I have always been a sports fan. I love the competition, the energy of live sports events, the heckling from the crowd and attending the events with my family and friends. One of my earliest memories is attending a Texas Rangers series with my family back when they had Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler, etc. We were playing the Boston Red Sox, who also happened to be my childhood best friend’s favorite team.
Both of our families went to the game, sticking to our yearly tradition of attending a Rangers against Red Sox series and going to Humperdinks for happy hour before heading to the stadium. Humperdinks was our favorite restaurant and bar in Arlington prior to it sadly closing during the pandemic. It had the best calamari I have ever had in my life with a perfectly sweet and spicy chili sauce that went with it. They also had these amazing mousse deserts that were so creamy and addicting, it was so hard for me to decide what flavor I wanted every time I ordered it.
Humperdinks was always our version of a warmup before the game. We would talk about the players to watch, what to expect from the game, what snacks we were going to get and, of course, who we thought would win. Once we finished up there, we would hop on the shuttle that would take us directly to the front gates at Globe Life Park. Once inside our routine was always to find our seats, then go get food and drinks, walk around the park and, finally, sit to enjoy the game once it started. We still do that for all the games we attend to this day and it’s a great way to see the whole stadium and explore all the different shopping and food options.
I remember being able to see my friend and her family from across the field as we were on each side of home plate in the second deck of seating. The crowd for the game was phenomenal. Everybody had high energy and they were ready for a good game between the Rangers and the Red Sox. At one point, I remember it looked like the entire crowd was standing as the Rangers were up to bat and Hamilton coming up to the plate to hit an absolute bomb of a home run. I haven’t been in a crowd that excited and loud since then, not even when my high school football team advanced to the state game and beat the state champions from the year prior.
I was giddy with happiness for the rest of the night after watching an amazing game and having such a great day with my friends and family. Sports have always been a way for us to bond and a form of entertainment that we all enjoy, so getting the opportunity to write about all the different sports I love for The Star and talk about them with other writers and sports lovers has been one of the best experiences.
I learned so much working for The Star, from how to properly write about sports for an article, to communicating efficiently with the rest of the writing staff, to being able to speak to people I have never met and ask them questions about themselves, which would have made me feel awkward prior to and finally, I grew a deeper fondness for sports in general by working with so many others who are passionate about the same thing I am.
In the last semester of me working at The Star, I was promoted to sports reporter from sports contributor, and I was even going to be given the opportunity to be a co-editor in the fall if I wasn’t graduating this semester. I never expected to have this opportunity, much less be shown so much appreciation from David and Carson, who are only the best editors around and who have taught me so much about what it’s like to be a journalist. 
I have loved sports all my life and I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to write about them with such an amazing sports staff. Thank you University Star, I will miss you so much.