Grantland launched when I was 20 years old, and is shutting down a couple months into my 25th year. To say it was a big part of my growing up would be an understatement. They’ve been with me for a FIFTH of my existence. I was an angsty player with dreams of writing novels and screenplays. Now I’m a high school English teacher, four months away from getting married, with dreams of writing just something as good as the articles I read on Grantland.All I can say at this point, is thank you, Bill Simmons. Thank you, Zach Lowe. Thank you, Shea Serrano, Rembert Browne, Jonathan Abrams, Katie Baker, Holly Anderson, Bill Barnwell, Amos Barshad, Danny Chau, Chris Ryan, Chris Connelly, Andy Greenwald, Kirk Goldsberry, and literally everyone else who ever participated in something Grantland related. You inspired a generation of wanna-be sports and culture writers. Even Kafka-loving, Carver-emulating, Cheever-hugging fiction guys like me.
Source: On Grantland, Collective, and Influence | Bench Points