Mission 100 Days: Victory Formation
- Colin Richey
- 2 hours ago
- 6 min read
By: Colin Richey, Sports Editor
Ever since I heard about The Griffin’s tradition of having the seniors on staff write a reflection of their last four years, serving as their goodbye to Canisius, I’ve been planning what my 100 Days would look like. I decided to use a metaphor based on what I know best – football. I’ve got four years (or quarters) to cover and plenty of analogies to make, so let’s get ready for kickoff.
Freshman year, the first quarter, was a pretty simple opening to the game. I adjusted to life after high school, no longer sequestered to campus from the early morning to late afternoon each day. The first thing I did at Canisius was meet new people and immediately create a fantasy football league for my new friends, something that I’m sure would surprise no one. This was the second day of freshman orientation, so quite a nice kickoff return to set up our opening drive. I’m proud to say that this league is still operational four years later, with no plans of stopping.
The Griffin was already on my radar, since I wanted to get involved on campus and find a place to hone my journalistic skills, so it seemed like a perfect fit. I covered volleyball every week, a sport I knew nothing about and had no interest in, but I was glad I was doing something. In the spring of my freshman year came a big play. I had made my first close friend, a girl I met in my class Writing for Contemporary Media, who needed me to send her notes almost every week because she was out of town for Canisius softball. All this time later, Alyssa and I still text about Percy Jackson and Marvel, play Overwatch and debate if Bo Nix is overrated or not.
As the first quarter was about to end, I threw my first touchdown pass. While I thought it was a Hail Mary at the time, applying for the assistant sports editor position probably wasn’t as competitive as freshman me thought it was. But when I got the email stating that I’d be on staff for my sophomore year, I was ecstatic. Little did I know how much that simple decision would change my life in so many ways.
The second quarter was a high-scoring affair, with plenty of new friends, new memories and a greater sense of purpose on campus. The “C-Corner” was quickly established between myself, Connor Pohlman, Colton Pankiewicz and Chloe Breen, and our on-field chemistry was unmatched. These three upperclassmen served as both my mentors and my friends, with the promise that every Thursday night was going to be a spectacle. Connor was our quarterback, looking out for all of us and the ultimate team player. Colton was our star wideout (and long snapper), always bringing comedy and energy to the club room. Chloe was our slot receiver, always clutch and reliable when we needed to move the chains or get the sports section finished on time. And that left me, the self-appointed group mediator, the left tackle anchoring the line of scrimmage and making sure the protection didn’t fall apart.
While building my relationship with C-Corner, I also got more involved in the ESPN studio, finding a second set of mentors in Vinnie Christiano and Jackson Webster. Taping “Around Canisius Athletics” every Monday meant hands-on broadcasting experience, opportunities to pick the brains of two talented men, and more time with guys I knew would go far in their respective career paths.
At the two minute warning, I experienced my first ACP trip, traveling to La Jolla, Calif. for a journalism conference with my new Griffin friends. A bumpy descent into Vegas, airport Moe’s, Rubio’s tacos while talking football and hanging out in a closed-down mall plaza past midnight led to a very memorable trip. As the clock hit zero to signal halftime, I was overcome with bittersweet emotions. I was excited for the second half of my Canisius career, with plenty of halftime adjustments incoming, but I was sad to see the departure of my closest friends. With Connor, Colton and Vinnie all pulling a Vontae Davis and retiring at halftime (graduating), it was time for me to start building relationships with more people on the team.
When the third quarter began, the halftime adjustments were immediate and overwhelming. I was now Sports Editor, which brought in a whole new set of responsibilities, as I was the person the sports writers and staff turned to for decisions regarding the sports section. In addition, I took over Vinnie’s legacy as host of “Around,” driving to campus early every Monday morning in my sportcoat and tie to talk about the latest Golden Griffin news. As my busy third quarter progressed, I was keeping my head above water, but trying to establish the run and keep the chains moving. It was in the middle of this stressful grind that something amazing happened, and it became a true game changer.
It all started with Josh Allen winning MVP… No, I’m serious. A single picture taken of me in the office watching QB1’s acceptance speech at the NFL Honors led to me messaging Courtney Lyons on Instagram to thank her for the picture. As we texted more and more over the following weeks, we got closer as friends. Then on the ACP trip, this time to Long Beach, we were inseparable. Sitting next to each other for (almost) every meal, walking next to each other everywhere the group went and even going to California Adventure for a day (the best day ever). Call it OBJ’s one-handed catch, the Philly Special or whatever all-time play you want to use, because this highlight reel moment was going to dictate the rest of the game. I didn’t expect to fall in love on The Griffin, but anything can happen in sports, and in life. This was worth any amount of touchdowns I’d need to “win” my four-quarter game at Canisius, allowing me to relax more and focus on enjoying my senior year.
With Courtney hitting the transfer portal to crush law school at Notre Dame, it was time for another iteration of starters to emerge and build relationships with during the fourth quarter. This time it was my sports section partner-in-crime Peter Neville, along with the self-proclaimed “Griffin’s favorite duo” Hannah Wiley and Kaitlin O’Meara. I’m so thankful for the friendship we developed, full of support, laughter and feminism. We conquered San Francisco during our recent ACP trip, and I’ll never forget watching “Escape from Alcatraz” (1979) the same day we toured the prison, and eating lunch at San Francisco Brewing Co. in Ghirardelli Square.
Which brings me to right now, the two minute warning before the end of the game. I want to make sure to use all of my timeouts, because I don’t want this time with these special people to end anytime soon. It’s difficult to recap a life-changing four years in a little over 1000 words, because there are still so many people I want to thank and so many memories that will go unwritten. Still, I’ll try to mention who I can before time runs out.
I want to thank my family - my amazing parents and my siblings, Evan, Ava and Mara - for their continuous love and support as I have learned more about myself and grown into the person I am today; the two men that convinced me to go to Canisius in the first place, Dan Higgins and Dr. Shawn O’Rourke, for helping me balance a double major in journalism and sports management despite the two having zero overlap in classes; and Dr. Snyder, for bringing the vibes on our Cali trips and letting us go to Disneyland while also supporting the paper and its staff. Finally, to the numerous friends that haven’t been mentioned yet, including (but not limited to) Maddy Lockwood, Ava Green, Jon Dusza, Sophie Asher, Kaitlyn Belile, Katie Dusza, Mikayla Boyd, Andrew Nowel, Gabby Kaderli and Brandon Gaspar, thank you for giving me a stacked roster of friends that will hopefully continue to be part of my life after this football game ends.
Hopefully this game recap has shown you or reminded you that in life, anything can happen, as long as you’re willing to put yourself out there, meet new people, and try new things. As graduation continues to creep one day closer, I’m excited to see what’s next. Not just for me, or Courtney and I, but my entire Canisius family.
The faint echoes of the final playcall begin to ring through my brain…“QB kneel” is the call. In the meantime, I’m ready to make the most of these last eight weeks, now in victory formation.
