This is my last story as The Commercial Appeal’s sports columnist and I’m not sure how to say goodbye. So perhaps it’s best to just note what happened the last time I left a job and a city.
I came to Memphis more than seven years ago after working more than seven years at The Washington Post. Almost as soon as I got here, a bunch of sports teams around the D.C. area won championships. 
The Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup in 2018. The Virginia men’s basketball team won the national title in 2019. Six months later, the Nationals won the World Series.    
If there’s one thing I’ll take away from this job, it’s that Memphis sports fans deserve something like that. 
You deserve a Memphis football team that lives up to the expectations and claims a spot in the College Football Playoff this season. 
You deserve a Memphis basketball team, coached by Penny Hardaway, playing for a spot in the Final Four.  
You deserve a healthy Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane leading the Memphis Grizzlies to the Western Conference finals and beyond.
You deserve to finally be on the right side of college conference realignment.
You deserve it all because of how much you care. 
Your loyalty to the city’s teams, your knowledge and savvy, and your passion for how they’re covered and portrayed almost immediately turned what felt at the time like the riskiest decision of my life — convincing my wife to move to Memphis despite having never been here before the job interview — into the most rewarding experience of my career. 
This city gave me so much, beyond just a column and a sports talk radio show. It gave me perspective and purpose — and a bunch of amazing games, moments and people to cover.
What stands out?
Waiting outside former University of Memphis president David Rudd’s office as he fired Tubby Smith. Penny Hardaway’s introduction as Memphis basketball coach a couple of weeks later. “College GameDay” and Memphis football’s 2019 run to the Cotton Bowl.
“Rick Barnes, get the (bleep) outta here” and “stupid (bleeping) questions.” The night James Wiseman went from a courtroom to the FedExForum court, and the afternoon Memphis basketball went into Knoxville and silenced all those booing Vols fans.
Ja Morant’s 52-point game against the Spurs in March 2022, and all of the audacious heights he reached during his first three seasons with the Grizzlies. The 2023 AAC men’s basketball tournament championship game. The 2023 AutoZone Liberty Bowl. The final round of the first WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, when Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka teed off in the final pairing as the two best golfers in the world.
But as is often the case, sports became an entryway into the rest of life.
This is where I got my first dog. This is where our three kids were born. This is where I survived the pandemic. This is where I found out the difference between stuffing and dressing. This is where I got praised — and criticized — like never before. This is where I learned what it means to make a difference.
That’s the real magic of this place. For all of its flaws, there’s a pride that permeates through everything. That’s what I’ll cherish most. That’s what I’ll make sure everyone knows wherever I go. There’s so much substance to Memphis, so much more than the preconceived narratives about what it’s like to live here.
“I’ll always have the city’s back,” Marc Gasol said in April when he returned for his jersey retirement ceremony with the Grizzlies.
You can add me to that list, too.
I’m leaving to be closer to family in the Chicago area, to get some more help — and a better work-life balance — for our young children. It was always our plan to wind up there eventually. We just never planned for it to be so hard to say goodbye to Memphis.
So maybe instead of goodbye, I’ll just say good luck planning all those championship parades once I’m gone.
You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on X:@mgiannotto

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