Twenty-five years is a lengthy time to do anything. That’s how long that yours truly has been penning “From the Swamp.” It’s been a labor of love, because as my esteemed editor Chris Rieman is quick to point out, “You get paid the same salary ($0) as me.” All good things must come to an end and so this will be the swan song for “FTS.” But before I sign off, I thought we could take a look in the rear-view mirror at some of the highlights and lowlights of a self-proclaimed “fan with a blog.” In 2007, “FTS” was…
Thanks Jim, aka Swampy, for your many contributions to UD Pride over the years. You’ve earned your time in the sun and full-time family fun. May good fortune shine bright now and in your future!
Thanks Swampy! I always enjoyed reading your articles, always professionally written and well thought out. Congratulations on a job well done!
Thank You.
Be good. I'm royally jealous.
Thanks Jim.
Thanks Swampy.
I am grateful for Jim's contribution over the years. I never once asked him to write an article; everything penned was out of self-motivation for your enjoyment. Many articles involved considerable time and expense driving out of town, hotels, doing interviews, phone calls, etc. A lot of them in Michigan snow storms when its 0F outside and it would be easy to just stay home. None of this stuff materializes out of thin air. I've flagged this article to the Hall of Fame where the best of the best articles get categorized in the UDPride archives.
The writing part of it is often the least time-consuming element of all. Thankfully I was able to archive 95% of the stuff so it will remain online for posterity going back to the turn of the century. I occasionally do Way Back Machine dives and read old articles to see what the temperature of Flyer athletics was back then.
There's a reason my door is not beaten down from all the interested contributors -- the hours suck, the out-of-pocket costs suck, and the pay sucks. That said, it looks like I'm hiring!!!
I was at the Birmingham YMCA today for our Tuesday pickup hoops run. There was an older black gentleman there sitting on the bench and watching us warm up. He approached me and asked "Did you go to UD?' I guess my Dayton Basketball t-shirt was a dead giveaway. Turns out it was Mel Taylor, who was the subject of an "FTS" column 15 years ago:
https://www.udpride.com/flyer-reunion/
God's way of letting me know it is the right time to hang it up, writing-wise, anyway!
Thanks, Swampy for all your efforts and articles. They will be missed. Stay on board and enjoy your kick back. GO FLYERS!
When my Dad was alive, I was his UD pride and pride plus eyes - not to mention his box score eyes after each game. He always enjoyed your articles and my reading them to him maintained our closeness throughout the years. Thanks.
Swampy: Thanks for your articles and your love of UD basketball. God bless.
Thanks for your commentary and insight. I enjoyed reading your column.
Good luck and hope to share a beer with you one of these days and talk about UD BB!
