I’d like to take a moment and be a little selfish.

When I started this job in 2013, I was into the whole pro and college sports scene. I watched the morning shows, I read the articles and followed the free agent ticker like a rabid dog.

With each year that passed, though, I started to get my sports fix from my work instead of on TV. It makes sense. When it’s all you do, knowing that Tommy who works at the mom-and-pop pizza joint is also out there dropping 200-yard rushing performances just hits different than seeing Ezekiel Elliott do it on Sunday.

There are club sports and pee-wee sports out there, too, but it’s not the same. I know the prep sports kids, and they’re playing at the highest level you can play before money takes a front seat to fun and athleticism.

I’ve said it before, but these kids out on the court and fields are larger than life for me. When I’m watching sports go down through a lens, I might as well be watching sports on TV.

So, pro sports are back and everyone is happy. College sports aren’t yet and a lot of people aren’t happy. But will high school sports be back this year? I really don’t think so, and that’s a huge bummer.

I know I’ve advocated in this very column to just chill on when exactly prep sports will return, but I’m wondering when that date will be just like everyone else. Every year, I look forward to fall sports. It’s a brand-new start, the blessed end of a six-month stretch of baseball and a chance to see a new graduating class at the peak of their game.

Honestly, my brain goes through a period of amnesia during the summer, where enough time has passed since the previous fall and I’ve forgotten who the returning stars and up-and-comers are going to be. When I call coaches for preview stories and ask the boilerplate question of “Who’s coming back this year,” I’m reminded of the top names and get excited all over again for a new season.

I also noticed a new trend a few years ago, where the county’s top two-or-more-sports athlete was usually a surprise to me. Now I look forward to seeing who that person will be.

Two years ago, the best male athlete was probably West Carteret’s DaShawn Jones who had a solid junior year but really shined as a senior. Last year, it was nearly Croatan’s Walker Gladwell, but discipline issues kept him off the wrestling mat. Or it could have been East Carteret’s basketball standout Bennie Brooks, but his spring baseball season was derailed by COVID-19.

When those athletes are on the sports stage, you can’t help but watch. Jones might as well be Derrick Henry, Gladwell may as well be a Bosa brother and Brooks might as well be Luka Doncic.

Last year’s senior class was an iconic one, with unbelievable talent in the fall, winter and spring seasons. What about this year’s class? Which school will stand out? Which sport? These are questions that may not get answered at all this year, but I sure hope they do. Where else is a sports reporter supposed to get his prep sports fix?

(Send comments or questions to zack@thenewstimes.com or follow him on Twitter @zacknally)