Wow, this is an amazing feeling! Knowing that my time at the Wildcat is coming to an end is bittersweet, but for a sixth-year senior like myself, I need to move on. Somehow I am graduating, and therefore must take my collective talents or lack thereof to some new destination.
Not that I will be sorely missed, as evidenced by all the heartwarming e-mails I have received over the years. My favorite came this year in early November, when a huge fan of mine wrote: "Mr. Martin, I just wanted to let you know that I think you are a prick."
Those words alone cause me to choke up a little.
But the fun of a forum like this is to stir the pot, cause controversy and get people emotional.
UA women's basketball coach Joan Bonvicini will probably never forgive me for writing a column titled, "The WNBA, what a joke!" but the column reflected how I felt at the time. In fact, I still feel that way.
Just lower the damn rims already! Nothing would be cooler than watching Elizabeth Pickney swooping down the lane and throwing a tomahawk jam on some poor freshman from ASU.
One thing I learned in this business of writing your opinion is that being politically correct isn't always the way to go. Many people find it refreshing when someone speaks his or her mind, whether it is proper public opinion or not.
The Wildcat has provided me this forum to express myself, and I will forever be grateful.
My first true lesson in speaking my mind came when my great friend and former Wildcat sports editor Dan Rosen wrote an excellent column calling for then-UA kicker Mark McDonald to retire. This created a great controversy, but a warranted one, since McDonald cost the Wildcats game after heartbreaking game because he couldn't split the uprights if he picked up the ball and tried to throw it through.
It was a great column, but not my favorite. That goes to Bryan Rosenbaum and his "Dear God, it's me, Rosenbaum" piece where he asked the Almighty sports questions. Now that was funny.
But to get back to the Wildcat, not many 24-year-olds can say they have covered the Maui Invitational, Arizona football and basketball games along with every other sport on this campus. It was great experience; the only downfall is that I really don't want to be a journalist, but what the heck - I am getting the degree.
All were wonderful memories, and to this day I believe that, unfortunately, women's soccer will never get any respect. Those girls rule, and Cathy Klein is still my favorite coach. I still owe her the column I told her I was going to write last month. Oops!
This is the beauty about the Wildcat: It may seem like a measly paper, but this publication has been the most influential educational tool in my 5 1/2 years in Tucson.
I guarantee I spent twice as much time in the Wildcat newsroom during my junior and first senior years than I did in class. Still, I feel as if I got a good education.
Come to think of it, that is probably why I am still here and 99 percent of my friends have already graduated. Damn you, Wildcat!
But people like Ryan Finley, Brett Erickson, Bryan Rosenbaum, Dan Rosen and countless others made my experience at the Wildcat one not soon to be forgotten.
So to all of you out there, enjoy your time and remember: Relationships will get you further in life than some chemistry test or term paper. That is not the key to a higher GPA, but a key to life.
So for the last time, this is Chris Martin saying, I am out. Tucson, I hardly knew you.
