I can't believe this is all coming to an end.
It feels like just yesterday when this all started. It was the summer and I had covered Boys Basketball and Lacrosse the previous year. I thought to myself, "If I could cover two sports, why not try to cover them all." Of course, before planning a method of attack, I had to consult the audience. I decided to get to twitter and asked if people would be up for me starting a PV Sports twitter account. After the countless positive feedback and encouragement, @Feartheindian was born.
Many people ask where the name @Feartheindian actually came from. To be honest, not a lot of thinking went into it. When making a name, I wanted to make something that resembled our mascot, the Indian. The first thing that came to my mind when I thought of Indians was fear. I mean, if you were walking around and you saw an Indian tribe, you're going to tell me you wouldn't be scared? Didn't think so.
Once the twitter account was in order, I decided that it was only right that a blog go with it. I decided to start feartheindian.blogspot.com to go with the account I had created. On the site, I decided there would be Daily Recaps, Feature Articles, and Analysis pieces. If I am going to be a sports journalist in the future, why not write about my high school sports teams too?
After everything was in order, the journey was set to begin. Since I started this all in August, I had to anxiously wait until September for the Fall sports to begin. After the first set of games on that Friday, everything started rolling. I had Allison Schramm help me with Tennis. Nick Sunseri and Cory Gottlieb had me covered with Boys Soccer. Alexa McManus loved giving me updates for Girls Soccer. I would receive texts from Kelly Bischoff after every Volleyball game. Olivia Cassano had Gymnastic updates for me whenever I needed it. As for football, well, football kind of spoke for itself.
It was actually football that really got the twitter account into full swing. Because of the success on the field, the students and faculty were filled with school spirit. Once the hashtag #feartheindian started being used by others, I knew that I had founded something special.
Side story: The reason I decided to hashtag #feartheindian after every tweet was because no matter what the final result, the opposing team learned to "Feartheindian".
The fall season was over and the winter season was set to begin. Since I would be covering Boys Basketball, there were many other sports going uncovered. I reached out to several individuals who helped me during the long winter months. Cory Gottlieb got me caught up in Wrestling. Jamie Saslaw had me for Bowling. Jenn Ianello would text me for Swimming. Nicky Tintle went to almost every hockey game, helping me out immensely. Last but not least, I had a parent give me maybe the greatest help of all. Susan Liebeskind would always keep me updated on Girls Basketball when I couldn't make it and I cannot thank her enough. There were some great moments during the winter season and I will always remember them.
The last season to cover was the spring and wow was it busy! I followed the tradition by covering Boys Lacrosse and witnessed the best season in program history. For the games I couldn't attend, Allison Schramm kept me updated on baseball. Kyle Schneider had me for Softball. Sam Komrower was the man for the job for Golf. Jamie Saslaw controlled Girls LAX. Greg Gottfried gave me tennis updates. Kayla Begen and James Almeida had me updated on everything related to track.
Before I knew it, the school year was over, @Feartheindian had blown up, and I had covered every sport that Pascack Valley had to offer.
This has truly been a remarkable thing for me to be a part of. We have truly bonded over something that means so much to our school: athletics. Our school spirit is incredible and our blood truly runs green in white. I wouldn't want to be anything else but a Pascack Valley Indian.
I don't know if you know, but I will be handing off @Feartheindian to Kyle O'Connor next year. He is going to be a senior and I have full confidence that he will continue what has been started here at PV.
Before I hand the baton over to my man Kyle, I would like to thank a few special people that made all of this possible.
First, I would like to thank my Aunt Patty for continuously bugging me to start writing about sports. Without her, none of this ever would have been possible.
Next, I would like to thank Mr. DeMaio. He always promoted me and gave me positive feedback on what I was doing. He truly is a role model for our school.
Finally, I would like to thank the athletes and the fans. My twitter account would be nothing if I had nothing to tweet about or no one to follow me. You guys are the ones who really made this experience special and I cannot thank you enough for that. You have given me a memory that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Schools are usually defined by their traditions and hopefully I have started one that will live on for years to come.
One last time, this is Kyle Stackpole and never forget to...
#feartheindian
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