listen/watch/read from these guys week in and week out. We may not know them, but they are slotted in our lives in a similar place as our actual friends. Ryan was a friend, and he will be missed.

Just saw this post on the official thread and it's a perfect summation of what I spent 20 tear streaked minutes writing...

@daiphyer: I miss Ryan. He was the closest friend I never met.

Yeah. I haven't cried this much over someone I've never met since Mr. Rogers died.

I think if any one ever asks me what person would you have liked to meet in your life it will be Ryan Davis. This death saddens me so much... You said what I think man. Thank you for this blog post.

Yeah, I lost one of my best friends in high school a few months ago (he was 33). I am surprised how close this feels to that.

Thank you for putting my thoughts to words perfectly duder.

You will be missed Ryan Davis.

Thanks for this. When I first heard the sad news I was kind of shocked that I felt so strongly about the passing of someone I have never met. It is nice to know that I am not alone.

Thanks for this.

I too have felt that I've lost a friend. Even though I've never met Ryan, I felt genuine sadness and even cried when I finally processed the news. I'll miss you, Ryan Davis. RIP, brother.

Well said, Sir. His memory will live on in all of us.

It's weird that a person I've never met and only interacted with once or twice can have such an important impact on my life that I can not stop thinking about his passing and actually shed tears when I heard the news. Seeing other people with similar reactions as mine just shows how important he was to so many people, even if he never knew it.

I think you've perfectly encapsulated all our feelings about this at this tragic time.

Thank you sir.

Well said thank you for this.

I just got home from work to see this. I'm at a loss for words right now. After listening to this dude for so long, yeah It feels like a big part of me is gone too.

I wish I could hug everyone right now.

This is exactly how I feel. I felt closer to Ryan than most people I know. What makes it especially hard is the timing. I'd be satisfied to be a Tenth of a man he was.

All these words are what I want to type but can't through the tears. Thank you for this, thank you Ryan for being awesome and allowing us to have such feels. But fuck does it hurt my heart to say goodbye. :(

@phoenix654: Thank you. This is fantastic.

I was 3,000 miles away from Ryan Davis and I connected more with him that I do with people who share my zip code.

I was born in 1995, so I haven't experience many celebrity deaths. This is the first one to really cut to me.

I saw someone say it on another thread earlier but truely today our community came together as a family. We all loved Ryan, as we do the other guys who work at Giantbomb and Comicvine, and everytime i think ive gotten ahold of myself i read another thread like this and its all i can do to not burst into tears. He was a damn hero to many, a friend to many more and someone who could make you laugh and inform you at the same time. I dont know how we will get through without him, only that we will and of course, we will never forget him but one day we will stop moarning him and start celebrating him. I wish that day was now, it hurts more than i ever imagined it would.

This is what I was thinking. This is the worst I've ever felt about someone dying that I have never met. The only two others were Steve Irwin (my childhood hero) and Robert Jordan (world's greatest fantasy writer).

Ryan was like one of the dads of this big internet family we have here. And I consider a lot of you duders my internet brothers/sisters.

I don't know if the Giant Bomb crew realizes it or not, but what they do means the world to many of us. It's more than just entertainment.

I think I'll write a blog about this later.

Yeah, spot on.

Ryan was super important to my life, even though I never met the dude. I watch videos with him in them every day and they make my life so much easier you don't even know, but it hurts so much right now. I don't know what to do now. There was no contingency plan.

Great Post, I'm stting here at work watery eye'd while everyone asks what's wrong.. I tell them..and they give me a weird look saying "you never met him and he didn't even know who you were" ..fuck those people. Ryan Davis was my friend and I miss him.

Famous people pass all the time and i usually think to myself "man that really sucks". But this hurts. I can see you all feel the same. Just goes to show you how much of an impact a good person can make. Goodbye Ryan Davis.

You said it perfectly, duder. Pouring one out from Northern Ireland.

Thanks to everyone who commented on or simply read this. It has helped me deal with this more than you can imagine. I have a long ass Monday to get through at work and I feel a bit better now than I did when I wrote the original post. All the very best to all of you, duders (And... duderettes? Duderinas? Is duder a uni-sex word? I can't remember.).

well said, this is exactly how i feel.

You've summed up what I had to say. Ryan Davis was on the list of people I would one day meet and shake the hand of.

Nice post friend. You really summed up the way a lot of us our feeling today.

Thanks for this. RIP Ryan

I will never forget Ryan Davis.