By SPENCER BATES
OLEAN — Three years ago, I came to Olean with wide eyes and a dream.
A dream that you, the wonderful readers and supporters, have allowed me to live.
Sports have always been central to who I am as a person, and as I got older I dreaded the day that I would have to give that up to sit behind some desk and punch numbers into spreadsheets.
In an effort to avoid what would, personally, be a mind-numbing and bleak reality, I threw myself down the path of sports journalism. It was a shot in the dark, but not because I didn’t believe I was capable, but because I knew the hardest part would be just getting my foot in the door.
Even before I had graduated, I spent days on end applying to one job after another. But the grand majority of those didn’t even yield a response.
There were days where I started to doubt myself and wondered if I had jeopardized my future all because I didn’t want to give up my child-like love for sports.
That is when Olean, a place that I, admittedly, would not have been able to point out on a map, extended me an opportunity — first with the Olean Times Herald, then with the Olean Star.
You all could have very easily rejected me. My 518 area code phone number popping up on the cell phones of coaches could have been disregarded as spam.
But that was not the case.
I do not know what I did to deserve such a welcome, but this community decided I was worth a shot.
And it was not just Olean. St. Bonaventure, Salamanca, Allegany, Portville and the countless other places this job has taken me, I extend my gratitude to you all as well. You have given me memories I will not soon forget.
People from my generation desire little more than to be taken seriously. The faith you all put in me over the last three years means more than you could know.
My time in this neck of the woods has been incredible. But now has come the time where I must say goodbye as I have made the incredibly tough decision to step away from journalism.
This choice is not one that I have made rashly. In fact, I tossed and turned and lost significant amounts of sleep over this decision.
I love this job. I love giving the athletes in this corner of the world the coverage that they absolutely deserve and nothing brought me more joy than when a coach, parent or administrator came up to me and let me know that what I was doing made an impact on them.
And who knows, this world is unpredictable and maybe I will find my way back into the clutches of the news industry again in the future. But for now, I am stepping away to pursue a new opportunity.
Change has always terrified me, but a change is exactly what I believe I need to make in my life at the current moment.
It would be physically impossible for me to name each and every individual that has made my time in Western New York so special. But do know that I will always cherish the lasting impact each of you have had on me, as a professional and as a person.
So, to you Bonnies, Huskies, Warriors, Gators, Panthers and everyone in between, from the bottom of my heart — THANK YOU.
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