Dustin Swedelson
Sports Editor
dmswedelson@valdosta.edu

For the last six semesters I have shoved my sports opinion down your throat through The Spectator. In that time complaints, pats on the back, yelling and laughter has ensued. For those of you I have offended, I do not apologize. My job as a columnist has been to draw any type of emotions and reactions from you based on what I think. So I only apologize to those I haven’t offended.

My job has been fairly easy these last few years. Because the athletes at this university are so good at what they do, they have made my job great. Athletes at VSU don’t get the love they deserve from the rest of the student body and it’s a shame, they are great at what they do and every now and then we get to see someone go onto the pros.

The students here that claim to be Blazer fans are die-hards. The others think wearing a University of Georgia hat makes them Georgia fans. I am sick of seeing great athletes perform in front of empty arenas because UGA is on TV. If you consider yourself a sports fan you should be at Blazer sporting events because unlike the school you couldn’t get into or got kicked out of, you are one of us; you’re a Blazer not a Dawg. Something needs to change and it’s not the athletes, it’s the students.

In my time many athletes have flown through a variety of programs and have been a pleasure to watch and talk to. There may not be a Blazer I enjoyed watching more than Herman Burge. The tiny point guard from Midwest City, Okla., is as gutsy as they come, unafraid to play through pain and take a big shot with the game on the line.

John Roger’s dominance, Mike Crain’s flow and Carley Peterson’s game changing shooting and defense made basketball season equal to any other Blazer season.

On the gridiron so many players stand out during my time. Gerald Davis, Willie Copeland and Maurice Leggett make me proud to be a part of this university. Their success at playing football at the professional level proves just how special the athletes here are. I believe guys like Sherard Reynolds, Everett Kitchens, Cedric Jones and Larry Dean will join them one day, providing they continue to work hard.

No day in my college life will top Dec. 15, 2007, even almost exactly a year later when I graduate after 5 and a half years of college. As I ran onto the field to do as those who came before me had talked so much about in 2004, it was an honor to be there to celebrate with the champs that everyone doubted.

William Montford and Mike Cullen, the bash brothers of Blazer football that year, everyone rallying around Willie Copeland’s quarterback play and the way tiny defensive end Travis Harrison baffled people allowed me to have the privilege of covering a national championship team.

There are players I’ve talked to that have head football coach written all over them. Rooster Russell and Tucker Pruitt are two guys from great coaching pedigree who impressed me in their ability to act almost as player-coaches during their careers. It would not shock me if the day comes for current head coach David Dean to move on from VSU, if either of these guys are his successor.

So many coaches have put up with my shenanigans throughout the years. Guys no longer here like the legendary baseball coach Tommy Thomas, who once told me I knew the game of baseball as good as anyone he had talked to. Current coach Greg Guilliams has that program heading in a scary direction, where we could have a national contender year in and year out, similar to what Thomas Macera has done with the softball team.

I haven’t spent much time at tennis, volleyball and golf matches but these teams have impressed me in my limited time covering them. Tennis coach John Hansen is one the best guys to talk sports with. He’s as nice as they come and his program is one of the best around. Jared Purvis’ golf teams have had tremendous success, and not many people know that he has a PGA level talent on his team right now. Sia Poyer has volleyball heading in a great direction and one day in the near future we will see him coaching a team in the GSC tournament.

Women’s basketball coach Kiley Hill is always hilarious. His prank calls to my radio show and always treating me like more than a college reporter has made my time covering women’s basketball fun. Yes, I said women’s basketball; fun.

The two coaches who have had to deal with me the most are football head coach David Dean and men’s basketball coach Mike Helfer. At times the things I have said didn’t put their teams in a positive light, but that never stopped them from talking to me and respecting my opinion. For that I am grateful.

These coaches and players treating me and my opinion as valid has meant the world to me.

They don’t have to talk to me, but they do and they are brutally honest. There is nothing better than hearing a coach say, “Yeah you’re right, we really didn’t do that well today.” There is a level of honesty with all of these coaches and they don’t sugar coat anything.

Probably more than anyone else, sports information director Shawn Reed and athletic director Herb Reinhard have put up with my nonsense the most. I’ll thank them for their cooperation in dealing with my obnoxious habits for now; because they know I’ll always be a loud mouth, and in some way shape or form I will do something that makes them shake their head in the future.

I will continue to cover sports in this town for a variety of media outlets and hope I can offend you sometime in the future.

So as this final Swede’s Peeves comes to an end, I leave you with this classic former Blazer football head coach Chris Hatcher quote: “There’s nothing better than being a Blazer on a Saturday night.”

Or how about there’s nothing better than being a Blazer for the rest of my life.