Sports Journalism and losing your fanhood

Sadly, the use of the phrase "Due to..." sticks in my craw. The writer really means "Because of..."

But then again, I'm an asshole.

 

find a career in which professionals are certified or licensed.

'professional' journalist is an oxymoron. journalists have no professional license - which means that anybody can be one, talent or ability notwithstanding.

this is why the industry is in collapse - the skill is devalued because an infinite number of people practice it.

use your education to get a 'certified' profession.

 

My passion for sports has never wavered with the exception of fantasy sports. Don't play any more and I don't miss it. But I love writing about sports, and I consider myself fortunate that I found a job that I love (even though I sometimes wonder if I'm next on the chopping block and spend more time bitching about our situation than ever before).

I've covered my alma mater (Kansas) before. For some reason, I've never found it difficult to take off the fanboi hat and put on the journalist hat. I can cover a game at Allen Fieldhouse and never get the urge to cheer. Sure I'll cuss in my head when the Jayhawks play bad and say compliments in my head during good moments. But when I'm courtside I'm more concerned with a story angle and getting something to my editor in plenty of time than cheering and having a fanboi time.

 

Maybe. But looking at it logically --- something I tried to avoid doing during my fanboi days --- there is really no reason why a person's emotions should go from euphoria to depression just because some stranger he does not know makes or misses a field goal. NOTHING CHANGED IN YOUR LIFE.

I wish I could pinpoint the cause for my apathy. Probably a combination of things. Other priorities . . . expansion (just too many teams/coaches/players to keep up with) . . . TV (I do not need 5 slow-motion replays on EVERY goddamn play) and the way it has slowed down the games and caused them to start much later than I care to stay up and see . . . athletes who are pricks, or worse, criminals . . . and the fact that seasons and games just start to blur after awhile.

I watch tennis because I play it and enjoy the skill and beauty (WTA hotties) in the game. But that's about it anymore.

 

I once covered a game in which my alma mater won a national championship in the most dramatic fashion possible ... game-winning score came almost literally at the final horn.

My intial reaction: "Fuck."

It was already past deadline, and now I had re-write.

That's what this business does to you. It's what it HAS to do to you. And if you can't deal with it ... pick another profession.

I will echo what others have said here. It's been several years since I spewed epithets at a 20-year-old college football player on TV. It's probably healthier that way.

 

I would get knots in my stomach as the ball was being kicked to start the game.

Now I can't even tell you the name of more than one player "we" signed last February.

 

I still follow "us" some. I watch the games when I can, though I have to work a lot of Saturdays. I guess, deep down, I'd rather my alma mater win than lose, but it no longer affects my mood. The game ends, and no matter the outcome, I go on with my life.

I feel like I've evolved.

 

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=217651