Oftentimes, in the heat of a University of Cincinnati Bearcats football or basketball game, I'm sent a message via X or email from someone voicing their displeasure with the contest they're watching, or perhaps someone enjoying it and wanting to pass me a note.
On occasion, would-be editors find that I'm actually human and make mistakes, or want to provide me with a suggestion for future work. Some want me to write on a certain topic, others might really want me to pursue other work.
Seeing as I'm paid to cover the game at the moment, I can't always respond to every tweet, DM, text or email. A "live" game involves several spinning plates, and since I'm not nearly as coordinated as the Red Panda halftime performer, my first instinct is to "keep my eye on the ball".
Uncle Scotty's UC Bearcats mailbag
So, here's your solution: a good ol'-fashioned mailbag. If you can send your questions to me, Scott Springer, Cincinnati Bearcats beat reporter, at [email protected], I will try to pick some out and answer them via The Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati.com.
Please be as polite and professional as possible. I understand it's easy to get upset when things don't go your way, but please don't word your question, "When are they going to dropkick that no-good, piece of ____?" or "Why don't they know their ___ from a hole in the ground?"
Positivity is appreciated, but I understand the nature of the beast involves the airing of grievances, so I'll answer you as best as I can.
My background
In addition to a long background in answering emails, I have had a long media career that actually began in Tampa, even though I'm from here. I moved back in 1990 in time to cover the Reds winning the World Series at 700 WLW, where I worked until Jan. 2009, also covering the Bengals last playoff game before Joe Burrow.
I was at UC's last Final Four in 1992 in Minneapolis and countless other basketball and football games along the way. When the UC Bearcats made their first bowl game in 47 years (which is now almost 29 years ago) I was on the sideline interviewing Rick Minter, whose youngest son Jesse now coaches the Baltimore Ravens.
This latest career has spanned 15 years, starting with local high school coverage and moving into the college arena most recently, something I did for a long time radio-wise.
My wife and I also have four grown sons. I miss having a weekend calendar full of their games. They're all involved or have been involved in college and high school sports at various levels, so I've probably been "that dad" once or twice and have tried to learn from everything.
So, you can test my UC memory banks if you choose, or question if my memory still functions. The Big 12 involves some of the finest young athletes in the world, so you're fortunate in that respect to be able to see some of these contests and so am I.
Be it a serious question or random trivia, I'm easily found. You can also follow me on X at @sspringersports, on Instagram @sspringersports and on Cincinnati.com.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Introducing Scott Springer's Cincinnati Bearcats mailbag