Rukenshin was probably at that time one of the best NA players across a lot of servers. His Live Journal was followed by a lot of people who kept up with his exploits as much as possible seeing as he always tried to push the limits of his favorite jobs. The thing that made him a more exceptional player was not only his playing skill *He was an amazing damn nin no doubt* but it was the fact he didn't have a huge ego about it.
Guys like him and Richardd were both amazing players who made FFXI fun if just by their experiences and what they accomnplished. A lot of players even now still look up to them and consider them great players who made FFXI Endgame pretty awesome.
I can't make you "believe" anything you want but you're really flying off the deep end if you think Rukenshin was someone who bullshitted people.