My Farewell To CNBC

Forrest Gump.

That’s whose life I feel like I’ve lived over the past six years at CNBC.

I played basketball against Dwyane Wade (I promised him I would tell you I didn’t score a point). I’ve crashed into the wall at the Charlotte Motor Speedway with Kurt Busch at the wheel. I’ve taken an Andy Roddick full speed serve to the chest.

I lived in Beijing during the Olympics. I’ve reported on Nike factory workers in Vietnam. I covered a Presidential Election from a bowling alley in Pennsylvania and played cornhole with a Coors Light girl before the NFL season opener in Indianapolis.

I interviewed Billy Mays and the “Shamwow” guy. I covered Steve Jobs’ death from Apple stores. I’ve felt the 60 mile per hour winds of Hurricane Irene hit my face as I stood on a Montauk beach. I sang both the American & Canadian National Anthems at a Major League Baseball stadium.

I was on the air when the plane landed on the Hudson. I spent a week in Chile’s Atacama Desert with three Sports Illustrated models. I’ve stared at $8.9 million of cash in front of me as I reported on the final table at the World Series of Poker.

I’ve reported on the growth of the Turducken industry and the launch of the Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos.

I’ve showed up at a random person’s house and gave them $1 million (a waitress from Pennsylvania won CNBC’s “Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge”).

I’ve seen hours I haven’t seen since college thanks to getting up for "Squawk Box."

I remember getting a call from CNBC HQ saying I looked too tired while reporting from the Vancouver Olympics.

My hit time? 3:13 AM.

I hosted a sports business show on the NBC Sports Network and was blessed with endless fodder. The rise and fall of LeBron, Vick, Tiger, Favre and Big Ben. The hysteria surrounding “Tebowmania” and “Linsanity.” My favorite story? A-Rod endorsing a coconut waterbrand even though he had an ownership share of its competitor.

When I run into viewers they often do more than say hello or shake my hand. I’ve gotten more than my fair share of hugs. It’s because people don’t watch CNBC for an hour or two. They watch all day and that means those of us who are on air are part of their family.

That “family time” got extended even more with the advent of Twitter. Watching games and tweeting sports biz (my handle is @darrenrovell) was another way to get the journalist’s adrenaline fix in “after hours.”

So thank you, viewers, readers and followers, for allowing me to come into your homes and share my stories and tidbits with you.

A final thank you to the people that pushed me. My bosses Jonathan Wald, Nik Deogun and Susan Krakower. My producers Tom Rotunno, Karen Stern and Eric Schultz, who had to put up with me everyday. My blog editor Gloria McDonough-Taub, my social media guru Eli Langer and the countless others at CNBC HQ who I will greatly miss.

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