God Damnit

These are the first words that came to my mind when I saw the article here on Giant Bomb. I never met Ryan nor have I had the chance to see him or the rest of the GB crew in person before. I know these men from The Giant Bombcast and all the video features on this site.

I needed a video game podcast to listen to, all the ones I found before coming here were not the best things to listen to. When I came to this site, went to the bombcast page and clicked play I was hooked the moment I heard "Hey Everyone It's Tuesday". Ryan Davis is the first person you heard every week, the one who greeted you, the guy you laughed with, and the one who was always pushing the podcast forward through it's segments. He was the first personality I grasped onto and identified with on the show. He was hilarious, energetic, witty, and gave off the kind of personality that made you feel like you were listening to a friend and not an on air talent. The type of connection he made is what a strive for as I write for my own gaming blog and the news of his passing is beyond hard to take.

I may not be as long of a GB member as some of you, but the time I have been here and the enjoyment I have gotten from Ryan and the gang made today's news feel as if I lost a brother. I had to sit here in my office and fight back tears at work while reading the post, as well as all the tweets from around the industry. Ryan was a great entertainer to fans, a great inspiration to people like me who want to be in the gaming industry, and based on all the tweets, as well as Thanks Ryan, he was a great friend.

I've lost the opportunity to meet you sir, and to tell you how much I have looked up to your work here on Giant Bomb. What I can tell you now is you will be the driving force behind all my efforts to be able to write about games on a professional level. Bombcast won't be the same without you, Giant Bomb won't be the same without you.. because... videogames.

R.I.P Ryan