By Anthony Pucik

Typically, this would be my soap box where I wax poetic for 800 words about the happenings in the NHL, but today is not that day. Today, I write my final column as Sports Editor of The Fordham Ram. But how did I get here? How did a loud, obnoxious Brooklynite manage to run the Sports section of one of the top college papers in the United States? One word: hockey.

I came into Fordham with a passion for hockey, and the Sports Editor at the time, Dan Gartland, gave me my shot. “OK, who likes hockey” Dan said to a handful of freshmen, including myself, that were looking to get involved in The Ram. I immediately shot my hand up from the back, much to the surprise of the rest of my classmates, who had no interest in the sport. Dan looked at me and said, “Alright, you got it. Not sure what you’re going to be able to do with the lockout.” It was tough, but I worked with it; I managed to write 500-plus words a week on the stagnation that was the NHL lockout for my first semester on The Ram, and Dan, and fellow editor Chester Baker, were gracious enough to put some of my babbling in print. I would be remiss if I did not first thank them for giving me my start at The Ram.

In the next volume, Chester graduated and Dan moved up to editor, with two assistants by the names of Matt Rosenfeld and Max Prinz. I knew Matt from our training class at WFUV, and they allowed me to stay on the NHL blog — partially because no one else wanted it — and I also began covering Fordham Volleyball for the paper. Covering a beat was a significantly different experience than writing my own opinions on hockey, but it allowed me to grow as a writer. I learned the importance of telling a story to the readers of The Ram who were interested in Fordham Athletics but did not necessarily get a chance to attend every event. Fordham has more to offer than just football, basketball, baseball and softball, and in all four years I’ve been here, The Ram has done a fantastic job of covering every sport equally. Dan, Matt and Max did a fantastic job in Volume 95 and were one of the main reasons I decided to attempt to take a bigger role in the paper the following year.

Dan graduated, Matt and Max moved to editors, and I became the Assistant Sports Editor. I worked side by side with Matt and Max at the helm, making sure that every score and stat from the week before was put on my page, along with the week’s news and notes. It may not have been the prettiest page in the paper — in fact it was probably the worst looking one if I’m being honest with myself — but Matt and Max were great at making even that page shine. Their passion for The Ram and ingenuity with the section was inspiring, and it was a joy to work with them each week. I couldn’t have had better editors to work alongside with, and I can’t thank them, as well as Editor-in-Chief Kelly Kultys, enough for everything they did for me. But sadly, even they had to graduate, and that left me at the helm with two assistants to find.

If Dan was fortunate to have Matt and Max by his side, I was blessed to have Drew Casey and Sam Belden. They made my job a heck of a lot easier in Matt and Max’s absence, and it’s been an honor to call them colleagues, and more importantly, friends. Both of their futures are bright, and I know for sure that they will be great at whatever positions they have next in Volume 98. I also have to thank my longtime friend Joe Vitale, for entrusting an entire section to me. What were you thinking? Thank you for always being the stabilizing force in the print room and our fearless leader. You’re going to go far, kid.

And I can’t go out without thanking the entire Volume 97 staff. Joe, Sam, Drew, Katie Meyer, Chip Frerich, Sydney Keen, Nicole Horton, Amanda Giglio, Laura Sanicola, Erin Shanahan, Cailin McKenna, Margarita Artoglou and Kristen Santer. To the girls in news and opinion, thanks for making every night in the basement of McGinley an interesting one, and to Margarita, thanks for the shared appreciation for WWE and country music (sorry Kristen). And to my fellow seniors, we had a great ride and I couldn’t have done it without you.

I think this will be the only time I ever say this, but I wish this Overtime went to a shootout.