Lets have a thread where everyone contributes memories of the people, websites, and events that contributed to the art's growth in the US.
Ill start. The top 3, aside from Royce and Rorion, are On the Mat, Kid Peligro, and Bjj.org (RIP).
Honorable mention: intheguard.com 
Let's see if I can add... (onthemat was the shit back in the day)
The first TUF season (where they had to compete in stupid events) but it opened the door to mainstreaming the UFC thus adding to the popularity of BJJ.
Grappling Mag (when it was actually about BJJ/grappling and not another MMA mag.
GracieMag.com- would have the same stories on their website for weeks and now there have new stories daily, training and comp vids, and pictures.
The real Gameness out of Nashville. They were one of a few to make the first true BJJ GI that we all use to this day.
andre -Lets have a thread where everyone contributes memories of the people, websites, and events that contributed to the art's growth in the US.
Ill start. The top 3, aside from Royce and Rorion, are On the Mat, Kid Peligro, and Bjj.org (RIP).
Honorable mention: intheguard.com
I have one issue with Kid Peligro: In an an issue in Grappling Magazine of many years ago (now defunct or became something else) he wrote an article about Megaton Dias and his wife Luka. In the article he states the two met in Colorado in 1988 during a national Jiu-Jitsu tournament. Colorado is the the home to the Olympic Judo training center and boast some high level Judo tournaments. According to Peligro Jiu-Jitsu has been here a very long time at a high level I order to host a national level championship. If you know Megaton' s history, he was at error in American Judo circles. Does Peligro believe Judo is undeserving of it's own title? I have to tell you, I like the man and his books, as I have most of what he has authored or took part in, but was this revisionist history something he wrote, or was it the editorial department taking creative liberties? Having said this, Royce is a national treasure.
MEGATON WAS A TERROR IN JUDO here in America since the 80s Not "at ERROR" - like I erroneously wrote! I have never met the man, but have always wondered if he ever tried introducing his ground craft as something other than Judo, because he has been here a very long time and could have marketed his art as being uniquely Brazilian. He is definitely one of the true pioneers in my opinion.
Bill Lewis Grappling Reviews
Combat Sambo starring Andre & Oleg. To this day, I still use & teach the footlock attack he taught when caught in the back mount. It took me about 10 years to figure out exactly what he was doing,but it just all came together one day & I've had great success with it,usually letting guys take my back on purpose,just to pull off this little suprise. That's to only place I've see this technique.Thanks for the knowledge.
Megaton studied judo before he studied BJJ in Brazil. And even at his current age is a fucking terror. I wear a Megaton patch on my back (under Jack McVicker). I remember 12 years ago when I we would train with Megaton he had us doing a lot of PT and throws... and trips... and more throws. I remember one time in particular that he had us taking falls with NO hands free for breakfalls from on top of our partners shoulders. After taking ONE fall all I could think is... "this guy is fucking crazy! How did he do this kind of stuff all these years?!"
He truly is an innovator for the sports and still get the respect he is due on the mats.
Matt Fury
Farmer Burns
Combat Jiu-Jitsu
mmagear.com
GLC 2000
Gracie Nationals at the Arnolds
Gracie Worlds at the Arnold's
Adults not getting green belts...
Getting Gracie Basics and Marco Ruas Vale Tudo on VHS in ebay.
Fightworks podcast was a huge resource!
Hey Andre- Humbled for the mention! The good old days were amazing and the good new days are just as great. I am proud to have been a part from the ground floor and have the recognition from some
truehonor- Not sure I get your point but sorry if somehow I offended you
Stephen Steele, The DonBreakyourarmi, Vij Pawar, Fabrizio DosSantos, Todd Atkins
The JudoMachine, Soldiers of Submission, team Maxercise.
Matt Serra vs the giant black dude at a grappling tournament
Just throwing some random stuff out there from back in the day. Legitimate or not.
4 hour weigh in lines at the Pans.
Booing leg/foot lock attempts.
Back in around 1996 there used to be a bunch of guys that would get on an Internet chat channel called #ufc on Internet Relay Chat (IRC). We'd talk anything MMA (then called NHB or Vale Tudo). As you would imagine, Brazilian jiu-jitsu was a hot topic. Sometimes SEG representatives (the company that ran the UFC before Zuffa) would get on there and ask us what we thought of the fights. I remember one of the conversations we had was the transition from tournament style to single fights.
A couple of the guys on the channel started a Vale Tudo newsletter and sold the newsletter via the chat channel.
Usenet (easiest way to describe it: a large network of bulletin boards) was used by BJJers and sometimes they would have problems with people impersonating black belts on there. Age old problem, I guess. It was a great way to bridge the gap between US and Brazil.
BJJ in VA and Maryland:
One of the BJJ pioneers on the east coast was Frank Cucci who started his BJJ program in ~1995/96 when he was a blue belt under Pedro Sauer. Frank's academy was and still is in Virginia Beach. Kazeka Muniz also visited the academy to show some moves. Gustavo Machado came in ~'96 to Norfolk, VA when he was a brown belt and started teaching on the campus of Old Dominion University. Most of the academies down in Virginia Beach now are run by students from the Pedro Sauer or Gustavo Machado tree. There was also guys like Rick McCoy and Dave Womack training BJJ in Richmond, but I never made a trip out there except for the Gracie Open. That tournament was held by Max Coats and Ralph Gracie. Two competitors I remember were Fernando Margarida (wearing an incredibly faded blue belt) and Dave Camarillo. I think Lloyd Irvin was also in it.
Around the same time black belts Mario Yamasaki and Leo Dalla started an academy in Rockville, MD. This was the first BJJ academy in Maryland and they threw several tournaments, known as the Yamasaki-Dalla BJJ Tournaments. Black belt Roberto "Maguilla" Marquez also taught briefly at the Yamasaki academy but eventually started his own school in Silver Spring, MD. Lloyd Irvin used to train at the Yamasaki-Dalla academy but broke off when Dalla left to start his own school and wore shirts to tournaments that said, "Soldiers of Submission".
I used to trade emails with some BJJers up in Boston, so I know they were active in the mid 90's. Renzo Gracie was active and released the famous Renzo Gracie/Craig Kukoc BJJ series. Rickson had a seminar around that time in NY and Renzo Gracie showed up afterwards and signed autographs.
Being allowed to use footlocks,toe holds,knee bars,splices,real ankle locks,neck cranks,slams,the twister,wrist locks,heel hooks,& reaping the knee,as a white belt,they have certainly pussified the sport.
Good gis cost 85-100 bucks.
In 2002 or so I bought an Atama gold weave at the factory for 85.