I've never been good with sports.
I'm not great with the terminology... the courts, the fields, the points, the runs. The longer I sit here writing this I actually feel the embarrassment setting in. Actually, I'm a warrior on a golf course (I thank genetics for that one.)
I'm not great with the terminology... the courts, the fields, the points, the runs. The longer I sit here writing this I actually feel the embarrassment setting in. Actually, I'm a warrior on a golf course (I thank genetics for that one.)
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And I do have my moments. Last night at the Super Bowl, there was a guy on the field at one point who played for the Chicago Bears, and after some time staring at the logo, I proudly announced that was his team. It took me longer than it should have to figure that out, but I did! I'm always proud when I can pair a logo with a team, or a team with the town they play for. I'm being serious. But I don't know positions. And I mostly don't know names. Gah. For more on last night at the Super Bowl, view my tweets below:
I do know that my junior year, the Miami Hurricanes running back was Duke Johnson. I know this because for weeks on end during NewsBreak, the 90-second news update show I anchored once a week, I'd say, "Running Back Duke Johnson...." but it wasn't until I was editing one day that I realized I didn't know what a running back did, I had just relied on the muscle memory of reading it off the prompter each week. (I know that now, by the way. The 26-78-45 HUT guy hands the ball to someone (maybe the QB??) who then gives it to the running back. I think.)
So believe me when I say no one was more surprised than I was that in my last semester at the University of Miami, I covered a story that actually required me going to the football stadium and conducting an interview with someone who had an office in the athletic center. To be fair, it was a story about transportation to and from the sporting event, but it was the most I'd ever ventured into the Wide World of Sports. ( <-- that right there was funny because there was an ABC show by the same name.)
So believe me when I say no one was more surprised than I was that in my last semester at the University of Miami, I covered a story that actually required me going to the football stadium and conducting an interview with someone who had an office in the athletic center. To be fair, it was a story about transportation to and from the sporting event, but it was the most I'd ever ventured into the Wide World of Sports. ( <-- that right there was funny because there was an ABC show by the same name.)
They gave me them, though. An all-access pass.
The football stadium at the University of Miami is the same one the Miami Dolphins play at, and it's about a 45-minute ride from campus. Because of this, attendance is historically relatively low considering 10,000 students are eligible for free tickets to all Hurricane sporting events. University Athletics provides free bussing to and from the stadium for students, and they are definitely a widely-relied-on form of transportation, since parking passes for the season can be pricy.
While it's a great service, administration had been dealing with the issue of students who rode the free buses up to Sun Life Stadium, but just for a parking lot tailgate instead of the intended purpose of actually attending the game.
I knew I wanted to do the story since my spring semester junior year, but I had to wait for football season to do so. I was attending my minimum one game a year anyway, (I KNOW, ONE GAME. I KNOW.) so for my senior year, I was glad to kill two birds with one stone. Ok, that sounds like I'd really hate going but the main reason I didn't go so frequently is because with the buses, attending the games was an all-day event, and I usually had an RA desk shift to work, or other academic-related commitments. Also because I didn't understand anything that happened there. Go 'Canes!
The timing of the story worked, because the administration had rolled out new guidelines for the buses and game day rules, and my story would be a way to introduce them to the students. Before game day, I interviewed our Vice President for Student Affairs, a student, as well as a member of the Ticket Operations team.
While it's a great service, administration had been dealing with the issue of students who rode the free buses up to Sun Life Stadium, but just for a parking lot tailgate instead of the intended purpose of actually attending the game.
I knew I wanted to do the story since my spring semester junior year, but I had to wait for football season to do so. I was attending my minimum one game a year anyway, (I KNOW, ONE GAME. I KNOW.) so for my senior year, I was glad to kill two birds with one stone. Ok, that sounds like I'd really hate going but the main reason I didn't go so frequently is because with the buses, attending the games was an all-day event, and I usually had an RA desk shift to work, or other academic-related commitments. Also because I didn't understand anything that happened there. Go 'Canes!
The timing of the story worked, because the administration had rolled out new guidelines for the buses and game day rules, and my story would be a way to introduce them to the students. Before game day, I interviewed our Vice President for Student Affairs, a student, as well as a member of the Ticket Operations team.
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And on game day, I packed a camera bag and went to work, mainly to shoot the footage of students entering the stadium and the physical buses the story was about. I treat all of my stories the same way. I thoroughly research them, if I'm going to be on a long shoot in the sun I bring sunscreen and a snack, I charge extra batteries because you can never be too careful, I try to think about the fairest and most responsible way to say what I need to say, and I dress professionally. Except in this instance, I was allowed to show some bias and I wore my Miami gear. (Anyone surprised I own a Miami Football t-shirt?) And I found the responsible way to say something also included a pun.
I have to be honest. I learned a lot on that shoot alone about covering sports. I had an all-access pass to the field, but I didn't go on the field because I was afraid of standing in the wrong place (not kidding.) But I understand why people like to cover athletics. I am not a war zones and Supreme Court type of reporter, and I'm not a puppies up for adoption, little kids build a lemonade stand type either. I'm somewhere happily in the middle for now. Important stories, ones that people care about, and ones with impact. And I can say with all sincerity that sports reporting is important, people do care about it and it does have an impact.
Seriously, with foreign and domestic affairs, you tend to believe people in this country can't agree and don't talk to each other, and then you put a sporting event on the television, and trust me, people are talking.
Seriously, with foreign and domestic affairs, you tend to believe people in this country can't agree and don't talk to each other, and then you put a sporting event on the television, and trust me, people are talking.
There was an undeniable energy at the stadium, and though I didn't know if I understood it, I recognized it and felt it should be documented. If I'm being entirely honest, I don't think I would have enjoyed myself as much at the game had I not been there working.
To clarify, I'm not saying what I did that day was sports reporting. But I will say it aired on our news show AND our sports show. And for that, I'd consider it a hole-in-one.
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