Had our paths crossed three years ago at an airport bar, we would have enjoyed a pleasant conversation about the ballgame on mute above the spirit bottles while we waited for our flight to start boarding.
How things can change in relatively quick order. See, I used to be a sports reporter at a pair of smaller newspapers in my home state of Wisconsin. I traveled the state covering high school teams, athletes and coaches. I saw the jubilation of the small-town Monroe Cheesemakers (no, that’s not a typo; they’re the Cheesemakers) winning a boy’s basketball state title on St. Patrick’s Day in 2007. Later that same night I was back in the office hammering out multiple stories for the proud Monroe residents to enjoy the following morning.