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A good year for local teams and others

It was a great year in sports, especially for a former New England boy like me. Not only did I watch the Patriots win their second Super Bowl in three years (though I’m still kicking myself for watching the Bikini Bowl instead of the halftime show), but my beloved Red Sox finally reversed the curse and won the World Series. I was starting to doubt it would ever happen in my lifetime and for a week afterwards I would wake up and think that it was all a cruel joke and they still had another game against the Yankees.

It was an amazing year and I’m hoping that 2005 starts off with yet another Patriots win. I used to hate the so called “dynasty” teams but now that it’s one of my favorite teams as the potential dynasty I can see the appeal.

This year also marked my return to the sports beat after almost a whole year away from it. It was nice to try some other things and recharge the battery, so to speak. I came back with the goal of providing more and better sports coverage and I think I’ve come a long way towards accomplishing this. There is still much work to do but I think I’m on the right track. Let me include a shout-out here to all of the coaches, parents and students who have been able to provide me with information and pictures to supplement the coverage. It’s not easy to cover three or four sports a season at five county high schools and two private schools, in addition to all of the supberb middle school programs and the local recreation teams. You guys have been a big help and I encourage everybody to drop me a line at sports@thecitizennews.com with scores, notes of interest, feature ideas, etc.

Anyway, back to the high school sports. I got back in right at the beginning of the spring athletic season, so I could watch our local baseball teams battle and the soccer teams shoot for returns to the state playoffs. My first game back was a baseball game between Fayette County and McIntosh at McIntosh. The evening was cool and quickly progressed to frigid and wet as a rain storm caused a brief delay and soaked all the fans in the stands to the bone. It was a great game though as both teams lived up to the rivalry and fought tooth and nail.

After that the weather warmed up and I watched a lot of baseball and soccer, while keeping an eye on tennis, track and golf. I saw a lot of great games and amazing comebacks. Highlights were a game between Fayette County and Starr’s Mill’s baseball teams, late in the season, Starr’s Mill’s thumping of Valdosta and win over Parkview in baseball and the state championship soccer games. The game between the McIntosh and Starr’s Mill girls teams will always stick with me as one of the best high school soccer games I have ever seen. The Starr’s Mill boys battle against Brookwood was another classic and it’s odd and heartbreaking ending guarantees a place in my memory as well.

After an all too brief summer, thoughts quickly changed to the fall season. The Citizen put out it’s first football preview section and it was a blast to do. It was a great way for me to learn about the teams and get everyone excited for what turned out to be a solid season. Among the games I particularly enjoyed watching were Starr’s Mill at Corky Kell, Sandy Creek at Creekside and McIntosh vs. Northgate. It was also a big season for cross country, volleyball and softball. I saw great performances from athletes at all schools in all of these sports and am really looking forward to next season as well.

Now, we’re into the winter season and I’ve been watching a lot of basketball and a little bit of wrestling with more to come. It’s been fun and I’ve really enjoyed talking with all of the new coaches and seeing some real barn burners. Basketball only gets more exciting as the region schedule gets into full swing and I am ready.

Have a Happy New Year everybody and I’ll see you next year.