It happens every fall.

I fall in love.

As the flood waters retreat, and sweltering heat of summer and the tropical rainforest-like humidity that has invaded the Chicagoland area dissipate, kids will get back to school, leaves will start to turn, and in our favorite sports, new stars will be born.

It is that very rebirth in high school and collegiate sports that I love.

Graduation has provided us with a brand new crop of athletes.

It is now up to the athletes to win their way into our hearts, to compete in their respective venue amidst our vociferous applause.

Two classes have graduated in my time at NIU. Both have provided moments forever sketched into my mind.

The first memory is from the first NIU football game I covered: Garrett Wolfe’s return from injury to jitterbug in and out of defenders for the rare NIU win in Toledo on an icy November night.

Then there was a water-logged Justin McGrane, triumphantly streaking toward a sold-out Huskie Soccer Field crowd after scoring a game-winning goal in the NCAA Tournament.

And lastly, although I heard it from my car radio in the back yard of my Westchester home, my pulse pounded as closer Matt German pitched five scoreless innings to give the baseball team a 6-4 win in 13 innings.

Those moments give me chills as I search through my memory banks to weave their tale.

They are so vivid I can remember what I was wearing, the smells in the air, and the weather at that moment; it is almost as if the world stood still and I was hypnotized by that singular moment in time.

But here we are.

A new fall.

A new group of heroes to be born on the field, pitch and court.

Who will emerge from the long shadow of Wolfe and Doug Free, who will take the place of the senior class that rose from the depths of NCAA soccer to become a serious player on the national scene?

Where will volleyball find a replacement for the steady Kate McCullagh and the all-out grit of Gina Guide, and — one of my favorite questions of the fall – can the women’s soccer team join the men’s as MAC Champions?

Answering those questions and more makes this my favorite time of the year.

Who will carve out a spot in our collective hearts?

Only time will tell.