"Kinda sounds like Jackson is getting a better shake than anybody else would around here." Really? I don't agree with you. I think that if anyone else told that same story, people would not focus on the poster's ego, like a few posters are doing with EJ. Most BTers would respond, as they did here, with 'glad you are ok' type of posts...not "EJ is so full of shit" and "suffering from small man syndrone". If any other poster received _that_ kind of treatment, i would bet that other posters would respond accordingly.

"EJ's way of telling the story just begged some serious critisism."

It's the internet. It's BoaterTalk. This is an informal forum where people should be able to feel free to tell their stories without having their posts being ripped apart.

"It does not matter how good he is, his ego could use some editing."

He did sound confident. But he didn't sound arrogant or cocky, imho. To be honest with you, if I (and I suck) was stuck in that hole (with that hole's history fresh in my mind), I too would be very confident in my ability to get out and survive. If you aren't confident in that situation, then you are as good as gone. I would *know* that i would have made it out...someway. Is that cocky or arrogant? No.

and it's not about 'Hero Worship'. I responded to a post ("My isn't someone suffering from small man syndrone") that I thought of as a pathetic attempt to elevate a deflated sense of self-worth by publicly and anonymously belittling a Big Fish in this small pond of a sport we play in.
Oh yeah, this is *really* NOT directed at you....I just felt like writing, and your post happened to be the one that i clicked on :-)

~mattmac