The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Always a Saluki

Commentary

There was something my former editor once told me a couple years ago that has stuck with me throughout my career here at the Daily Egyptian. He said the best teams to cover are those that are doing really well or really poorly; the mediocre teams are just plain boring.

As I prepare for graduation in a couple weeks, I think back to those words and realize just how sage they truly were.

During my six semesters at the DE I have seen my share of good and bad performances, as well as all of those in between.

I had the pleasure of watching firsthand as the SIU men's basketball team taught the nation the definition of a Saluki, and I also sat courtside as the women's team reeled off a school-record 15 consecutive losses.

I've seen the volleyball team make a miracle run to the conference championship game a year ago before returning to mediocrity this season.

I have witnessed Jerry Kill resurrect a football program that had lain dormant for two decades. I even saw the baseball and softball teams become some of the best in the Midwest.

In fact, every single sports program at SIU has made great strides during my time here, except of course for the aforementioned struggling women's basketball team.

The only thing I find disappointing is that I never had the chance to cover all the biggest stories.

During the Saluki men's run to the Sweet 16, I was watching the women's squad lose game after game. When Bruce Weber announced that he had taken the job at Illinois, I was designing pages instead of reporting the breaking news. And as the football team climbed into the national spectrum this fall, I was covering the cross country and tennis teams.

But in retrospect, I wouldn't trade any of it. Rather than having to write un-biased stories on all the big events, I was able to sit back and cheer on the Salukis from the stands. I was able to experience the best of both worlds - enjoying the action with the rest of the fans and then hearing the inside scoop from my co-workers.

Now, after saying all that, I have a confession to make. Earlier in the year, Carbondale was voted the worst college sports town by Sports Illustrated on Campus. There was an uproar among the Saluki faithful, and many called for a boycott of SIOC.

I should now admit that I played a key role in Carbondale earning the dubious distinction. As a contributor to the magazine insert, I was given the choice of nominating my town as either one of the best or worst sports towns in the nation.

At the time I made my submission, which was during the summer, I felt strongly that, given only those two choices, Carbondale belonged on negative end. And I stood by that feeling for several months.

But now, after witnessing the support that fans gave to the football team this season, and what I have seen the past few years, I have come to realize that Carbondale really is crazy about Saluki Athletics - fans just express themselves in different ways.

So what if most students wouldn't go to a football game if there weren't a tailgating area outside the stadium? At least some of will occasionally stumble into McAndrew to watch some of the game.

I have a feeling, judging by the way things are going with Saluki sports programs, most will continue to progress during the next few years and SIU will become the premier mid-major program in the nation.

I'm sure when I return to Carbondale in the future to watch a football, basketball or baseball game, I will be more than entertained by what I see on the field. But at the same time, I also know that I will inevitably think back to my time here as a student and remember the good ole days when I sat in the stands, half-buzzed, watching guys such as Tom Koutsos, Kent Williams and Jake Alley obliterate the competition.

But I'll also remember lesser-known athletes such as Noa Beitler, Jodi Heiden and Tana Trapani.

Athletes at SIU have run the gamut in recent years; some were good, some were bad, and some were mediocre. But in the end, they all have one thing in common - they're all Salukis.

So am I. And I always will be.