Let’s turn back the hands of time to when I was eight years old.
It was then I knew what I wanted to become: a sports journalist.
At that time, I was already beyond interested in professional sports. Already, I was writing little “articles” of my own (which still exist) as if they were from a publication. My love for sports was (and is) to the points where I have dozens of sports books and know hundreds of stats. A running joke my close friend Evan Pagano and I had was he would always spontaneously ask me who won the Super Bowl in any given year to see if I knew the answer.
I’d always get it right.
Now, let’s flash forward all the way to 2011. It was my junior year of high school; I just begun taking a journalism class taught/led by Matthew Schott. The following semester, I took photo-journalism (just in-case I decided to change a major). Also of note: for the rest of my life, I will always be truly thankful for having Mr. Schott as a teacher/journalism mentor. He’s become a good friend of mine, and it means a lot.
Ok, now you all might think I am just rambling on. And to an extent, that may be true.
But there’s a reason for all of this.
Trust me.
The reason is that this is officially the 500th article I have written for Arch City Sports, and it is one hell of an accomplishment, both for the sake of professional journalism, and for myself personally.
July 27th, 2013 was when I wrote my first article for Arch City Sports; it was on Rams running back Daryl Richardson.
Since then, I’ve covered multiple World Series’, multiple Wrestlemania events, was the ACS representative of the St. Charles Chill, have written tributes to wrestlers and athletes that have passed away, created a podcast show, been on CBS Sports Radio, launched my own weekly article series (The Cooperstown case), and have seen the website expand from just 1,200 Facebook “likes” to over 142,000!
I’m the longest tenured writer, and have seen firsthand the hard work Mick Lite puts in to maintain the website. It is a great pleasure to have been a part of this site for as long as I have.
However, I sit here, by my laptop, typing up just some of my accomplishments/notable feats, hoping for the day that an even bigger professional publication sees my work and gives me the opportunity I’ve worked hard for since 2011 (and have believed in since 2003).
Maybe it will happen one day. Maybe a week. Or a month. Or even a year.
Whenever it does happen, however, you (or they) can find me here, doing what I’ve done for a good portion of my life. Cause I intend on turning my passion into profession, and the journey towards that reality is far from over.
I am beyond grateful for those who have supported me throughout this ride.
Always remember, though… life is like a book: full of empty pages and chapters just waiting to be written in.
Make your lives worth reading.
