From time to time, I’m asked what I consider to be the best part of my job.
I enjoy two things equally well: the relationships I’ve built with athletes, coaches and fans, and sharing and being a part of the special games and moments that teams and players experience.
Feb. 24, when Crestview High School’s softball team beat Niceville for the first time in a decade, was one of those experiences.
The night became even more memorable when I learned it would have been the 27th birthday of Whitney Langley, Bulldog Coach Holly Gibson's younger sister.
I was there last April, when Crestview’s baseball team hosted Navarre in what turned out to be the longest high school game I’ve seen. The Bulldogs battled the Raiders for 17 1/2 scoreless innings before scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 18th inning.
That game was filled with a season of special moments.
One of my favorite moments involved former Laurel Hill School basketball star Brad Reese and the late Bruce Stewart, Northwest Florida State College's longtime men’s basketball coach.
The Hoboes were playing at Walton during the 2005-2006 season and, before the game, Stewart asked who I thought was the area's best player. I told him Reese, and he assured me I was wrong — he thought it was a kid at Walton.
All Reese did that night was score 38 points, pull down a truckload of rebounds and block a half-dozen shots. Stewart walked by me as he was leaving the gym and, without breaking his stride, said, “You’re right.”
It wasn’t often that anyone got the best of Bruce Stewart, and I carry that satisfaction with me to this day.
It’s been a while back, but I had the opportunity to do a story on three generations of Griffiths that played football at Baker School.
Donald Griffith, the clan's patriarch, was on one of the early Gator teams. Warren — who, like me, graduated from high school in 1976, was the middle generation. His sons, Drew and Ben, made the third generation.
Some of the hardest stories to tell are the ones that stick with you the most. Such was the case when I wrote a story following the death of Baker football and baseball player Travis Peoples.
Peoples died after a motorcycle accident in the summer of 2007, just a few weeks before his junior year. Peoples persuaded his parents to let him be an organ donor. After his death, one of his grandmothers was the recipient of one of his lungs or kidneys.
Sometimes, after covering literally thousands of games, the moments and even the people run together.
As old memories become buried in time, new moments take their place.
But there are some people and moments I’ll never forget.
Email randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, follow him on Twitter @cnb_sports or call 682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Sharing the special moments