The Thrill Of My Lifetime

I've watched your kids and mine grow up on the course, in the gym, on the field, and inside the track. 

I'm not one that usually reminiscences on many birthdays or anniversaries. Rather, I prefer looking forward to the years ahead. However, Fish Report recently turned 19 and on this occasion it's pertinent to reflect on the past and understand how we got to this point. One question I heard often when this whole thing started was, "what is a Fish Report?"

The website was born in 2004 and a number of early readers might recall, the content was typically more juvenile entertainment than bona fide news. Requests for the web address grew quickly and my domain gradually transformed from pictures of Russia Ohio shenanigans into an area information source for high school sports, and more. Athletic accomplishments and small town stories became the coffee that wakes me every weekday around 5:15am and the nightcap that often keeps my computer monitor on past 11:00pm.

Fish Report's lifespan of nearly two decades is the result of many. So many.

Many generous sponsors. The first ever was Silver Cross Catholic Books & Gifts in Ft. Loramie. I recruited them 15 years ago in 2008 and they've been around ever since. Over the years a total of 60 sponsors have advertised on Fish Report. Most of them realized my mission of giving back to the community and joined me with their support.    

Many great friends. When I asked Ken Francis in 2012 if he wanted to launch a high school sports talk show he was all in. Soon after, Tim Kearns, Darryl Sherman, Brandon Koverman and Daniel Kearns joined and were working for peanuts, literally. We called the program Fish Report LIVE! and it streamed to viewers across the country and aired on two cable channels. Nine seasons, 274 episodes, numerous guest hosts and over 900 interviews during our run. The adventures and laughs were unforgettable.

Team chemistry was the big reason for FRL's success

Many longtime contributors too. Including several that are no longer with us. The late Joann Gariety Shipley, Matt Zircher and Harry Boerger kindheartedly gave me local history and their precious time. Most recently, I've been blessed by two living legends who both enjoyed amazing runs. Dave Boerger blogged about his Midwestern Ohio Memories weekly for nine years. It satisfies me knowing those posts that chronicle his life and others will live on these pages forever. Dave Ross shared his Sidney Daily News sports column with Fish Report too. I idolized Dave's voice at WMVR radio during my childhood and surprisingly discovered in 2020 he was actually my cousin. When we later joined forces on the airwaves for a Russia versus Ft. Loramie basketball broadcast, it was a full circle moment I'll never forget.

Above all though, I'm forever humbled by the many daily website visitors. You know who you are. Near and far. I often hear comments about Fish Report being part of your morning routine. I've also received countless emails from out-of-state readers thankful that Fish Report allows you to stay in touch with life back home. It's those kind words from so many that kept me motivated while my wife and I raised three very active kids. I'm especially thankful for your understanding of my priorities as a full-time dad followed by part-time reporter. Those two things regularly overlapped and you tolerated my oftentimes Russia Raiders bias. I always strived to be fair and I hope I was.

One of the nicest emails I ever received

All that said, my youngest of three children graduated high school several weekends ago and wrapped up his high school sports career this past Saturday. Ross was born seven months after Fish Report started and a long, happy chapter in my sports crazy home has finally come to an end. As this next new chapter is just beginning, Fish Report won't completely vanish, but will be drastically changing. I plan to continue following local sports, but not near as passionately as you've become used to. I'm 51-years-old now and for the first time since age 32, I'm looking forward to closing my eyes at night without dreaming about what to post on the front page in six hours.

Here's what you can expect from Fish Report in the future. For starters, fishreportonline.blogspot.com is now your bookmark from this point on. The URL fishreportonline.com will no longer be updated and will soon disappear. All of the website links on the right side of this page will remain, but I will not be posting daily news stories like I have since 2004. Occasional stories on this blog may be published randomly and likely influenced by my interest in area teams and local events. Lastly, I still have a love for sports broadcasting and want to continue airing certain games depending on the matchups. For those of you that follow Fish Report Twitter, I will continue to tweet when appropriate. 

Yep, this will take some getting used to for me also. It's been the thrill of my lifetime folks. I'd like to leave you by revisiting that question when all this started about, "what is a Fish Report?" Looking back.. it was simply a reflection of our daily lives from this authentic place we call home. Together we watched a lot of people grow up on Fish Report. I'm glad I got to share this 19-year journey with so many.

Thanks for following. 

~ Fish

This post-COVID banner still hangs proudly at my old basement studio

My inspiration: Ross, Ellie, Stacey and Anna