As sports editor of the Morgan Hill Times, I have asked many questions. I have also fielded quite a few.
One of which has resurfaced many times, dating to my first week on the job.
“How long are you gonna stay?”
It’s like I was dying or something.
“I don’t know. As long as they’ll take me.”
After 4 1/2 years of writing for and about you, I have a more concrete answer.
I didn’t want to say goodbye like this. I hate farewell columns. They’re self-centered and corny. And who cares who’s providing the coverage as long as it’s there, right?
It was never about me. It was about you, Morgan Hill. They were your stories. I just told them as best I could.
So please, don’t think of this as a farewell column. Think of it as my way of saying thank you for putting up with me; for keeping me in line, and trusting me to tell it like it is, which I never took lightly. You didn’t always agree with me, but you showed me respect, and your feedback made me a better writer. Keep it coming for my predecessor. Just don’t tell him or her I told you.
I find joy in covering youth and interscholastic sports because of the sense of purity in them. Athletes do it for the love of the game, and writers have the opportunity to convey to them that what they’re doing is special and worthy of being recognized by the community.
It was a privilege for me to be a part of this community. Morgan Hill’s passion for sports is on par with mine, which I didn’t think was possible, and has made my time at the … Times all the more fulfilling.
I covered some inspiring players, coaches and teams. I thank each of you for your cooperation. My job was to provide an objective, professional stance, but I rooted for you to do your best every time. Sports writers, after all, are fans who couldn’t make it as athletes.
Thank you to my wife, family and friends for being so supportive. And to my coworkers for just being you – amazing, skilled, curmudgeony. (You may not realize it, readers, but you truly have been fortunate to have your news provided by such a dedicated group of people.)
I tearfully said goodbye to it last week and set my sights on my next port of call, Boulder, Colo., where I will work as a sports page designer and deadline writer for the Daily Camera and reap the rewards of affordable housing.
While I’m away, I’ll keep tabs on who won the El Toro Bowl, how much the Frys.com Open has grown and if my idea for selling bratwurst at Sobrato games – “get your So-brats!” – ever caught on. Feel free to keep in touch with me via
sa*******@gm***.com
.
If my new coworkers ever ask me what kind of people come out of Morgan Hill, I’ll tell them the kind who play to the whistle. The kind who inspire farewell columns.
