I’ve always wanted to be a sports announcer.

Back when I was a kid, I would sometimes turn the volume down on the television during a sporting event and pretend I was announcing the game.

So when I got to college, I selected broadcasting as my major.

I mean, what could be better? I would learn the ins and outs of the business and in four years, be ready to tackle the television world.

Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that there was more than just sitting in front of a camera and talking.

You had to learn about what made everything work, from the camera to the audio monitors to the cables and everything else.

Unfortunately, I am less than a technology savvy person. I can barely set the clock on my VCR without having to consult the instruction booklet, which I can’t ever seem to figure out anyway.

So, it wasn’t long before I figured that I might want to change my major to something I understood, so I became a writer and gave up my dreams of becoming the next television superstar.

I have never regretted that decision and love my job, but I’ve always had the hankering for being behind the camera.

But now, thanks to The Democrat’s unending effort to give our readers the best coverage possible, my television — or at webcast — dreams are alive once again.

You might have seen me on one or both of the episodes of The Democrat Sports Watch, a weekly show devoted to providing high school football fans with information they want and need about their favorite teams.

Each week, we’ll be out interviewing coaches, players and giving perspective on the big games that are coming up on Friday night.

And on top of that, it’s a blast to do.

Anytime you can provide a great service to your readers while having fun at the same time, you’ve come across a winning combination.

We know that many of our readers never see the actual newspaper, but read the stories on our Web site instead.

That’s why we’re always trying to provide interesting Web content, so readers will keep coming back to see what is new on the site.

Another example of this is the coaches interviews that go along with most of our high school football game stories.

It is one thing to read a coaches’ comments in the paper, but when you see him talking on camera, it gives a different dimension to what you’re seeing.

We’re still tinkering with ways to make the broadcast the best one possible and give you the great coverage that you rightly deserve.

The first two episodes have been a work in progress and we are going to keep providing a better and better product as the season goes on.

So keep tuning in every week to see what we’ll come up with next as we seek to give the sports fans of the Miss-Lou the best possible coverage we can offer.

Oh, and also to keep my television star dreams alive, at least on the Internet.

Jeff Edwards is the sports editor for The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3632 or jeff.edwards@natchezdemocrat.com