What's the biggest misconception people you know have about sports journalism?

Wait, are you saying companies are now taking the Marriott points as well???

 

1. When your daughter or son is on a youth league, "Hey, you can do a story for the paper."

No. No one outside the 17 parents who are here give a damn about the 8-under youth soccer team in Bumbledick.


2. True question: "So do you really go to all those places you write about?"


3. Can you get me in the press box?

Sure. Give up a portion of your life each year, tell your kids in August that you'll see them in January and call your wife on your anniversary from the Podunk Rathole Inn to tell her you're sorry the game fell on your wedding day. And go to college, work in several crappy jobs and earn it.

4. You get to eat all that good food in the press box.

No argument about some venues. But half a bag of potato chips and a lukewarm, flat soda in the hotel at midnight isn't appetizing.

 

I will second that. I think people who don't get up at 7 or 8 and head into work for a 9 to 5 don't get much respect. The biggest phrase I've heard is "must be nice" when I tell them I woke up at 9:30 or 10. I always respond, "It must be nice to go home at 5." They just don't get that it's probably the same number of hours just starting and ending at a different time.
The only other big things besides the "Can you get me tickets?" that was already mentioned is I've had a couple people ask me if I want to "be on SportsCenter" next. Yeah, maybe to kick Stu in the forehead. "Read these Rockports!"
The classic is when they ask you who your favorite writer is and you say "Gary Smith." I love to watch their eyes glaze over like "Who?"
"Never heard of him."

 

I dunno.

I was just saying that if the guy isn't getting the points as a personal perk, I understand the complaint.

 

Biggest misconception? That my job is easy and therefore I should never be stressed out from it.

 

Yeah, Everybody Loves Raymond did us no favors... I wanted to throw my TV off the balcony when they had the episiode where he had a satellite installed so he could watch all the games from his couch...

1. That every road trip is like a Vegas vacation...
2. That we root for the teams we cover.
3. That we care who wins the games.
4. That we're friends with the athletes.
5. That we're sports fans.

 

To be fair, what sitcom doesn't completely misrepresent the profession it features? I'm willing to be that bartenders and servers cringed every time they watched Cheers, or district court workers at Night Court, or small airport workers at Wings, or quarry workers at The Flinstones (damn neighbors keep asking me if I slide down a dinosaur's neck when I get off work)

 

During a family reunion a few years ago, my cousin asked me if I ever thought about trying to get a job with one of the Philly papers to cover the Eagles, the team I rooted like hell for as a kid and still have a soft spot for.

In the second or two I paused to respond, all of the following ran through my mind: never actually enjoying an Eagles game; working non-stop from August through January; missing my wife every other weekend; dealing with the silliness that comes with Philly sports and its fans; ahh, fuck it.

"Yeah," I replied, "that'd be great."

 

But, mizzou ... I did have a satellite installed so I could watch all the games from my couch.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who goes through this. I was hanging out with my brother on the Fourth of July, and I kind of vented to him about how tired I get of my parents saying, "You're going to work at Sports Illustrated or (Local Major Metro) some day!" And he told me that they even say to him, "I don't know why your brother isn't at SI/Major Metro yet!" I've been dealing with that since high school, as I'm sure a lot of you have. He said to take it as a compliment.

The problem is, my mother is such a gossipy loudmouth blabber face that I'm sure she tells all her friends that her son is going to be at the New York Times before you know it, that I'm going to be the next Mike Royko, Rick Reilly and Edwin R. Murrow rolled into one, and so if they have any schadenfraude in their makeup, and even if they don't I'm sure my mom pushes them to it, they're probably rooting every day for my continued failure.

And meanwhile, I'm happy living in a college town, covering a college beat, owning a beautiful home, hanging out with my beautiful wife, etc., etc.

So anyway, I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets family pressure to get to the top.

 

I remember seeing a survey many, many years ago, in which police offers ranked the most realistic cop shows. Barney Miller won in a landslide.

 

Just a point of order. I used to be the same way, but the longer I've been in this business I realize that the section can, and will, be put out without me. You have to take time for special events, even if it is during football season. Missing a good friend's wedding, to me, is something that is not an option, unless of course there's a medical emergency/family emergency. I've got so many regrets after not taking time off for family/friend events because I had to cover a prep/local college game. I know there are some times when you absolutely have to work, say if you're an NFL beat writer and your buddy gets married on the same day the team you cover is in the AFC title game, but sometimes we think what we do is waaaaaayyyyy more important than it is.

I guess having kids has changed my perspective on things. Now, even though I cover a major college football program, I find ways to make sure I can be at little league games or plays or other events as often as I can. You can never get those times back.

Not meant to criticize. Just some thoughts from an older guy who learned a lesson.