VF21
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
Always the optimist and never one to put up with anyone’s BS. Kingsfans.com truly is a community quite unlike other forums on the internet. There is a humanity here and I strongly believe that is because of her influence and passion to keep this place a welcoming safe space for passionate fans to come together and discuss this team with civility. Lets honor her memory by keeping her love for the kings and this forum alive with the same high standards she set.
To her family, we never knew Christine in the way you did, but I have a feeling we all understand what made you love her so much. Such a loving, passionate soul and she will be missed by her online community.
To her family, we never knew Christine in the way you did, but I have a feeling we all understand what made you love her so much. Such a loving, passionate soul and she will be missed by her online community.
Truly heartbreaking for her friends and family. VF21 has been synonymous with KingsFans. She's always been extremely warm and welcoming even during our darkest seasons.
I still remember the one time she casually mentioned being on a bear lookout. I never got to know her personally, but I definitely missed out. I hope she RIP.
I still remember the one time she casually mentioned being on a bear lookout. I never got to know her personally, but I definitely missed out. I hope she RIP.
I’d read these boards for years before finally building up the courage to take the plunge and create an account.
To that point, I’d been perfectly content to sit poolside. Partially due to a general reluctance to interact with anonymous strangers online. Mostly though, even as a spectator, I’d seen VF21 swiftly swoop in to lay down the law on some obnoxious miscreant (namely @tradepeja back then … miss ya buddy) enough times, I was afraid I’d earn the same fate one day. The mere specter of a stern VF21 talking to kept me out of the Kingsfans deep-end for a long while.
But at long last, a scared, lonely, out-of-work, homesick kid in San Diego decided to plug his nose and dive in, searching for some connection to his childhood town and team.
And there was VF to greet me, not with a list of rules or warnings, like an overzealous lifeguard, but rather with the simple kindness of a welcome message that read, quite literally:
In the nearly 15 years I have been on this site, I learned it has been largely her tireless work in the background, and willingness to be the patron defender of this board’s class and culture, that has created an atmosphere mostly devoid of the petty insults and toxic trolling found pretty much everywhere else in the world of sports fandom and online life generally.
She wanted this corner of the internet to be a celebration of our shared passion for the Kings, basketball, and Sacramento, where all were welcome, even fans of those hated Lakers, as long as they kept it classy. It didn’t matter who you were, to VF you were welcome.
The only real rule was to be kind.
I never interacted with her outside of this board. I would not have recognized her if I passed her on the street. I learned tonight her true name was Christine. And yet none of it matters. She is a person whose passion and purity of vision has had a profound impact on me. She was a consummate optimist in a world that needs a whole lot more of that.
Thanks VF for welcoming me into your corner of the internet. We’ll make sure to keep the place in order for you until the Kings finally bring that O’Brien Trophy to Sacramento.
To that point, I’d been perfectly content to sit poolside. Partially due to a general reluctance to interact with anonymous strangers online. Mostly though, even as a spectator, I’d seen VF21 swiftly swoop in to lay down the law on some obnoxious miscreant (namely @tradepeja back then … miss ya buddy) enough times, I was afraid I’d earn the same fate one day. The mere specter of a stern VF21 talking to kept me out of the Kingsfans deep-end for a long while.
But at long last, a scared, lonely, out-of-work, homesick kid in San Diego decided to plug his nose and dive in, searching for some connection to his childhood town and team.
And there was VF to greet me, not with a list of rules or warnings, like an overzealous lifeguard, but rather with the simple kindness of a welcome message that read, quite literally:
WELCOME! See, the water's fine.
In the nearly 15 years I have been on this site, I learned it has been largely her tireless work in the background, and willingness to be the patron defender of this board’s class and culture, that has created an atmosphere mostly devoid of the petty insults and toxic trolling found pretty much everywhere else in the world of sports fandom and online life generally.
She wanted this corner of the internet to be a celebration of our shared passion for the Kings, basketball, and Sacramento, where all were welcome, even fans of those hated Lakers, as long as they kept it classy. It didn’t matter who you were, to VF you were welcome.
The only real rule was to be kind.
I never interacted with her outside of this board. I would not have recognized her if I passed her on the street. I learned tonight her true name was Christine. And yet none of it matters. She is a person whose passion and purity of vision has had a profound impact on me. She was a consummate optimist in a world that needs a whole lot more of that.
Thanks VF for welcoming me into your corner of the internet. We’ll make sure to keep the place in order for you until the Kings finally bring that O’Brien Trophy to Sacramento.
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As many have said, we didn't always agree, but VF21 was someone on this board I flat out respected and without doubt a bigger fan than most of us. She made this board feel like a family back in the day, which is no easy feat. Thanks VF for all you did to make this board such a big part of my life. You will be missed.
Going down memory lane a bit. I recall when joined KF in 2007 there was bit of a family feud going on it seemed between two of the original members/founders, Glenn and VF21. Not exactly sure what it was all about but both acting like couple cantankerous seniors which was more sarcastic, humorous disagree than insulting or petty. Glenn and I had quite a few private messages way back then up until he slowly disappeared from the forum. His last words to me, planning to move to Leyte, Philippines where lived before with his Filipina-American wife. VF21 I chatted a bit over the years privately and she told me about her 4,000 foot mountain home in Butte county or maybe it was Plumas county. And as someone here mentioned chasing bears away chore at times and recent years burdened tremendously by wildfires almost right up to her doorstep. To Christine's family deepest condolences.
It's funny I have known Christine since the 1990s and never actually met her. We old timers go back to the early days of social media before Facebook or Twitter, but common love of the Kings and respect for the rules of the website laid a foundation for friendships that could transcend differences that might otherwise create barriers. My heart is very heavy reading of her passing and I if her family reads this I would like them to know how much she meant to so many fans for so many years. She has been missed on this forum for some time and now in my heart.
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Sad day. I was mostly, and still am somewhat, a lurker back when piksi was doing game threads, VF21 doing the PBP and Bricklayer doing the grades. She always put it in so much work for the love of basketball and anything Kings related. I will truly miss the positive energy she brought to these forums. In closing, in honor of her: GO KINGS!!! I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!
Man, really puts things in perspective. We quibble all day about stupid stuff like Bogi being a better defender than Buddy because he has 2 inch longer arms and nonsense like that, but at the end of the day, we're here because we're Kings fans and we love the team. No one personified that fandom more than VF and she cultivated a place on the internet to enjoy the Kings with other fans. Speaks volumes that most of us here have been posting for years.
My thoughts to her friends and family.
My thoughts to her friends and family.
When I started reading this forum I hadn't yet realized I needed glasses. I would often see posts with an all white logo next to them containing what I thought was a simple, small purple dot in the center. For quite a while I thought it was an icon used to designate excellent and important posts. When I finally got glasses I realized it was just VF21's avatar.
I'm so sorry to hear this! VF21 was a kindred spirit here and a voice of sane optimism that I always looked up to. She will be missed by so many here for a very long time...this board and our discussions are so much better because of her. Thinking of her family in this incredibly complicated time of transition. With her supporting the Kings in this new capacity, I will smile every time a ball sits on the rim and then goes in, when a Kings player makes a miraculous play, and when the ball is moving particularly well with a sense of fun on the floor.
Very very sad to see this. For many, including me, she was what defined this board. I sometimes wished the Kings would be good again just for her- like she deserved it more than us. I’m saddened to know she won’t be here when this one day finally turns around. But then, realizing that she found so much joy in our normal 27-55 teams, I know she was happy to be a Kings fan anyway. She will be greatly missed.
VF21- any questions?
VF21- any questions?