All I ever wanted was to be the guy in the paper who wrote about sports.

I knew it when I was 12. That was my dream job.

But it was a silly dream, of course. Who gets to grow up and do that?

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So I picked something more realistic, more respectable. I went to law school. I practiced law for a few years. I was utterly miserable.

And then, four years later after abandoning the law — after covering high school sports in Alabama and Major League Baseball in Miami — I wound up in Memphis.

In that dream job.

And somehow, incredibly, it’s been even better than the dream.

I could list all the big events I’ve covered in the last 27 years. But that’s not why it’s been so great.

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The best part has been the connection to the city, the connection to Memphis and Memphians. The best part has been — and I say this with as much sincerity as a transplanted Yankee can muster — all y’all.

Would I have felt the same way if I had been the sports columnist in Nashville or Chicago? Or Dallas or Charlotte or Philadelphia?

There’s no way to know.

But what I can say is that the best, happiest, most productive decades of my life have been spent in Memphis. And I don’t think that’s an accident.

That’s what Memphis can do, if you just embrace the place. That’s the opportunity this city provides.

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You want to have an impact? Great. Memphis needs you to have an impact. Starting today, if possible.

It was a revelation, to be welcomed that way. I assumed that Memphis would be cold and forbidding. After all, I had seen “The Firm.”

It was John Calipari who once said, “If you love Memphis, it will love you back.”

If that has become a cliche — and it most assuredly has — it’s because it is so often true.

I have loved Memphis. I have loved raising my three boys in Memphis. I have loved covering sports in Memphis, too.

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But after more than 27 years, it is time for a change.

No, not that kind of change.

I’m not going anywhere.

I’m just going to write a lot less about sports and a lot more about other stuff. Effective today.

Why?

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Some of it relates to the demands of sports writing. What was it that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said about Ja Morant?

“Basketball needs to take a back seat at this time,” he said.

I’m ready for basketball — and football — to take a back seat. I’m ready to have some nights and weekends off.

I’ve covered six Tiger basketball coaches, six Tiger football coaches and nine Grizzlies coaches. I’ve covered Penny Hardaway as a player and Penny Hardaway as a coach. I’ve covered two Gasol brothers, two Mike Tyson fights and two guns appearing on Instagram Live.

I’ve had the time of my life, doing all of that. But, lately, I find I’m not doing it with the same enthusiasm.

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Which brings me to the other reason: As much as I love Memphis sports, I have come to love the city of Memphis more. And this feels like a pivotal moment for the city of Memphis, doesn’t it? Given all the challenges?

We have a crime problem. And a police problem. And a school problem. And we can’t even seem to agree on how to talk about those problems constructively.

It feels like every day there’s a letter in The Daily Memphian blaming someone else for one problem or another. If we could fix things through finger-pointing, we’d be well on our way!

So I’m going to see if I find a way to contribute. I make no promises. But I am buoyed by the example of people like Danielle Heineman. She’s the one who came up with the idea to “Finish Eliza’s Run.” Heineman didn’t know Eliza Fletcher. She just wanted to do something to help the community with its grief. When I first talked to Heineman about the idea, she thought maybe a couple dozen people would join her on a run down Central Avenue. There were thousands instead.

That morning felt like Memphis at its best. Resilient and hopeful and fierce. All because one person had a good idea. We need more good ideas.

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As for the sports stuff, my colleagues at The Daily Memphian have got you covered. There’s a reason the sports section was recently one of the 15 most-honored sports sections in the country by The Associated Press Sports Editors. Oh, and I’ll still be talking sports on my radio show five mornings a week.

But I will need your help going forward, just as I did when I first moved to Memphis. Back then, I asked readers to send me column suggestions. I’ll renew that request now. Who or what inspires you? Infuriates you? Or just bewilders you to no end?

What stories haven’t been told that need telling? My email is gcalkins@dailymemphian.com.

For 27 years there has always been another game, another press conference, another recruiting class, another draft night. I’m sure I’ll miss them at times.

But, suddenly, I have the whole city to write about.

I can’t wait to begin again.