[Nostalgia]First reference of ClutchFans or ClutchCity.net?

I think i found it when i was searching for info on steve francis and i came along the bios of older rockets (calvin murphy,malone etc.) and i found saveourrocketts.com when some news channel did a story about it...

had to be around 99 or so

 

been around since 97 or 98... haven't the slightest clue as to how i stumbled across the place. i posted infrequently, but was slightly addicted to the bbs way back then. of course now i'm a full blown junky.

 

was annoying?

I was lookin for a Lakers forum and I came across CC.net

 

I had a 4 hour layover my last year of college in 96 when I was commuting. I usually spent it in the computer lab. I did a search for Rockets and found this site. It took me 6 years to figure out that there was actually a bbs that went with it...

FB, I remember the AOL Rockets bbs. I seem to remember someone named 'mmanual' or something like that mentioning this site. I think he posted here for a while.

 

Think I found it in 96 or 97 back in college, don't remember how I found it just know that after I found it I couldn't live with out it, didn't join the forum until a lot later though, still remember being pissed when I fell for the Spurs April fool trick.....

 

This was the first site I found on a Yahoo search in 97 and I thought all sports sites was like this...

For an out of state fan, reading the paper for Rockets news sucked, especially offseason.

 

I found this site through a link on nbadraft.net back in 2000. I was looking for any draft information about the rockets and I stumbled into this site. I lurked for about 2 years until the Rockets won the draft lottery and I couldnt view the board without registering.

 

1997 or so. I heard a guy call a radio station and mention it. I lurked a long long time and didn't bother registering the first time until 2003.

 

It was back in the early summer of 1996 - the U.S. Olympic Team (a/k/a 'Dream Team III') was beginning to practice for the upcoming Atlanta games.

There were rumors of Cassell & Horry being traded to Phoenix for Charles Barkley. I happened to be reading up on the supposed rumors on an early version of what is now MSNBC.

Back then, the news site had links to outside sites that were seemingly related to the headline story. The first link I tried was dead, or at least there was no site attached to it. At that point, I figured all of the links that were listed wouldn't be valid either (the internet was brand new and I was only fifteen at the time).

Curiousity finally got the better of me and I went back to the news site, which was discussing the proposed Barkley-to-Houston rumors. The next link I clicked was titled 'Clutch City '97," although the domain was registered to a college in Boston and wasn't switched over to clutchcity.com until a few months later. The title of the link was easily attractive, as we were only a year removed from our "Clutch City" glory days.

Early on, there wasn't much discussion on the site, outside of simple guestbook posts and emails between the visitors. Soon, however, there was a primitive BBS, where we could discuss all things Rockets, in addition to the ill-fated 'Clutch Mail' system and the aforementioned 'Rockets Web-Ring' (which Clutch soon dominated out of existence). The BBS, itself, went through various incarnations, until its present state - and I've maintained my moniker throughout the many changes that this site has experienced.

Even though the BBS has grown exponentially in membership and many of the original guys don't post anymore, I still find myself drawn to the site multiple times each day and don't even remember what life was like without Clutch[city/net/fans].

Damn, so I guess we're coming up on a ten-year anniversary of the site's existence, is that right Clutch?

-Turbo

 

I found it on the old usenet back in 1996. Damn, I feel old.

 

in 1999 I did a Yahoo search: "Houston Rockets" and this page came up, but first I used to only see the front page and the news and articles on the front page, but in 2003 I decided to become a member of the BBS, first I was a lurker, (only writing a few posts) and only visiting twice a week, but since 2005 I check this site several times a day and post with more regular frequency.

 

One of these two threads caused me to join :

Post by "Turbo"

Post by "MIKEO519"

 

I found the site through a search engine prior to the 2000 NBA Draft when the Rockets ended up with Jason Collier and Dan Langhi. I was just looking for some place with rampant speculation about who the Rockets would take.

 

I can still remember the 2002 Draft Lottery. I was very intrigued about Yao Ming, but I had a trip scheduled to the WV mountains to see my in-laws. I could not manipulate our departure early or late enough to see the lottery draw, so I called venerable Jeff and left him my cell number and asked him to call me when all was said and done and let me know who got Number 1 and where the Rockets fell. As I coursed through the mountains I worried about reception. After I didn't hear anything for what I felt like was too long, I called him back and he was screaming his head off that the lottery had just finished and that the Rox had garnered the First Pick...

 

Came here for the first time back in August or September of 1996, thanks to On Hoops. Though I still made CC a daily visit as soon as school ended, it didn't really start kicking ass for me until the lockout season.

No NBA site really comes close to this one.

 

this site rules because of its diverse personalities.

 

I'm member 485.
Members #s < 500 = ELITE ROCKET FANS

 

Well I found this board by searching for Houston Rockets sites. And this one had by far the most traffic. It was during Yao's rookie year in 2002. But I wasn't on the Yao bandwagon from the beginning. Far from it. I hardly paid him any attention, until he made Barkley kiss that donkey.

After that, I checked out box scores and paid some attention to what he was doing. Once Yao started dropping big double doubles against the likes of the Mavs and Spurs, I was absolutely dying to check out a message board. But by that point, the clutchcity board was registered viewing only. Eventually I registered and found the best nba team board on the internet.

About a week after registering, Yao completely captured my imagination with his memorable
Dream-like-baseline-spin-ball-fake-reverse-pivot-up-and-under move against the Pacers.
After that I jumped so hard on the Yao bandwagon, it went down with four flat tires.

Although, this probably sounds sappy, but I'm not sure what I fell harder for, Yao or this board. It's been pretty good around here. And with Yao emerging as a consistently dominant force, methinks the best will be yet to come.

 

I didnt get here as fast as I should have, but I have Google to thank for at least getting me here..