Soccer related discussion: What does the SB mean to you?

SB, let's use this thread (that hopefully wont get whacked/anchored) to discuss what the SB means to us. The recent discussion on thread whacking really got me thinking. There were many insightful posts from members of this board on those threads, and it's a conversation I would like to keep going. Here is some slightly edited copy pasta from another thread:

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The Soccer Board isn't the OT or Tiger Rant where the majority of new posters flock to. Its a very tight community of posters and the majority of people know each other in real life. A thread that is slightly off topic every once in a while isn't damaging the site nearly as much as a similar thread on one of the bigger boards. We don't start a nightly LNST, but we would like a discussion like that to exist in some form on a weekly basis.

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I'm sorry, but it's hard for me to state it better than this. LSUSOBEAST1 is right. The SB has a much different feel than other boards. We aren't saying that makes us better, but it's a very personal board that has a lot of IRL interactions. It's a real community, and I think that's awesome, and honestly one of the most impressive feats of TD. From this forum spawned a community of people who now know each other IRL and who often look forward to seeing each other for soccer games at bars and the like. While I myself have not taken part in such meetups, I look forward to doing so in the near future (I'm moving to NOLA and the main bar that the board visits happens to be there).

I think it's cool to share with a community of like minded people, and one might argue that there is a lot of diversity between the varied TD "communities" (see: boards). For example, there is a certain OT bravado that doesn't extend to all of the other boards, and the SB seems to be of a much different mind set in general. They are two VERY different places: There is a mutual respect amongst members of the SB that seems to be rare in forums nowadays, and I know the responses I get will be helpful/insightful. We are not going to get the responses we are hoping for in the OT (let's be honest, we get called foot fairies by the OT so often that the board has just embraced its "gayness" with open arms. Posting there is scary if you have anything soccer related in your sig/avy). It's not surprising that we tend to stick to ourselves.

In conclusion, the SB is a great forum that continues to expand, evolve, and form its identity with every new thread and every new poster. In my opinion, the SB is one of the best boards on TD (well, I would call it THE best, but I'm biased), and definitely the best forum that I've ever posted on. Many of us don't even bother with the other boards. It's almost like an ever-growing family, where we know and appreciate people who, though often separated by great distance, are still meaningful to us. Where would we be without Hendo's German football knowledge and occasional Deutsche douchey-ness? (jk, I love you Hendo) What would we do without Glass buying people beer all the time? What about Leauxgan's commentary that makes me laugh more than anyone here? Or MJ who isn't just a valuable member of the SB but also works in the community to strengthen support for the sport and our NATs? (also, props to UASports23 who I think is also an AO prez or something) What would we do without wm72's Italian football commentary? Gmorgan's MLS commentary? Don't forget Crazy4lsu's ridiculous knowledge of everything soccer related. And so on and so forth with many other members. Seriously, need I continue? I feel like I really know you guys, and I haven't met a single one of you mofos IRL. I love what this community has brought me and I hope to stay a part of it for as long as you guys will have me.

SO- what does the SB mean to you? How often do you check it? Do you meet up at the Finns, Londoner, etc? How many SB members do you know in real life? Is the SB just a place to discuss soccer with (sometimes) like-minded people, or is it more than that? How is the SB different from other boards? Would you agree with me that it is, in fact, a "community?"

Feel free to add other questions to this discussion.

Note to the admins: Not trying to stir the pot here, but rather trying to learn more about the other valued members of the SB and how they appreciate the forum.