Number 1: Ezra has the Phoenix mount
by Mike Schramm 
Dec 6th 2008 at 3:00PM
May 30th, 2007: The Phoenix mount is indeed in-game... with Ezra!
A little while before this post, we'd posted the story of Ezra Chatterton, a boy dealing with cancer who'd been to Blizzard headquarters with the Make-a-Wish foundation, and while there, had gotten outfitted in epics, and had gotten to create his own character, questline, and even provide some voiceover for it. Through the course of that story, our writer Krystalle Voecks got in touch with Micah, Ezra's father, and a little while after that, Micah came to us with a request.
While at Blizzard, Ezra had been given one of the coolest items in game thus far: a rumored epic flying Phoenix mount. Kael'thas hadn't been dropped yet at that point, so we had no idea where it would come from, but Ezra had been given the very first one, and he was worried that if he took it out on the realms, people would judge him or be jealous of him for having gotten such a special item from Blizzard, even before the world first guilds and hardcore raiders. So with Micah's permission, we broke the exclusive story, and Krystalle wrote a great post explaining what the Phoenix mount meant to Ezra, and that he was the first to get it in the game. And players responded, of course, with nothing but generosity and kindness.
As we reported earlier this year, Ezra sadly passed away. But Micah shared that to the end, the WoW community meant everything to them, and of course we are extremely proud to have our top story ever be the one where we were exclusively able to announce Ezra's gift from Blizzard to the world.
It's been a wild three years, and of course, we've covered many, many more stories than these, from Tseric's departure from Blizzard, to the Burning Crusade and Wrath midnight releases, to the BlizzCon ticket chaos and all of the other craziness from the World of Warcraft and the gigantic community surrounding it. We're glad you've been along for the ride for the past three years -- here's to many more!
Go back to the beginning of the list.
While at Blizzard, Ezra had been given one of the coolest items in game thus far: a rumored epic flying Phoenix mount. Kael'thas hadn't been dropped yet at that point, so we had no idea where it would come from, but Ezra had been given the very first one, and he was worried that if he took it out on the realms, people would judge him or be jealous of him for having gotten such a special item from Blizzard, even before the world first guilds and hardcore raiders. So with Micah's permission, we broke the exclusive story, and Krystalle wrote a great post explaining what the Phoenix mount meant to Ezra, and that he was the first to get it in the game. And players responded, of course, with nothing but generosity and kindness.
As we reported earlier this year, Ezra sadly passed away. But Micah shared that to the end, the WoW community meant everything to them, and of course we are extremely proud to have our top story ever be the one where we were exclusively able to announce Ezra's gift from Blizzard to the world.
It's been a wild three years, and of course, we've covered many, many more stories than these, from Tseric's departure from Blizzard, to the Burning Crusade and Wrath midnight releases, to the BlizzCon ticket chaos and all of the other craziness from the World of Warcraft and the gigantic community surrounding it. We're glad you've been along for the ride for the past three years -- here's to many more!
Go back to the beginning of the list.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, WoW Insider Business, Virtual selves, News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Frank Dec 6th 2008 3:45PM
great list. i've only been playing for a little over a year, and i was surprised that i recognized several on the list! i was wondering what the number one story would be, and as soon as i saw it, i teared up and said, "ohhh, of *course*."
ezra's story is inspiring and heartbreaking. it still affects me. /salute to him, and to you, for bringing his story to the world.
Buckler Dec 6th 2008 3:46PM
Woo! Except it's spelled Phoenix. :p Sorry it bugs me. It's like... my favorite word ever!
Juan C. Flores Dec 6th 2008 3:51PM
Happy Bday wowinsider!! Benn reading since 2007 and I can tell you, you guys where the reason I came back to WOW cause you got me all pumped up to play again. My bday is tomorrow(I can confirm it ;) ) can you guys send me some presents??
Gessilea Dec 6th 2008 4:12PM
Ah, reading about Ezra and Micah tears me up every time. Thanks for the list, and happy birthday!
Dightkuz Dec 6th 2008 8:24PM
me liek wowinsider
nancyann Dec 6th 2008 11:17PM
I was hoping this would be in the top 10, but I didn't expect it to make number one! So pleased because I had "voted" via Twitter, lol =)
Matdredalia Dec 7th 2008 6:07PM
I can still remember people on the WoW forums griping about this wonderful little boy getting what they deemed "exclusive treatment" by Blizzard and being so furious that anyone could be that heartless.
I can't tell you how happy I am to see this story as number one. It's nice to know not all of my fellow players are douche-bags, and that those who have some influence on the community (WoWInsider) view this the same way I do: With admiration for Ezra and his family, with gratitude to Blizz & the community for giving them what they could, and with a lot of heartfelt recognition.
Ya'll are awesome. It's been a great three years, keep it up! :)