We have lost "The Last Druid"

Wow, i'm speechless. The breadth of his emotional being was priceless.

Certain people just command respect. Bruce was one of those people.

RIP Bruce.

I enjoyed reading his posts and I enjoyed studying his teams.

I wish there were more Druids.

Compared to many of you here I found this game during the beginning of the pandemic and therefore do not have the history with Bruce that many of you have. I did not have the pleasure of corresponding with him and getting to know him as many of you have. But, his passing has had an effect on me. Maybe its because the name "The Last Druid" is so well known in leagues and discussion forums or maybe it is because we are in the same age bracket and when you reach a certain age you start to realize there is much more sand in the bottom of the hour glass than on the top and so much more in life to be thankful for and to appreciate. From what I have read it sounds like Bruce had a full life and cherished his friendship to those who knew him through SOM.

To his family and friends here on SOM, my sincere condolences.

Joe

Joe--boy that really hit home.

RIP Druid, I knew him as Petrosian as I go back a bit. Never really knew him personally per se. Took a break from Strat for sometime and found when I came back that the Druid was one of the best in the game if not the best. It makes sense to me now as Petrosian and Munich Man were the giants of my time back then. Condolences to his family, he will be missed by many outside the Strat community as well as in it I'm sure.
RIP Petrosian/Last Druid

B.B.

Rest In Peace Sir, you were the best and clearly made us all better, I studied every Wrong Stuff team I could just to get a glimpse at the man, the Legend, The Last Druid will be missed but never forgotten to be sure.
Condolences to his family.

Compared to many of you here I found this game during the beginning of the pandemic and therefore do not have the history with Bruce that many of you have. I did not have the pleasure of corresponding with him and getting to know him as many of you have. But, his passing has had an effect on me. Maybe its because the name "The Last Druid" is so well known in leagues and discussion forums or maybe it is because we are in the same age bracket and when you reach a certain age you start to realize there is much more sand in the bottom of the hour glass than on the top and so much more in life to be thankful for and to appreciate. From what I have read it sounds like Bruce had a full life and cherished his friendship to those who knew him through SOM.

To his family and friends here on SOM, my sincere condolences.

Joe

Very well written, and captures my background (joined in April 2020) and sentiments. I have come to appreciate this community quite a bit. I played the game for years as a child in the early and mid 80's (after first playing APBA baseball and being fascinated by the nicknames on the cards that we were convinced were not actually used by anyone), but only became aware of the 365 version two years ago. I love reading the boards and seeing all of the old debates and rivalries, and it's clear what a central and influential figure Bruce was--clearly the OG of OG's.

My first encounter with The Last Druid was a fairly familiar one, I think. I had posted on the forums regarding Mickey Mantle. I had only seen the the 1956 card being used up until that point, and wondered aloud "why does nobody use the 1961 Mantle. What am I missing?" Druid responded with "A basic understanding of how to read a Strat card"
I retorted with something about finishing ahead of him in a recent Friday night high cap live draft. We were in another league later on, and he messaged me that he had thought that I was a different Steve, and apologized for the remark.

We didn't speak much until Strat unveiled their latest toy, the Slow Live Draft. We were in the very first one, a 24 team slow draft that took about a week to complete. One of the managers named their team "Moms Demand Gun Sense". Bruce responded by changing the name of his own team to "Happiness is a Warm Gun". I thought it was hilarious! Another manager changed his to "Dentists Demand Gum Sense".

The draft chat section was the most fun part of that draft. The topics covered ran the gammit, from Strat to politics to psychology, chess etc. That may have been the most fun I've ever had in a draft. After that, we communicated quite a bit, making observations about each other teams and finding out a little more about each others personal lives. I learned a lot from Bruce, and always studied his teams; even in my early online time before I got to know him.

He could wield his intellect like a hammer to your head at first, but if you took the time to get to know him, he would reveal a generous nature and a heart of gold.

RIP Bruce, your passing is a great loss to both your family and this community.

Agree with DVT-
and will just add that I know how broken up he was when his 2 dogs were both diagnosed with cancer and passed.
Hopefully they are all reunited now.