Hey Muck, pretty sure it's public knowledge since I've seen it openly discussed on other threads; Bigpoppasmurf is Michael, his brother Kevin/Legendofkane is the M.O.M we lost to cancer before you joined. Michael wanted to pick up where Kevin had left off since the game and this group of friends had been so important to him. Admirably he didn't want special dispensation or a constant barrage of condolences, he just wanted to play and succeed or fail on his own merit. I assume those were his reasons, anyway. We've emailed several times and he wants to wait to join a squadron until he feels his skills have improved. He knows, I hope, that when he's ready to jump into one club or another the door to M.O.M is always open...not because of Kevin but because Michael is someone we'd want regardless of any familial M.O.M connection.
I'm already on the inevitable slide out of the top hundred ranks...#98 last night, #99 today. Bopes, dogss, feel free to pop the cork...it won't be long before I'm back in the bulk of the pack where you think I belong. My pals.
On the other hand I just played a mission with our newest M.O.M, Attila, and he mopped up the joint! Something like 20-4 to my meager noob-feeder 3-4 in a CTC. As PolishBob is my witness. And clever, cohesive, respectful, syntactically correct banter throughout. He's a gem, I'm tellin' ya. Attila, while my phone is charging so I can go out and drop another couple slots in the rankings I'm working on your banner. Scroll back a couple pages for instructions on how to adopt it once it's finished.