As I sit down to write this column Tuesday, I do not know what the outcome of the 2008 Presidential election will be. But as someone who is in his early 30s, this was the greatest election in my lifetime. And that is why I wanted to depart for one week from the usual sports banter I normally save for this space and talk about the change I have seen overtake this country.

I consider myself a extremely optimistic person. Regardless of the situation, I usually feel a brighter day is around the corner and that people can do whatever they put their mind to.

However, as a black man who grew up in Oklahoma, never in my wildest dreams did I think I would see the day a black man had a chance to become President of the United States. Not that it would never happen, just not in my lifetime.

Whether we wake up today and find Barack Obama or John McCain is our new president-elect I have witnessed some great strides in the way our country has engaged around this election.

While the center of the election coverage centers around the question could AMerican vote for a black man, the most powerful message that will come out of the entire election is that there are no excuses left on the table for not trying to succeed in life.

In McCain, you have a man that was a prisoner of war in Vietnam and came back to build a long and distinguished career working in the government. While I may not agree with his politics or with some of the things he allowed to happen during his campaign, I have to respect the way he has dedicated his life to public service. He could have said he paid his debt to the country already, but he felt he owed more.

In Obama, you have a man that in many ways is lived what is becoming a typical American life. He grew up in a single parent household. But because he is bi-racial, he was also looked upon as an outsider. But he didn't let that keep him from believing his dreams could be fulfilled. That is a lesson that can't be over told.

However, while we have seen great things, we have also had to endure voters who took a different route. If you go to Youtube.com and check out videos from a few of the rallies held around the country, you will se some of the hateful acts and words come out of a supposedly civilized person.

But they are just the small part of the country scared to let go of the past and embrace the future. Whether its in politics, cultural issues, sports or just every day living, that is an important part of a changing world.

As I stood in line Monday morning at 6:45 a.m., I had my I-pod on was going to just try and zone out while waiting to vote. But an older Caucasian man who’s voted Republican his whole life started talking to me about how the country needed a change. All I could think about was how 40 years ago, not only could that conversation not be had, but we could not even have stood in the same line.

Times have relly changed.