10 years… and then some
Wow, 10 years. A decade. Today, well kinda.
The 5-at-10 is 10. My daughter turned 10 in May, and as the Mrs. 5-at-10 rightly noted, this little side-line to keep my job interesting has become a part of our family’s Monday-through-Friday existence.
Where do I begin?
The genesis of this whole thing was two-fold. This paper was trying to find more ways to engage online, and as the Sports Editor on Oct. 29, 2010, I found my job being way more managerial. From payroll to time cards to schedules to reading other people’s copy, my job was morphing into sports department traffic cop as much as anything else. So it goes, and so it went.
Well, I got in this business to write, and getting paid like a writer but pushing papers and doing employee evals was mind-numbing.
So the Five-at-10 was born. (Side note: Yes, it’s original name was the spelled out Five because, hey, back then I was an editor and I also wrote about 97 percent fewer words so in addition to there being next to no comments in the early days there were also next to no errors. Wow, how have times changed?)
(Side note on the side note: Speaking of errors, and I am downright embarrassed this is the case, but the 10th anniversary was actually Sunday, Oct. 25. The first edition was not saved in the system because the editors at the time did not think it would take off.)
(Side note on the side note on the side note: Since then, we have had multiple newsroom editors before the bosses wisely handed the reigns to Alison Gerber, and through it all, the 5-at-10 has kept chugging along.)
So as we pause to celebrate 10 years of this journey, I am sorta lost for the right words – cue Spy, “You’ve never been lost for words” before – this morning.
I will start here – Thank you.
To the casual readers, be it your first day or your 10th year, because I understand more and more as I get older that nothing is more valuable than time, and that you are at the very least willing and hopefully excited to spend a few minutes around these parts on a regular basis means you are giving me your most valuable commodity.
To the regulars, I do not know where to start. I am certain you feel like you know me because I have forever vowed to be open on this forum. But please know that is a two-way street that goes beyond your favorite college team and whether you like or dislike Trump. And gang – the team big is too crowded to start rattling off names because for Pete Brady’s Sake the last thing I want to do is leave someone out (Marcia, Marcia, Marcia) – please forever know this: Without you guys and gals and the back-and-forth and the interaction, I would have ended this many moons ago.
And to my family, who have become characters in this craziness. (And the random support and kindness from you guys – be it my kids and sports or the Mrs. photos or what have you – has been awesome in it’s awesomeness.) Still, the family has been most accommodating throughout, because this is about to blow your hair back.
Today is the 2,604th consecutive weekday since the first rendition of this puppy. Every single one.
That’s right, whether it was Christmas or the 10 Thanksgiving Thursdays. Be from a hospital room with a family member or from the Panhandle, Big Sky Country or before the crew got up in Maui or before the day (and the drinking) started somewhere south around Lake Martin, Alabama.
It’s been overwhelming in a lot of ways to think about this. And maybe it’s simply perfect – and 100 percent 2020 – that we’re pausing to celebrate on the 10th anniversary (plus 4 days). The contests. The arguments. The controversies. The expansion into being part of the radio show. There’s a lot that has happened in those 10 years, it’s mind blowing to really think about it.
Gang, this is not a fishing line for compliments. It’s simply a thank you for whatever role you may play in these daily gatherings because the 5-at-10 has become a thing now.