By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

My drive home from Windham last Friday night was an emotional one.

Dating all the way back to my college courses at Kent State University, I was instructed on the importance to be an unbiased journalist.

I am human, though.

And there are moments that happen during a career that you simply won’t forget.

And Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, will forever be one of those moments.

For the last 23 seasons, my Friday nights have been filled with high school football.

I can’t imagine a Friday in the fall without the games, to be honest.

It is my job, and I love it.

I look forward to visiting the different parts of the county. I enjoy watching how the communities embrace their teams.

I plan visits to local eateries and coffee shops to support local businesses.

I relish in the connection to friends and families that I have been blessed to meet over the years.

All of that comes from me. From my perspective. From what Friday nights mean to me.

Last Friday, Windham reminded me of the other side of things.

Windham reminded me of the appreciation the communities have for my coverage.

It started with Bombers head coach Jake Eye sending me a text message last Thursday afternoon at 1:43 p.m.

I opened up the text and saw the Portage Sports logo painted on the green grass of Ed Liddle Field.

I was humbled. I was honored.

I couldn’t believe it.

At 3:16 p.m., Coach Eye sent me another text that included his football team standing around the Portage Sports logo on the field.

The loving sign of support hit my heart hard.

On Friday, it was Game Day.

Windham vs. Fairport Harding.

Homecoming for the Bombers.

The game started slowly for Windham, but the Bombers owned the second half and the team grabbed a come-from-behind 28-15 victory.

When I got onto the field following the game, Eye wasn’t ready to talk to me, because he had specific instructions for his players.

“Everybody get around that Portage Sports logo and let’s get another photo for Mr. Nader,” he said.

His team went running over, smiling, hollering and exhilarated from their win.

I snapped a photo that is now the background of my desktop computer.

I was happy to share in the moment with them and after the photo was taken, a line of Windham players came up to me to shake my hand and thank me for coming to cover the game.

By the time I finally got to my interview with Coach Eye, he said, “You don’t know what it meant to these kids to know you were coming to cover the game. You were the talk of the team all week long. They wanted to play hard because they didn’t want to let you down.”

Wow.

I mean, what exactly do you say to that.

That is the power of sports.

That is the power of local journalism.

For me, whether there was a Portage Sports logo painted on the field or not, I was simply excited to be there.

I was excited to cover the game.

I was excited to be in Windham.

And on a night when the Bombers celebrated a comeback Homecoming win they won’t soon forget, this unbiased journalist had a night I won’t ever forget.

Thank you, Windham.