Exactly How Fun Is It To Be a Sports Journalist?

joe schmoe,

You couldn't have spelled it out better. I can tell you've been in this business a while, just like me. I've done it 22+ years and my views on the profession and sports have changed as I've grown and matured. But the one thing I always had was my love for writing. It's what has kept me stable and in this business all these years.

The love for sports, unless you're just a fanboy and not very bright, talented or challenged, fades over time as you see all the flaws in the people, games, the system and the profession.

Sports won't make you happy. Happiness only comes from within and I've managed to do that by doing what I love --- and that's write. It has been a great ride but one that took some unexpected turns to arrive where I am now.

Twenty-two years ago, I would have said "that will never happen to me."

In fact, I did. And I was wrong. You speak the truth joe schmoe.

 

Saturday night, 12:15. It was 75 minutes until deadline for the live Penn State game section. And I'm getting a little antsy waiting for stuff to come trickling in, and I said to the guy next to me, "This is why I still love doing this." And it is.

 

Excellent post by Joe. I covered high school sports for five years, and a love of sports was maybe fifth on the list of reasons I got into journalism. My passions are reporting, writing, meeting interesting folks and hearing their stories, design (or at least having a hand in the creative process) and then sports. I was just as happy when I went to news, and I'd be just as happy if I covered high schools again.

 

I'll add praise for Joe as well.

What it comes down to getting a job as a sports writer/reporter is this: You need to have a lot for writing, reporting and story telling FIRST, and a love for sports SECOND.

If all you care about is watching sports, this is not the job for you. It might sound like a great deal to get into sporting events for free, but you are there to work, not to simply socialize and toss out observations on Twitter.

I stay with the business because I love writing and storytelling. If ever the day should come that I don't want to do either, or simply feel I've accomplished enough, then it will be time for me to get out.

Again, though, you need to love writing, reporting and storytelling in order to enjoy this job. If you don't love those, or lose your love from them for whatever reason, you won't enjoy it.

 

If you are a sports fan, this job will cure you of that pretty quick -- or it should.

Personally, I still like going to all kinds of sporting events and I have players and teams I like but I am not a "fan" of any team.

Changes your perspective.

 

Lost my cheering function around the age of 16. Never got it back. I would feel very self-conscious if I actively cheered now. I suppose that's something lost in the deal.

 

You still have the cheerleader outfit, though, right?

 

Right there in the closet alongside the S&M wear.

 

Give me a 1:30 a.m. Saturday night deadline and I might still love it, too.

I think the last paper has rolled off the press at our shop by that time.

 

Extended deadline -- considerable extended deadline -- for a Penn State night game. It would normally be 11:50 p.m.

Should have seen the dirty looks we were getting from the truck drivers as we walked out at 1:40.

 

When our "State U." played an 8 p.m. game a couple of weeks ago, we got an extension. From 11:35 to 11:50.

The higher-ups are always telling us, "We need to meet our regular deadlines, or they won't give us these extensions."

I have to bite my tongue to keep from responding, "Shove the useless extensions, and let us occasionally miss the regular deadlines, OK?"

 

They're fairly intense about the State U. coverage these days. The live Penn State section went up from four to eight pages this year.