Thoughts on the XRCO Hall of Fame
Your Comments & Mine: Laughs and Such
Tonight is the 25th XRCO Awards Show. I will be attending as usual and do a write up this weekend, but I wanted to share some fun thoughts about this year’s show. As most of you know the XRCO has honored me by naming me to their Hall of Fame. I am still in shock to be honest and have tried numerous times to write something expressing how humbled and honored I am by this. Nothing I wrote seemed to capture things the way I hoped so instead I have come up with a list of thoughts and jokes about the whole thing. Not to make light of the honor of course, but so many of you have made me laugh with your comments that I figured I would share.
When the announcement came my way, I was floored and was touched by the number of emails and message board posts sending me good wishes and congratulations. Some of the emails have been very funny and rather than try to explain myself in a serious way I am going to use some of the funnier comments. Some of these are mine, some are from readers or friends. I hope you enjoy these and please feel free to add your own.
-From Rog: “I still can’t shake the idea that somehow this will all end badly and that pig’s blood will be involved.”
I’ve been running this one into the ground with everyone I talk to on the phone and keep an unofficial scorecard to see how many people get the reference. So far it’s about 50/50 which means I didn’t miss the mark by too much. (And a Rog Point for anyone who emails in to explain this one for the follow up story.)
-From Rog: Would this be the best time for me to break out my “Who Wants to Blow a Hall of Famer” T-Shirt?
Yeah, that thought was funny until I remember a few things. Most everyone in the room who I would want to blow me has already blown a Hall of Famer. Between Tom Byron, Mark Davis, Peter North and Lexington Steele doesn’t that cover pretty much everyone? Besides, a shirt like that might open the door for Mrs. Rog to raise her hand and run straight for Sean Michaels.
-From a Friend Who Got the Reference in #1: So Rog, how long will it be before you are planning your own “I Got Into the Hall of Fame” party and will Mike, Carol & Alice be there to convince the siblings to show up?
OK that one should be easy to get and if you remember the episode in question you are probably laughing. Of course that email was meant in jest, but I haven’t written about the Hall since. No matter how many walls may fall on poor little girls.
-From Reader X: And to think, you did it all without performance enhancing drugs.
Not unless caffeine counts. Though I have often been accused of being on drugs while reviewing (Most often by fans of Alexa Rae, Max Hardcore and alt-porn) that’s the strongest thing I’ve used to help me get here. Lots of caffeine though. It isn’t always easy sitting through six to eight hours of porn in one day.
-From Several of you: Are you getting into the Hall of Fame for your reviews or for those super secret POV scenes we’ve heard so much about?
Since the super secret POV scenes are super secret I am going to assume that I got in for my writing. Since I myself have never seen the scenes I choose to imagine that most people would confuse them as being shot by Jules Jordan and starring Lexington Steele. So yeah I suppose it’s possible that any voters who have seen them might be giving me a boost.
-From Someone:
: Hall of Fame for what? Poor grammar?
Ouch. Clearly I am not going to win any awards as an editor, especially of my own work. I’m trying though.
-From Blane785:
Congratulations Rog. You watch porn, make lame pop culture references and come up with goofy ways to say penis, vagina and intercourse all day. And they reward you for that? You are living the American Raincoater dream. Good for you. You deserve it.
It’s crazy isn’t it. It just goes to show you what you can do when you are in the right place at the right time, make the right friends and stick with something long enough. Seriously though, I am really lucky. I get to work from home doing what I love (writing) about stuff that most people would be happy to watch all day (Though it might get old for some of you faster than you might think) and I have every one of you to thank for it. Oh yeah, I am a lucky guy on many levels and I know it.
-From Dave:
Hall of Fame? What’s next, endorsements? Hello my name is Roger Pipe and when I find myself in a sticky situation I use EZ Glide lube…..
Oh goodness no. It does open things up to possibilities though. In addition to lubes I could endorse things like wrist braces, baby wipes and other helpful items. Or I could just hawk quality porn DVDs…..”Better than Viagra…..”
-From Frank (After hearing about my T Shirt idea):
I would like to propose the following T Shirt for you this year. “Bigger than Lexington Steele, Nastier than Jewel De’Nyle, Richer than Jules Jordan and Harder than Max Hardcore: 2009 Hall of Fame.”
Right. That would be too much irony for one T shirt. No one is bigger than Lex, richer than Jules, harder than Max or nastier than Jewel. How about “Whiter Than Lexington Steele, Taller than Jules Jordan and Older than Jewel De’Nyle.” Not as funny perhaps, but at least it’s true.
-From Several:
Does this mean that you’re going to retire? If so how do I apply to take over for you while you pack up and head to Florida?
No it doesn’t mean that I am going to retire. And how many times do I have to tell you not to email me here dad? Seriously I have no plans to stop and will continue to do this as long as I can. It does feel a little strange to be going into a Hall of Fame when that is something that is generally reserved for people who have left the game. On the other hand, I am going in with Jules, Lex, Brad Armstrong and some others who are going strong. With some luck and the continued support of readers of this site, I plan to stick around and watch a lot more of my friends and colleagues join the Hall.
-Other Names:
Before I get to my final note I want to take a moment to list some other names that I feel should be considered for the Hall of Fame. These people show up on my ballot and even if they are hate me for this I am going to list a few of them here. Den, Dirty Bob, Gene Ross and Tod Hunter. These men have taught me much over the years and have contributed a great deal to our industry. Each is a talented writer and I would hope that other XRCO voters will keep them in mind on future HoF ballots. (And please, let’s not forget about Bridgette Monroe. She is a stunning woman who starred in many of her era’s finest movies and then returned as one of the first cougars long before we even had a name for them.)
-Final Note from Rog:
Most of this is very tongue in cheek and I hope that comes across. I do take the XRCO very seriously though. A few years ago when they asked me to become a member I was floored. It was such an honor to be included. This was an organization that represented the very best in the field and to be one of the first “on-line” critics to be included is something I will always treasure. When they asked me to be a member it never even crossed my mind that I might one day be inducted into the XRCO Hall of Fame. This means more to me than I can say so I will simply say thanks.
Thanks to all of the XRCO members who included me, have supported my efforts and finally included me on a Hall of Fame ballot. I am humbled by your kindness and have learned so much from those who came before me. Thanks also to the critics who work so hard to keep readers informed. We have all come a long way in the past decade, but those of us who have called the net home from the start have been included in the process for a while now. I think that the state of adult journalism is better for it. I know that fans of adult entertainment are happy to have so many honest, independent voices to choose from.
Thanks to the readers who choose to visit my site, put up with the grammatical errors, ‘lame’ pop culture references and unabashed opinions that I bring to the table. You honor me every day by taking the time to read my site and contribute to the discussion.
Thank you to wonderful friends and partners like Jeff, Steph, Drew, April, Dave, Bob, Den, Tricia, Cindi, Tristie, Natalie, Savana and so many others I just pissed off by cutting this list short.
Thanks to the women who have made porn fun to watch for these past 25 years. From Christy and Ginger to Candi and Nicki. From Kaitlyn and Serenity to Aurora and Jenna. From Asa and Andi to everyone yet to come. Without you I would have been bored long ago and just played X Box all day.
Finally thank you to my family and especially to my amazing wife. Her love and support through all of this has made it possible. It also means more to me than she could ever know that someone loves me enough to support what had to be one of the craziest ideas ever presented to one spouse from another.
Cue the pig’s blood, it’s time for me to hit the bar.
