Story time, everyone! I am sure that just from reading my blog you have noticed that I love talking about sports, especially the Yankees. Why the Yankees? Where did I get my passion for sports from? Well, in this post you will learn the story of how I went from being just an athlete, to fulfilling a dream of mine to become a sportscaster in the Metropolitan area.
Here is the inside scoop:
It all started in my Sophomore year of college when I was still undecided about my major. I was watching the FOX 5 news, as I do every morning before school, and for some reason I was studying the anchors a little more than usual. I thought to myself, I wonder how a news program is run, and how it all comes together. At that moment, it all clicked. From that time on, I knew I wanted to become a sportscaster.
Why sports? Ever since the age of five I have played sports. Whether it was soccer, track, cross country, baseball, softball—you get the point. Stemming from being an athlete, I began to have passion for sports. I could honestly sit and watch sports all day. I knew I could combine my two interests: speaking in front of the camera and, of course, sports. This is where my quest to become a leading sportscaster began!
That spring, I enrolled in a class at school that was taught by a My9 news anchor. Cool, isn't it? I studied all of the in's and out's of becoming a news anchor, had to film news reports on camera, and even wrote my own scripts.
So what does this all have to do with the Yankees? I'm getting to it, don't worry!
I took this picture at Yankees Stadium when I was given the press pass for My9 news. Yes, for My9 news.
Spring turned into summer, and I needed an internship. I took up the opportunity to pass my resume along to someone at the news station through my professor at school. I received an email back just a short time later, went in for the internship interview, and was accepted into the program. I made it known to the internship coordinator that I loved sports. While working on the assignment desk at the news station, I would also sometimes work sports when there was a home game for the Yankees. One afternoon, right when I arrived to my internship, I was told that I was going to Yankee Stadium with a reporter and cameraman. As one can imagine, I was more than excited. Driving to the stadium in a press van was an experience. Once we finally arrived, my job was to scope out die-hard fans and ask them to be on camera. I was pretty successful, if I may say so myself!
Towards the last few innings of the game, with my press pass in hand, we went to the press room to watch the last moments of the game. Better yet, it was a Subway Series game (Mets vs. Yankees). I first saw Kim Jones, who was the former commentator for the New York Yankees. Once the game was over, Joe Girardi and Jerry Manuel (former manager of the Mets) walked in for a press conference. Girardi was not happy at all because the Yankees lost, so he did not talk much. After the press conference the cameraman gave me a tape to run to the our other cameraman on the field. As I was walking out, Jerry Manuel approached me and talked to me for a short time. Before walking into the hallway to the field, a security guard actually asked me if I was a sportscaster because I resembled one.
Once on the field, I handed the cameraman the footage. While we were hanging out on the field, I was able to go inside the Yankees dugout and walk around on the Yankees home turf.
All in all, it was an amazing experience that I will never forget. It enlightened me as to the in's and out's of what it takes to me in the news industry. Most people might back away from the limelight, while I chose to go forward. This is only the beginning of my quest to become a sportscaster in the New York market.
No comments:
Post a Comment