I have been watching it from time to time since 2011 (in autumn of 2011 I thought it was dead and 2013-2016 cryptowinter was too boring).
I don't really know about 2011 through personal experience
i started mining in summer 2011, and yeah i thought fall/winter 2011 bitcoin was in a world of hurt. kept mining and stacking hoping it would recover as the miners heated my basement anyway.
2013-16 being boring? not boring really but i dont remember too much excitement either.