When the clock strikes midnight tonight it will mark the end of a decade and its been a decade that I have gotten to turn my love of sports into a money making venture and saw myself win awards for it along the way. Over this decade I have gotten to see, write about, and put into video many moments around the sports community that between my work with the Boiling Springs Sports Journal, the Chester News and Reporter, and the Spartanburg Sports Report I will remember for years to come. I felt it would be neat to get to share some of those moments with you as well.
While some of these memories will have links there are some that have been lost to the world of the internet when some stories no longer exist with a link. One of the most memorable stories that I have ever written was one of my football game stories for the Spartanburg Sports Report when I got to write about the Boiling Springs vs Mauldin football game that ended in a score of 81-70 and can remember it was one of my favorite ledes that I've ever written, as it went "On Friday night Boiling Springs and Mauldin played a game that would make even Madden video game players take a double take as the Mavericks defeated the Bulldogs 84-70 in one of the largest scoring games in South Carolina history." That game was one of a string of games that season that I saw crazy points get scored. It wasn’t the only crazy game between Boiling Springs and Gaffney though as I watched them end the Indians thirty year home winning streak in the playoffs and also spent five-six hours at the stadium watching a game halted by four different weather delays. Another great story with no link was a truly unique moment as I got to write about Boiling Springs playing their first ever game in a varsity sport as I got to write about the Boiling Springs lacrosse team competing and winning their first ever home match. Two more stories that have no link to are two of the most memorable moments I've had covering the Boiling Springs softball program as the first was watching them win the state championship while the other was when pitcher McKenna Quinn pitched a no-hitter against Spartanburg where she struck out all fifteen batters she faced. One of the funniest moments also comes from a post game interview I had with one of the players from the softball team where I asked about a game winning homerun and the response was simply, "I saw the ball, swung the bat, and then they said I hit it out so I just thought 'Alright!'" One of the coolest moments I got to experience does have a link as I got the opportunity to watch Chesnee's Deion Holmes become the second all-time scoring leader in South Carolina basketball history. Being one of only two members of the media there I was lucky enough to get the video of the basket that moved him into second place and you can see that here. Another great moment came on the track as I witnessed Boiling Springs' Najee Thompson sweep the 100m, 200m, and 400m at the Spartanburg county track meet and you can watch the video about that impressive feat here. He then backed up that performance by going to state and winning state championships in the 200m and 400m along with setting a state record in the 200m which you can read about here. As a Boiling Springs graduate nothing has been much more fun for me though than getting to cover the 2016 Bulldogs football season that saw them make their first ever trip to the state championship game. Three of my favorite stories I have ever written came from the week between the Upper State victory and the state championship. Those stories include the story about the Upper State victory, the story I got to write about Boiling Springs' biggest fan Adam Gosnell, and the story about how the 'Here We Go' mentality had transformed a community. Outside of my own personal enjoyment I also got to be part of moments that were special to family and friends around me as I got to be on hand as my friend Travis saw his Chester Cyclones win a football state championship and I done a video recapping Chester's victory. I was also in charge of video for the Spartanburg Sports Report when my mom's alma mater Dorman won the first ever South Carolina 5A basketball state championship. I also got amazing opportunities to see two players in the area compete in high school that were at their time the greatest high school players in the country and got to interview them on radio/podcast. I can still remember doing an in-studio interview with a rising sophomore at Spartanburg Day School named Zion Williamson and getting to interview a Dorman volleyball player named Thayer Hall for the GoUpstate PrepZone podcast. While there have been many memorable moments over the decade I have only been covering sports for about seven of those years but it has been a memorable seven years. As I reflect on this decade I just wanted to thank all the coaches, players, administrators, and fellow media members that have made this a fun decade of sports for me and I am already looking forward to the next decade. Here's to 2020! |
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