College provides great sports setting

On the Sidelines

For weeks I've thought about what I wanted to say in my farewell column — my final words in The Breeze. I've thought of every little cliché or intellectual quote I could use. Only one seems to be fitting.

Richard Harding Davis, a journalist and author around the turn of the 20th century, once said, "The secret of good writing is to say an old thing in a new way or to say a new thing in an old way."

I thought this was fitting because after covering JMU sports for four years, it's a challenge to not write the same story twice when some JMU teams have had the same losing results year after year. You only can put so much of a spin on missed field goals or bricked free throws.

Many people say the last four years have been a lull in JMU sports. I guess if you look at the big three — football and men's and women's basketball — there has been a drop-off. But, I see bright things ahead for JMU.

Football will be much improved from a year ago due to only graduating five players. Newly-hired men's basketball coach Dean Keener will right the ship in a few seasons, and women's basketball coach Kenny Brooks will take that team to the top of the conference in no time.

Win or lose, no matter what, I've had the best four years of my life covering JMU teams for The Breeze. It truly is the best job in the world. I've had the opportunity to cover any sport at any time. I've gotten to do it my way, and I know once I get into the real world, I never will have that total freedom again. For my money, you can't find a better sports atmosphere than on a college campus, and I will miss it greatly.

But, before I say my final words, you know how celebrities pull that long piece of wadded up paper out of their pockets to thank Ray-Ray, Pookie and everyone else in their posse?

Well, I couldn't have gotten to where I have without the help of a few people. I wouldn't have gotten my start without the help of then-sports editors Andy Tufts ('01) and Travis Clingenpeel ('03). They took a chance and assigned me a women's soccer season preview even before I attended a class at JMU, despite the fact that I knew nothing about soccer at the time and only had attended one soccer game in my life.

I also would like to thank all of the athletes and coaches, as well as the other students, faculty and staff I interviewed over the years. I cannot thank you enough for the help you have given me when I was on deadline. I hope my articles represented your teams in a respectful way. And to the football team, thanks for heckling me every time I'd see you on campus for occasionally picking against JMU in The Breeze's football picks of the week.

But, most of all, I'd like to thank the readers for putting up with all of my stories and columns. I hope my coverage of the athletic teams kept you interested in and gave you insight into JMU sports.

Drew Wilson is a senior SMAD major who also would like to give a shoutout to some of his own crew — Peaches, the Real Deal, J9, L-Dizzle and D-Bo — for making his college experience an amazing one.