I walked into The Badger Herald office 26 months ago and casually grabbed a women’s hockey feature assignment from sports editors Dave McGrath and Aaron Brenner. I remember interviewing a few of the freshman skaters, scribbling frantically without the aid of a tape recorder. I had no idea what I was doing.

I reread it Monday. It shows.

Five semesters and 120 articles later, I’m now writing my last column as sports content editor of the Herald. And oh, what a ride it’s been.

I’ve discussed the BCS with Ohio State’s Jim Tressel, talked about the spread offense with Michigan’s Rich Rodriguez and laughed with the immortal Joe Paterno about his 2006 injury along the Camp Randall sidelines.

I’ve chatted about the Bill Simmons blog era with Rick Reilly and discussed playing in the NFL with Ohio State’s James Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins and Wisconsin’s Travis Beckum.

I’ve heard Bo Ryan make fun of a Daily Cardinal writer, and I’ve stood alone on the Michigan ‘M’ in the Big House, under the lights with 107,000 empty seats surrounding me, one game after sweating through my blue button-down in Fresno State’s Bulldog Stadium.

I’ve pissed off international Roger Federer fanatics and Indiana basketball buffs, irritated Bret Bielema face-to-face about Badger quarterbacks and last week I was even chastised on a national scale by CBS Sports’ senior writer Gary Parrish for arguing Bo Ryan should “take the next step.”

Perhaps I was unclear, a bit ignorant or both on that last one. Either way, I probably deserved it.

I’ve made mistakes and learned a lot during my time with the Herald, and the most important lesson is relevant in the world of sports but applicable to most other aspects of life: teamwork.

Writing, for the most part, is an individual activity. The production of a daily newspaper is everything but. The Badger Herald staff is comprised of dozens of selfless individuals who care more about the sum of the whole than the isolated efforts that produce it.

Make no mistake, they (we) think the “whole” is a bigger deal than any of our readers could ever care, but the effort, for that reason, is unmatched by any organization I’ve ever been a part of. Much of the Herald is made up of extremely gifted, hard-working students who should be getting 4.0s, but because of their time spent in the Gorham Street office, can’t realistically reach that figure.

From editors to designers, writers to advertisers, the paper doesn’t print if one piece of the nightly assembly line doesn’t fulfill his or her duty. That’s yet to happen during my three-semester stint in the office, but I’ve heard stories of staying until 4 a.m., only to make three morning classes and the daily news meeting twelve hours later.

I’ve met countless kids whom I never would have envisioned befriending if it weren’t for the Herald, some of whom have become lifelong friends, all of whom I feel privileged to have worked with.

Take my colleague Tyler Mason for example. He doubles me in terms of Herald hard work, all the while playing trumpet in the UW band.

“How the hell do you do it?” I’ve asked.

Aside from a shrug, he’s never had an answer of the verbal variety.

I want to thank not only those who have put up with my sarcasm and frustration in the office, but those who have helped me along the way, most notably my fans. And by fans I mean parents and grandparents who have sent me feedback since day one, urging me to follow my dreams, treating me as if my stories could be substituted for Reilly’s.

Guess what, I’ve reread most of them. They aren’t.

My non-Herald friends can’t seem to understand why I spend so much time working for a student newspaper. Sometimes I’m not sure either.

I’m not going to miss the 4:30 section head meetings, waiting for late stories to come in, writing headlines so a “w” can’t fit at the end, revamping the page because a photo was facing the wrong way or rewriting stories simply because they were unfit for print.

But never again will I be able to work among politics aficionados in the midst of the most exciting presidential election in world history, make fun of The Daily Cardinal with people who care, play flag football as if it were Super Bowl XLII or have a World Series-esque champagne party after the final work night of each semester.

Has it been tedious? Time-consuming? Rewarding? Worth it?

All of the above.

Yeah, I think I’m going to miss this place.

Derek is a junior majoring in economics. He will be studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic next semester, but if future Herald sports editors allow it, hopefully he’ll continue writing during his senior year. Anything else? Derek can be reached at [email protected].