DEUCES WILD

By Harold McIlvain II

Four years has passed way too fast.

As a four-year writer for this amazing newspaper and being a senior journalism major, I’ll be embarking into the real world as many of you might be, too.

But this newspaper has been a special part of my life since arriving on campus. I’ve gotten to know some truly amazing and talented people through this job. The Traveler and this fine university has provided me with an opportunity to learn so much about myself as a person and writer.

I still recall waking up to see if my first ever article was published freshman year. (It wasn’t. But looking back at the writing, I can say I would have put it on the website, too.) I remember how excited I was writing my first ever column – and trying to come up with a name for it, which was eventually provided.

In this very space I’ve written just this school year excessively about Kevin Durant, Larry Bird and even a whole fantasy football column with an Aretha Franklin theme.  There has been plenty of nonsense with LOST references, jokes about bad team names and discussion about Mel Kiper’s hair.

And somehow all those topics sounded like good ideas at the time. But I’ve also tackled over the years how the BCS system actually works, the amazingness of fantasy sports and how baseball is the best sport ever.

I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed being apart of the Traveler sports staff, helping cover some groundbreaking Razorback sports stories that have happened in the last four years.

Arkansas made important hires with new a football coach and a basketball coach. But  some things have stayed the same with other sports I’ve covered, including baseball and gymnastics programs providing dominant seasons.

But the future looks so bright for Razorback athletics as you can read about in our season reviews that we published in this paper. It’s something to be excited about with progress being made. Even better days are ahead. The Diamond Hogs are putting together an amazing run while the football team ended spring practice with signs of improvement.

Through this column and other articles, I’ve gotten to know readers who really care. The comments I’ve gotten over the years about my writing, not just this column, have meant a lot to me and saying thank you doesn’t do that justice.

With everyone being so busy with our individual lives these days, it means a lot to just get one compliment. The time taken just to say a kind word or two is meaningful.

I’ve learned so much about the practice of journalism and the way of attempting to be a wordsmith. But if I had to give any advice as a fellow student, I think being encouraging to others and always being positive helped immensely over the years.

Maybe I’m an idealist. But you don’t have to thank me for that advise.

Harold McIlvain II was an assistant sports editor for The Arkansas Traveler for 2009-10.