It is still completely beyond my wildest dreams and imagination that I have been so fortunate and blessed to have traveled all over the country to cover Boston College sports.
It has been a ride of a lifetime, and I have seen some of the highest highs and lowest lows for BC sports. I have visited places that, save for sports, I never would have considered going to: Clemson, S.C., Milwaukee, WI., Orono, ME. The list goes on.
The first game I ever covered was one of the lowest points in BC sports. The Eagles got smacked by the Syracuse Orangemen in the fall of 2004 with a shot at the Big East title outright and a spot in the Fiesta Bowl on the line. It left me wondering whether I really wanted to cover sports or just be a fan. But I am glad I stuck with it.
I took two trips to South Bend, Ind., in four years, witnessing two victories. The Eagles made it great fun to travel out to face their Catholic rivals, and have not let us down in the past five games. The Eagles have three more shots at it, and hopefully can keep on beating the Irish.
There were three separate trips to Florida to cover BC athletics. Freshman year I was in the dugout when the BC baseball team faced off against the World Champion Boston Red Sox at Fort Myers, Fla. For a Boston-area kid, it doesn't get much better than to be field level covering the Red Sox and the Eagles.
Two years later, Dave Benoit and I shared Thanksgiving dinner at Don Shula's hotel in Miami, as we went down there for the BC-Miami football game. It was a different way to spend Thanksgiving, a holiday all about family, and the two of us were thousands of miles from our families, but it was a great experience nonetheless.
In the spring, Jeff Weinstein and I spent spring break in Tampa, Fla., at the ACC tournament, and that was a blast. Four great days of basketball and fun.
I have seen half the schools in the ACC, visiting remote places like Clemson, College Park, Md. and Blacksburg, Va. - and the people at places like Clemson and North Carolina State are some of the nicest folks I have ever met in my life.
2008 Woodie Awards
