When Jeff Gerstmann was fired from GameSpot, a Blog Post by Rich Gallup recalled a time when Jeff, frazzled from working hard during GameSpot's customarily intense E3 coverage, had accidentally misstated his own name as "Jeff GameSpot." It was in reality a simple slip of the tongue for "Jeff Gerstmann from GameSpot," but as Rich pointed out at the time, it was also symbolic of just how inexorably linked Jeff Gerstmann and GameSpot were. For me, the quintessential example was Jeff calling in to On the Spot using Xbox Live Video Chat to demonstrate it on his week off.

And then all of a sudden, he was just gone. I remember sitting in the canteen at work on a lunchbreak in my first job, reflecting on how this crazy sequence of events had suddenly played out and how this huge part of my childhood and adolescence was just gone in an instant. "GameSpot," Jeff had recently told us while trying to make up for the ESA's then-current efforts to destroy E3, "is still crazy." And then all of a sudden, it wasn't.

But before long, there was some hope. Jeff Gerstmann, it seemed, was still a threat. Soon joined by the beloved (and now sorely missed) Ryan Davis, we had Arrow Pointing down before we knew it. And shortly thereafter, the proto-Giant Bomb - a WordPress Blog - was born. I vividly remember sitting in the Giant Bomb Justin.tv Chat on the day the true site was to go live, as we waited for the real Giant Bomb to begin. Chatting about Batman (specifically The Dark Knight) and what user names we would take in this exciting new venture.

From thee, it was a wild ride. I spent years in the Giant Bomb Unofficial IRC Channel. I joined Matt Bodega, Tokyo Chicken and Disgaeamad to produce the Officially Unofficial Giant Bomb Community Podcast, Bomb Should Have A Face. We had the pleasure of having Jeff, Brad & Dave Snider join us on there. I remain incredibly grateful for their time and cherish even that brief opportunity to talk to these guys who had such an impact on my life.

In the years since, there have been ups and downs. Whether it was my interest in games peaking and troughing or things like the departures of great contributors like Dan or Patrick, or more recently Alex, Vinny & Brad, the loss of Ryan...It hasn't always been smooth sailing, but Giant Bomb was always there. Jeff Gerstmann was always there.

Even in the midst of three of the core five staff members leaving at once, I could always take solace in the fact Jeff Gerstmann was still here, Giant Bomb was still crazy and as long as that was the case...Giant Bomb was still a threat.

Jeff Giant Bomb was still a threat.

Because while Giant Bomb may always have been more than "just" Jeff...In every meaningful sense, Jeff Gerstmann is Giant Bomb. Especially as Ryan Davis is sadly no longer with us. To reduce the loss to Giant Bomb of Jeff Gerstmann to "just another cast change" as the unsigned news post hastily announcing (and then glossing over) his departure does is to fundamentally and completely misunderstand what Giant Bomb is, who Jeff Gerstmann is and the 14 years of history behind this site.

Even more than "Jeff GameSpot" was inexorably linked to GameSpot, "Jeff Giant Bomb" is inseparable from what makes Giant Bomb...Giant Bomb. It's Jeff Gersmtann, it always has been. He's been the heart and soul of the whole thing throughout - not always alone, but definitely continuously. To have him here one day and gone the next with just this soulless press release style blog post?

It's clearly wrong. So "Giant Bomb" may persist. And I wish no ill will to the remaining core staff, who I like. But this isn't really Giant Bomb any more. And to make this change in this way is disrespectful and offensive not just to Jeff, but to the audience who helped make this site what it is under his leadership.

And so, after all this time...

Duder, it's over.