"On Twitter, writer Ashlyn Grotegut came across a picture of fan mail that a young Red Raider fan, Madison, sent when she was 4 years old to the Texas Tech quarterback at the time, B.J. Symons. He shared a photo of the letter 14 years later, hoping to find Madison as a student at Texas Tech. She was, in fact, enrolled at Texas Tech as a freshman.
Ashlyn interviewed them both about this story right before her graduation ceremony. Our goal for this piece was to amp up the Red Raider pride before December commencement began. A lot of people forget that there are graduation ceremonies in December, so we wanted to remind them by highlighting a graduate. That was the exact impact it had, as Red Raiders of all ages shared this heartwarming tale of a fandom turned full circle."
From the Judges
It's always exciting when a story comes along that captures people's attention, and “A Fandom Turned Full Circle” definitely did that. Judges were impressed by the story's uniqueness and the thorough reporting despite its length. The story itself was captivating and showed that sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of luck to create something truly special. Kudos to Texas Tech for seizing the moment and using it to generate even more press for themselves.
