Imagine for a moment you have spent years dedicating your life to hone a particular craft. You have committed to countless hours of job shadowing, endless days of work study, and exhausted yourself as an intern. But all the efforts will one day pay off. You are going to be the next great sports broadcaster.
Now imagine yourself sitting on your couch Monday morning, preparing to browse TV Jobs and Work in Sports for the latest postings. You turn on the television for background noise. The channel? ESPN. As you smile to yourself picturing your face on that screen, making all the hard work worthwhile, Stephen A. Smith takes the air.
A little background: Stephen A. Smith is a "reporter" for ESPN, who typically "specializes" in NBA coverage. He is also a co-host of the (for some reason) popular morning show "First Take." Long story short, Smith recently made comments about NBA superstar Kevin Durant and his desire to play for the Los Angeles Lakers. Durant said called him a liar and fast forward to Monday morning and the video above. (That was only a brief snippet of his rant. If you want to waste your Monday, you can read the entire ridiculous monologue by clicking here.) So there you sit, eagerly prepared to apply for your first sports broadcasting job and you see that on your television. You ask yourself, "Is this what sports reporting is?" If you're smart, you ask yourself, "How in the hell does this schmuck have a job and I'm still in my pajamas on a Monday morning?"
I'm going to fill you in on a little secret that's not very well kept if you pay attention. ESPN is the largest reality TV show in the world. Well, maybe a close second to the Kardashians. Think about it. ESPN broadcasts 24 hours a day, with various shows chalked full of opinions, assumptions and conclusions, and occasionally you'll see two highlights from a game you've been waiting nearly an hour to watch. The channel is filled with characters, each hired and paid to represent a certain personality. Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless are the villains on First Take. Woody Paige is the funny uncle that says whatever comes to mind on Around the Horn. Chris Berman is the other uncle, the one you had to stock the fridge with skunky beer for. PTI's Tony Kornheiser is the cousin at family holidays who argues with anyone daring enough to share a thought. Bill Simmons, who has since been let go by ESPN, was the controversial younger brother testing dad's limits. There is very little these characters offer that you couldn't also get by walking into the coffee shop and discussing the same subjects. Yet millions upon millions of people tune in day after day to watch the same garbage with different team and athlete names cycled in. (There is a reason, besides cash, I don't have ESPN at my house. There is also a reason that when the channel is on at work, it is muted during the day and only audibly available when a live game is being broadcast.) I must admit, ESPN does have some great broadcasters who are well respected in the journalism world. There is a reason Scott Van Pelt has the late night shift to himself. Only Steve Hartman of CBS News comes close to tugging at our emotions the way Tom Rinaldi does. True sports fans want more of these characters, the ones they enjoy watching. We beg for the days where the channel was about sports and not everyone's opinion. Sadly, we will find ourselves let down like MTV fans actually expecting to see a music video.
To the kid on the couch, the one who would beg and plead to have someone take a chance on him/her, don't fret about having to become a character on a reality TV show. You can still hit the sports scene with some good old fashioned journalism.
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AuthorRichie is a small-town boy chasing big-city dreams. When he's not involved with sports, he's spending time with his wife, Fallon; their yorkie, Tinker; and their Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rosie. Archives
April 2016
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