@SamuelYLam Five years ago today, HOF #49ers HC Bill Walsh passed away.—
Patrick Tulini (@PTulini) July 30, 2012

One of followers tweeted me a reminder that today is the 5-year anniversary of the legend Bill Walsh’s death.

I remember where I was when I found out the news. I was in New York coming off another long day of work from my internship. Back then, I didn’t have a smart phone so I didn’t know what was happening around the world until I got home to my computer.

Back then in 2007, I had just started my coverage of the 49ers for MVN.com (which has now turned into this very poorly run site). It was a sports blog and I was using that platform to hopefully one day launch me to bigger and better things.

At the time, I had blogged a lot of things about the 49ers but nothing really big and impactful. Of course, the team was not good so there wasn’t a lot to write about.

But when I got home later that evening and found out that Walsh had passed, I immediately started writing because I knew I had to get something out about it. I don’t remember what I wrote but I knew that as a 49ers fan, I understood what Walsh meant to the 49ers Faithful.

It was probably my first ever “breaking news” piece I had ever written. I didn’t have time to change when I got home or eat. I immediately went to writing and it challenged me as a writer to get as much out as quickly as possible. What ended up happening was that my story got featured on the site’s main page.

I was saddened by Walsh’s death but because of it, it helped launch my writing career. For the first time, I was challenged to put together a strong piece about something big in a breaking news fashion. And since that day, I was able to continue my craft and it led to me becoming a full-time writer covering the 49ers for three seasons.

It still saddens me that Walsh has passed but I will always remember how on that day, my writing career changed forever. I miss the legend, but I credit him for changing my life.