It was 20 years ago today that I started at the Butler Eagle.

A lot has changed since then.

My waist has expanded — although now that I'm a father, I can rightfully claim dad-bod status instead of just being “stocky.”

My hair is a bit grayer and my knees and lower back groan at me a bit more.

To put it even more in perspective, every high school player I cover these days hadn't yet been born when I started at the Eagle.

Weren't even a glint in their parents' eyes.

That's a startling realization and has me looking up cool canes on Amazon.

The sports world has changed, too.

Replay has its grubby little second-guessing fingers on everything.

There was no social media, so we couldn't readily see into the warped minds of the stars of that day. Just imagine if John Rocker had Twitter in 2000. Eek.

(For those of you who don't know who John Rocker is, Google him and prepare to cringe. He makes Antonio Brown look downright stable.)

Big men still had quite a bit of value in the NBA. Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan and Karl Malone were still dominant forces in the paint.

Vancouver (yes, Vancouver once had an NBA team) only took 10 3-pointers in the entire game on Jan. 10, 2000. NBA teams now take 10 3-pointers in the first five minutes.

In the NFL, you were still allowed to tackle the quarterback.

In Major League Baseball, the players are no longer juiced, but the ball is.

Some things, though, haven't changed.

The Buffalo Bills still haven't won a playoff game.

Neither have the Cleveland Browns.

And Tennessee and Baltimore will meet in the NFL playoffs.

Locally, things have changed, too.

Fans have gotten more surly. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone scream, “Call it both ways!” from the stands, I could retire and never see a 21st year at the Eagle.

Coaches have a much more difficult job. Not with the Xs and Os on the field/court/ice, but off of it dealing with school boards and parents and outside influences.

Fundamentally, though, the kids playing the game haven't changed all that much.

They are still passionate about what they are doing. They still want to win. They still want to be the best.

And they are still so much fun to watch and interview and get to know.

I have met many incredible people in the 20 years I have been employed at this newspaper. I get to do what I love to do and watch student athletes compete at a high level.

After all this time, I am still amazed by the sacrifices they make, by the blood, sweat and tears they put into their sports, by their unrelenting desire to compete.

That hasn't changed in 20 years.

I don't suppose it will in the next 20, either.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle