FSU Athletics: Why I am stepping down from the Chop Chat family

After nearly four years writing some of the best FSU sports coverage out there, the time has come for me to step aside for the next step.

About four and a half decades ago, a man from New York and a woman from Miami met on the campus of Florida State University and fell in love. About a decade later, they had a bouncing baby boy and named him Jason…before getting divorced close to two years later. Despite their differences, the one thing they had in common was a similar love for FSU Athletics.

It’s a love they passed down to me as the Seminoles were always my team. I remember being at games inside Doak Campbell, Dick Howser, the Tucker Center and on opposing campus and bowl games across the state and around the country. We didn’t have a lot of money, but we always had enough for the Noles.

It’s the reason I chose to attend FSU, spending four of the best years of my life before getting a bachelor’s degree in Communication. That degree got me jobs on air and behind the scenes in both Tallahassee and Miami – where they LOVE to hear the latest on the Noles during meetings, believe me.

Florida State Seminoles

That love for the Seminoles is one of the main reasons I decided to take the job of co-expert for Chop Chat nearly four years ago, during what was a dormant website into one that had more readers this past month than in the whole year of 2016 when myself and Kelvin Hunt took charge.

But, like any good story there is always a last page – and this one is it for me as this will be the final item I write for the Chop Chat family after 46 months with this ship.

First off, I want to say thank you to those in the FanSided family who gave Kelvin and I a chance to get this thing rolling and have let us shape it into one of the best places to get info, insight and opinions on FSU athletics. Guys like Joel Wagner, Michael Collins and others have been beyond helpful and we appreciate that.

In truth, this is a personal move for me. The 2019 year has been a trying one – between getting divorced, medical issues with both myself and family members and the fact that we lost to both Miami and Florida in football in the same season FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR. Okay, the last part might not seem as bad, but if you’re a Seminole you understand.

The fact is that I need to take some time off from this position to focus on both my main job at a television station in Miami as well as spend more time with family and hopefully having a much better 2020 than what is in the rearview mirror after today.

To the fans, I thank you for your support of things I have written over this time. To the critics – from the Clemson fans who threatened my life for talking about Dabo to a few FSU fans who used  slurs on social media when I defended Willie Taggart – I say thank you as well because you showed both the passion of sports, both good and bad.

Chop Chat is not going anywhere – Kelvin is still going to be kicking butt here as will our staff of writers who are going to give you more of the insights you need over the next few decades hopefully.

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the love over the last four years and as always – Go Noles!