We've finally reached the first round of voting for the 2012 Matty Awards. Below, you will find the "ballots" for the first five awards.

Before we get to the voting process, I wanted to take a minute and explain why we hold these awards. This site is not what it is because of anything I do, or anything the other contributors do for the site. It's not because of anything Matty I did. It's because of everyone. All of you as readers add to everything I post, and everything the contributors post. It's the over 8,500 members of this site that made me want to bring back the Matty Awards. These awards are meant to recognize the top members of the site, whether it's a brand new member, someone who has been here for years, a person who posts just Fan Shots, or one of the contributors.

And, the best part is, it's decided upon by you. Any of you can vote for whomever you chose to nominate.

Now, let's get back to the awards.

The first five awards are:

1. The Chad Pennington Crossing Enemy Lines Award - given to the most knowledgeable and personable opposing blogger.
   
   
2. The Jim Mandich News Flash Award - given to the blogger who posts the most up-to-date and breaking news stories.
   
   
3. The Ohiofinfan4life Picture Perfect Award - given to the blogger who best used pictures in his/her posts and/or comments.
   
   
4. The Killer B's Blogger Nickname Award - given to the blogger with the best blog nickname.
   
   
5. The DC$ Player Nickname Award - given to the blogger who created the best player nickname.

Note: There is no "campaigning" within 100 feet of the polls (aka - anywhere on this website).

Continue reading to place your votes.