DPOSTM seniors bid farewell

Justin Feil I came to Penn from a tiny town between Hershey and Harrisburg, intent originally on going to medical school. In my first four years at Penn, I met and became friends with some of the best people I've ever known. The guys who I lived with for three years and with whom I was closest formed the core of Bullmoose, the intramural juggernaut believed to have influenced a few thousand freshman from the classes of '98 and '99. Some of the Bullmoose were Penn athletes, but only one has ever been a DP reporter. Like most of the DP's readers, I was on the outside looking in -- my contact with the DP prior to this year consisted of few precious memories. In my junior year, my friends and I joyously broke DPOSTM's long-standing record of being first in line for basketball tickets. To prove it was no fluke, we repeated our feat the next year, the same year in which I was first published on the hallowed pages of the DP, in a letter to the editor that admonished Scott Mulhauser's plea for students to defy the newly created sit-down rule at basketball games. My final contact with the DP before this year is every Penn athlete's dream -- the opportunity to compete against DPOSTM on the playing field, to kick those writers' collective ass. In our playoff flag football game, Bullmoose trounced DPOSTM by close to 40 points, and, believe me, it should have been worse. After I allowed my interest and my grades to fall enough, I decided not to go that pre-med route. Unfortunately for my parents, though, it was my senior year, which forced me to return for this year, my fifth, and also to rethink my new professional plans. My fondness of sports and my love of writing turned me naturally toward journalism and to DP sports. There were many instances when I thought I could write better, that I knew more than some DP reporter, and that I'd enjoy it. But while my decision to pursue an English major was easy, the decision to join DPOSTM was difficult for a few reasons. For one, I got the sense, from my aforementioned experience with the DP, that I was always competing against it. In addition, although I'd never been on any of Penn's varsity teams, I still considered myself more athlete than reporter. I was also wary of how Penn's athletes, renown for their distrust of DPOSTMites, would treat me. Finally, I didn't know what the DP staff's reaction would be to a fifth-year senior's first request to write, and I wasn't even sure that I could easily accept my rookie status. Thankfully, everyone -- DPOSTMites, my friends and, most importantly, the athletes I covered -- has been supportive from the beginning. I was lucky enough to be assigned to cover lightweight football in the fall. I felt comfortable covering a sport I played in high school and was grateful to the guys on the team and coach Bill Wagner and his staff for their candidness, availability and humility. I was as happy as anyone when they pulled off the biggest upset of any Penn team this year by stealing a share of the Eastern Lightweight Football League championship. They were my first beat, and, like a first love, I'll never forget that team. In the winter, I was assigned to a "major" sport, women's basketball. I found myself in the unique situation of reporting on two of my roommates and several of my friends. I don't think I allowed that fact to affect my writing, but it certainly taught me about separating personal feelings from professional responsibilities. As both a reporter and a friend, I'll be cheering for continued improvement by the women's hoops team. This spring, I got the opportunity to work with Wagner again when I covered the baseball team, for which Wagner is an assistant coach. Teamed with head coach Bob Seddon, he formed half of one of the most charismatic coaching duos, I dare say, in the world. For me, the year of DP service cleared up several questions that I wish all the DP's readers had the chance to understand. I've seen both sides now. DPOSTMites aren't paid writers, and neither are non-scholarship Ivy League athletes. While athletes have been playing their sports for years, many of the DP's writers are like me -- just starting. They both try to do their "job," and both make honest mistakes. I am not going to stand up for personal attacks -- against athletes, who are playing for their love of the sport, or against reporters, who are writing for the experience. Face it. There are bad writers just like there are bad players. No Penn student enjoys asking a player why they just lost, and it's even more depressing when you know you have to write about it. I think that every DPOSTMite is a big Penn sports fan, but I doubt that many Penn athletes are big DP fans. That's a fact that unfortunately won't ever change, but it could if everyone was a little more considerate. If you think you can play better than the athletes, step up. If you think you can write better than the DP reporters, sign up. After all, no DP editor has ever refused a prospective writer -- I know because they accepted me. Thanks Scott, Eric, Jordan, Miles and Mike. For your guidance, for the cooperation of the teams I covered and the support of my friends, I am truly grateful. To everyone else, I know that these senior columns are supposed to be one last hurrah, but I'll still be around, posing as a student for one last class, as a friend, and as The Summer Pennsylvanian sports editor until I get to the very end of the tunnel.