Prep reporters, chime in please

[Norman Stansfield]

It's been quite a while since I stalked the sidelines on a Friday night for a prep game.

To tell the truth, I miss it quite a bit.

Here's my question: do you prefer to walk the sidelines or watch the game from the pressbox?

Take weather out of the equation; I assume most everyone would prefer to be under cover when it's raining/snowing.

What's the best on a crisp, clear fall evening?

I personally walked. It was sometimes hard to see plays develop, especially when jockeying for position with players on the sideline in between the 20s. But I always thought it gave me a better sense of how the game was going in general by hearing the pads popping, the coaches yelling and so on up close.

 

[Cadet]

Press box. I'm too much of a stats perfectionist to chance missing something.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

I've spent most of my career in the press box, but as press boxes have gotten more and more crowded and people have become more uptight about whom they let into the press box, I've come to prefer the sideline.

 

[playthrough]

I wasn't a sideline guy at first but soon got hooked. The details you get down there are just too good, not to mention more concrete stuff like injury news. For stats and stuff, you can lean on the team. Can't tell who recovered the fumble in the pile? Someone on the recovering side will be happy to find out for you. I also liked being close the refs and getting explanations for calls. Enjoy that kind of stuff while you can before moving up to colleges or pros.

Of course, pay attention too. A female photographer at an old shop of mine took her eye off the ball once for just a moment and got steamrolled. She ended up with a bum ankle but it was amazing she didn't completely blow out her leg.

 

[Terd Ferguson]

Press box if for no other reason than watching plays develop.
From the sidelines it just looks like 22 people haphazardly crashing into each other. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. From up above it looks like art.
It's also imperative that I have a place to write during the game. Deadline is typically 15-20 minutes after most of my games are over, so stalking the sidelines isn't an option.

 

[Rosie]

Sidelines. Without a doubt.

I like getting the chance to verify calls from the refs, brief comments from the coaches and even sometimes the players. I find I pay more attention to the game on the sidelines as well.

It's a personal preference thing -- neither way is the "right" way.

 

[rgd]

Sidelines. I find it easier to get a feel for the game and I'm able to keep accurrate, running stats. I recently moved from an area where I'd see most reporters walking the sidelines to one where I'm the only one doing it. I asked a new co-worker why so few people seem to stalk the sidelines, and he looked at me like I was nuts for not sitting in the press box. To each his or her own, I guess.

As a sidenote, I covered a game tonight that had the worst P.A. announcer I've ever heard. He was constantly giving the wrong line and down and distance. It would be third-and-2 and he'd say it was first-and-10, or a team would decline a penalty but he'd announce as though it accepted.

 

[Trey Beamon]

Sidelines...no contest.

There, you're able to get some more insight about injuries, game-planning and the emotions that go along with the game. If someone breaks down crying or flings a helmet 15 yards (like tonight) because they sprained an ankle, I see it up close.

 

[Crimson Tide]

Sidelines.

Too many "self-important" people trying to get in on the action in the pressbox. I did it the first time I covered a game here and couldn't concentrate for all the bull**** being talked. The coaches keep the sidelines free of people who don't need to be there, like obsessive parents.

Also, the PA/scoreboard guy is really off on yardage.

I can also usually chat to find out how long until someone comes back from injury, etc.

But I'm extremely careful. I've already had one knee surgery and have to walk with a cane. I certainly don't need another.

 

[pallister]

Like TF, I always preferred the press box to get the persepctive of seeing everyone on the field. I just feel like I might be missing something on every play if I'm at field level.

Although, from having to stand on the sidelines a few times, you do get good insight into what people are thinking. The chatter that goes on between the players, the players and coaches, coaches and refs can be insightful and lead to questions you'd never think to ask being so far away.

 

[CentralIllinoisan]

Press box. I'm too much of a stats perfectionist to chance missing something.

Ditto. My stats must be right.

 

[buckweaver]

Press box. I'm too much of a stats perfectionist to chance missing something.

Ditto. My stats must be right.

Double ditto. Always afraid I'd miss something if I was on the sidelines (don't cover FB now). Never felt comfortable with "seeing" the game well unless I could see the whole game.

And with the way my then-shop covered preps, I think I more than made up for "insider" info on game night with the details I garnered for previews, features and folos (and incorporating those angles into the gamer, too.)

 

[BillySixty]

My stats are probably more accurate if I'm walking the sidelines, although my handwriting is easier to read if I'm sitting in a comfortable press box.

I prefer the sidelines because you get to know the people you cover. Assistant coaches, trainers, managers, etc. The team statistician usually walks the sidelines as well, so if I miss something I can always check with them.

You appreciate the speed of the game much better on the sidelines. Better players stand out more up close, especially linemen. Considering most press boxes aren't in the end zones, you can't tell blocking patterns/receiver routes from the side anyway.

 

[pallister]

Hey Buckdub, which route is Brett Favre most likely to throw an interception on? [goingtohavetotakealotof****iftheBearsloseSunday]

 

[Pringle]

The only thing I don't like is when someone tells me I'm "lucky," and means it.

As if they had also bought a ticket for the sports writing career lottery, but didn't win and instead had to be a six-figure lawyer.

 

[Platyrhynchos]

Sideline, by default.
I keep my own stats and shoot my own fotos.

And, for probably the 10th time in my career, I again got taken out last night.
Gonna have to learn to stand a little farther back. :D

 

[MilanWall]

Sideline, by default.
I keep my own stats and shoot my own fotos.

And, for probably the 10th time in my career, I again got taken out last night.
Gonna have to learn to stand a little farther back. :D

Same thing here. Never have gotten taken out at a football game, but did get nailed in the BAD AREA by a stray basketball at a game I was covering once. Ouch.

And speaking of bad P.A. announcers, I was at a game last night where the guy announced, "And Visiting Team has third-and-25 on the Home 23." Um...guy, are you even listening to what you say?

 

[Ledbetter]

For several years I worked the sidelines, because I had to take photos, but now I'm a press box guy.

I see the field better, I can keep better stats while updating the scoring summary as the game progresses, and I can work on the gamer at halftime.

 

[zeke12]

Having dealt with this as a player and a reporter, I'd say both.

You can only get that color we all love from the sidelines. But there is one huge problem. You can't really watch the game. No one gets a worse look than the sidelines. There is a reason coaches always say they need to see the tape, besides not wanting to answer the question: They really missed the play.

My question is this: For all you anal stat people, is it frustrating at all to realize you can scribble your ass off up there and still have **** totally wrong? Because it drives me crazy.

 

[shotglass]

I have long preferred to be on the sideline ... but always felt I could do the job better from the press box.

Especially if you have other writers up there to bounce stats off: "You give him 3 or 4 yards there?"