I’m lucky. Not once in 31 years at The Eagle (on Nov. 24) have I not wanted to go to work. Now once I’ve arrived, there have been times when I wish I hadn’t.
But for the most part, being a sportswriter is a dream job for me. Let’s see, I love sports and I love to write. Makes sense.
The challenge of writing a good story remains as interesting and exciting as it was 30 years ago. Doing the interviews, piecing together the information and attempting to write in a way that interests and compels is the most exhilarating feeling there is in working at a newspaper.
People have asked me what it is I love about this job. Simply writing a good story is it, easily.
Sure, I love to go to games. The competition is what it’s all about. Everything else a sportswriter does stems from the competition and the game.
I enjoy meeting different people that I write about. I’ve worked with high school, college and professional athletes and I most enjoy dealing with those in college.
The high schoolers are almost always courteous and they are excited about a journalist’s presence. But they don’t have enough life experiences, generally, to feel comfortable in an interview setting. It’s very difficult to get them to open up.
A college athlete is more mature and less anxious when approached by a sportswriter because they have had to deal with such a situation many times before.
Professional athletes are the worst. Again, speaking in general. Too many are aloof and disrespectful. Maybe they’ve been burned, causing mistrust. But it’s always a crap shoot when I interview a pro athlete. The good ones can be very good, but I’m always prepared to be blown off.
Probably more about my job than you wanted or needed to know. But, hey, I’ve got a blog to worry about.