BEVERLY HILLS (MI) — I passed a couple of noteworthy mile markers on the road of life recently: “From the Swamp” marked its 10th year of existence and yours truly hit the big six-oh. On occasions such as this, it’s always good to look back, maybe even get a few things off your chest. But it’s even more fun to gaze forward.

“FTS” made its inauspicious debut on the old FlyerHoops.com in June of 2000, basically because I got suckered into it. Co-Honchos Greg Bilotta (who took my advice and got into radio sales with WOR) and Joe Lombardi (now Quarterbacks Coach with the World Champion Saints) liked one of my posts on the subject of favorite Flyer recruiting classes. Mine was the Class of 1974 with Donald Smith, Mike Sylvester, John von Lehman, Jack Kill, Joe Coladarci and Pat Lyons. Based on that and other posts, they nominated me for the FlyerHoops.com “Hall of Fame” and did a profile on me. After that came the email: “Hey, Swampy, you want to write a regular column?” They even came up with the name “From the Swamp” and said I could write about ‘whatever I wanted.’ Looking back now, I can see that I was being set up, but at the time how could I say no? Of course, there was zero money involved, so the risk on Greg and Joe’s part was zilch. Let’s face it: you just can’t beat free content!

At the time, I had a grand total of three ideas for columns:

— A piece on my two-on-two encounter with Negele Knight at the PAC

— An article on the greatest near-misses in Flyer recruiting history

— Looking at Flyer coverage from the collection of old issues of Street & Smith’s College Basketball Yearbook that I had in my basement dating back to 1971

Once I ripped thru those three concepts in rapid succession, I had to scratch my head and ask myself “Okay, now what?” I decided to write a column of bullet-points containing different thoughts, observations, ideas, links etc. and I have been using that same format for “FTS” pretty much ever since. Hard to believe it’s been 10 years!

While we’re in a nostalgic frame of mind here, why don’t we clear the air on a few things you should probably know:

I have a day job

Believe it or don’t, I actually do something other than this for a living. I’ve been in sales all my adult life and the flexibility that my job entails has allowed me to do stuff like go see high school players or catch a Flyers game on a well-timed business trip.

I am not a beat reporter

Here’s a great example. Last February, I drove to Pittsburgh to see the Flyers take on the Dukes. It was an exciting game, made even more so by the non-stop F-bomb dropping of “The Crew” seated immediately behind press row. When the Flyers lost that heartbreaker, I was totally disgusted. Matt Schwade of FlyerHoops.net was seated next to me and he made his way to the press room to ask BG some hard questions, as did Doug Harris of the DDN. I was in no mood to talk to anyone, let alone our losing Head Coach, so I said screw it and headed to Danny’s in the South Hills for a steak hoagie before I drove the 300 miles back home. Schwade and Harris had to be there—they’re beat writers, it’s what they are expected to do. I’m a fan who happens to write. That’s the difference.

It’s impossible to write about Flyers Hoops all the time

Trust me, I try and stay on-topic, but sometimes, especially in the middle of summer there just ain’t enough happening in Flyer World to fill an entire “FTS” with nothing but hoops chatter. Remember Greg and Joe’s advice when I started this mess? “Write about whatever you want.” My old UD Creative Writing Prof, the one and only Herbert Martin advised us to “write about what you know.” I play hoops; I know hoops, but I also know funny, amazing and just plain stupid when I see it and I like to point those things out in my columns, too.

I’m old – deal with it

I’ve followed the Flyers since 1967. I like Classic Rock. And old movies and TV shows. I started at UD when the Flyers still played in the Fieldhouse. Don’t expect me to quote any rap lyrics or dialogue from the latest flick. Sorry.

I really don’t care what the pinheads say

And I don’t mean just the Xavier variety, either. You know who you are. Life is too short. My personal motto in this regard is to “ignore the ignorant.”

Okay, enuf already, let’s gaze into the crystal ball a bit, shall we?

Looking forward, I am very excited about this year’s Flyer squad; even more so than last season’s team, if that is possible.

Some of the things I want to do in the upcoming months (and years):

— A “What Do We Know about Percy Gibson?” profile piece.

— Ditto for LaDontae Henton.

— I am definitely going to try and make it down for the Red and Blue game in late October.

— The exhibition game against Findlay on Saturday November 6th is also talking to me.

— The annual “FTS Tour of the Magazine Rack” column on College Basketball Yearbooks.

— I really hope to see more than the one lousy game I attended at UD Arena last year.

— I promise to go see Percy and LaDontae play in person. Honest.

— I’ll try and catch 2012 BG recruiting target Javontae Hawkins of Flint Powers play, as well.

— It should be relatively easy to see 2012 recruit Sherron Dorsey-Walker of Detroit Pershing in person…mayhaps vs. Percy and Southeastern.

— Have the Elder Swampette (UD Class of 2004) pen a “From the Swampette” column or two and perhaps provide her perspective on the Xavier at UD game that she attends with friends every year.

— Take Mrs. Swampy to Pittsburgh and see UD play the Dukes (if the game is on the weekend, that is).

— Travel down to Orlando for the Old Spice Classic in 2011.

— Make the trip to Maui for the “Return of the Flyers” in 2013.

— One of these years I would like to take in the A-10 in AC.

Thanks for putting up with me the last 10 years.

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at: [email protected]