Fans at press conferences

Oh so true.Also gives them a reason to re-live their lost youth.

 

amen, amen and triple amen.
the university i cover, there is an abundance of grown "jock-sniffers" that go giddy when they're around coaches, players, etc...they have the know all on everything that happens within the program or think they do. and, naturally, they think they can do our job much better.

 

I don't cover college or pro basketball, but I have covered boxing and seen it happen at fights.
Have any basketball teams moved press row either behind several rows of paying customers or into a part of the arena where there's open space in front of you where people tend to congregate?
When I covered a fight in November (it was a nationally televised card involving participants from The Contender), press row was behind several rows of ringside seats that I presume cost at least $100-200. The fans stood up during most of the main event, forcing me to watch the fight on the Jumbotron to see what was happening.

 

SmallPotatoes..

yes, it's that way where i cover college games. fans in front of the media row and in the way enough to where it will obstruct a writer's view...the fans are also on both sides of the press area. if you are sitting on an end seat in the media area, you'll be right next to fans. i am a member of the USBWA and i know they've expressed a lot of concern about the continued shifting around of press row at courtside, etc..

 

They can't buy a bench to sit on for three hours every Saturday?

 

Nice...

 

Two words: erectile disfunction.

I've covered two universities regularly and one is fabulous and keeps the fanbois the hell out ... nowhere near the proceedings. The other one has the fans right on top of us, asking questions. I even got booed once for asking a tough question.

 

The university down the road from Microville Tech does the same thing, and at one several years ago a booster openly ridiculed a certain (sometimes unpopular) columnist from the state metro paper.

Football and basketball pressers are a circus, with about 100 or so booster-club members milling about, horning in on interviews, asking stupid questions, etc.

And there is one particular mega-rich alum who you'd better not offend because that will bring down the wrath of God upon you from the athletic department suckups who would probably shine his shoes at the 50-yard line during halftime if that's what he wanted. (in his defense, he doesn't).

 

I'm a member of the BWAA and that's a big issue with us, too. Hangers-on and other non-media people in the press seating is another issue.

 

This is my first year of covering a major D-I college basketball and football program and I saw this for the first time a few weeks ago.
Some bumpkin old guy strolls into the media room while we are waiting for the players and coach and he starts bitching about how the coach was lackadaisical in the last few minutes of the game, which the home team lost.
Coach takes the podium, answers all the media's inquires, then the SID asks if there were anymore questions (the international signal for: We're done).
Bumpkin (sitting in the far back of the room) starts hollering his "question", in which he proceeds to just complain that the coach had his hands in his pockets for the final minute and didn't try.
Coach gave a line about never giving up, blah, blah..the guy tries to interrupt him, but coach just smiles and thanks everyone for the questions and leaves.
Class act this coach, I won't have just laughed at the guy (obviously not a journalist, just some old annoying guy that stumbled onto a pass) and left the stage.

 

the university i cover is having its first SID-department arranged media conference for basketball in about an hour. because of hoops' teams' schedules, the previous procedure was to hook up with coaches via our own methods or teleconferences. i will be interested to see how fans, hangers on, jock sniffers get whiff (sorry about the pun) of today's event and upcoming ones and show up. maybe being at a late morning hour in the week day will prevent such stuff. we'll see.

 

no sightings of "fan boys" at today's basketball media conference i attended. good news. it was all legit media. but now i have three games to cover this weekend and the bet is that the "fanboys" in our area will be returning to get into the interview room.