Interviewing, storytelling ... Why I love sports and writing
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
I knew I wanted to become a sports writer the day I had a lucky “break” of sorts my sophomore year of high school.
That was the day, during a pickup game of basketball, I twisted my ankle so bad that not only was it a much darker color and in pain, but that was the day I realized My goodness … I should never play basketball again.
OK, once I got off the crutches that year way back in 2000, I didn't really go back to the basketball court for some time, but I did continue to play football and baseball throughout the remainder of my high school years.
But back when the injury to my ankle occurred, for gym class I had to write a one-page paper each class pertaining to any sports topic of my choosing. My gym teacher was Troy Dawson (the same Troy Dawson who coached football at McClain and Washington), and he seemed to really enjoy them.
Plus, since my athletic abilities weren't so great, my hard work on the athletic fields only took me so far. After graduation, I decided I wanted to do this right, went to college for four years, took all the English, journalism and writing classes I could find, stayed away from math as long as I could, completed an internship, and now, more than five years later, I’m writing an almost weekly (sometimes more, sometimes less) column on sports.
I told that story to tell this one about why, exactly, what I love about being a sports writer, and trust me, it’s not about the money.
My absolute favorite thing about covering sports is that I watch games for a living. One of our newspaper carriers said to me a couple weeks ago as we unloaded newspapers and talked about some games, “It’s a heck of a way to make a living.”
My response was “I know.”
I actually thought, I’m lucky. During this time of gloom and doom to our nation’s economy, I’m lucky to cover sports in an area that has a passion for it. I’m lucky to cover sports in an area where most realize it is just a game once the final buzzer sounds. Most of all, I’m lucky that I cover sports for five different high schools that have accepted me and allow me to cover their games on a nightly basis.
I am, indeed, lucky.
What also is so great about doing what I do is seeing it from a different angle. I go into a gym, or walk through the gates of a ball field not knowing exactly what I’ll see on a given night.
Isn’t that the great thing about sports … the unexpected?
Take, for instance, the Green Bay Packers losing in Week 15 to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts winning against the Tennessee Titans in the same week.
If that doesn’t describe unexpected, I don’t know what does.
No offense (OK, maybe some or I wouldn’t have said no offense), but covering sports is so much better than anything else in this business. At this point in my life, there is no way I would want to do anything else in this business, and if I’m sane I’ll never want to do anything else. Too much political mumbo jumbo or “he said, she said” for my tastes. Plus, if I wrote about politics … let’s just say I wouldn’t be well-liked.
What I do like is telling the stories of others.
Take, for instance, this week’s Highland County Press Page 11. I had the opportunity – no, the privilege – to interview former McClain basketball coach Rick VanMatre about his career and his soon-to-be induction to the Hall of Fame.
That’s what makes this job so worthwhile ... interviewing others who have a similar passion about what they enjoy.
One of the greatest storytellers was Dick Schaap, who 10 years ago this Wednesday died.
I remember watching him on the “Sports Reporters” when I was younger, just starting to think maybe I could write sports, too.
Along with storytelling and interviewing people is being able to talk to others, and I’ll tell you when I first started this, especially at the very beginning, I was shy. I still am to an extent, but not enough to cause me any problems.
Sports – even though it’s “just a game” – can have more meaning when it comes to life itself.
I’ve been doing this long enough where you can see players go from deer-in-the-headlight freshmen to leaders on the court and field ... and I’m willing to bet playing sports had a part in that.
Even with me, when I first started writing, I wasn’t the most mature person in the world (I’m still not ... “Family Guy” and “South Park” are must-see TV for me), but I like to think I’ve become a better person in the past five years, and I know a huge part of this is my profession.
The actual writing is just one part of what I love about covering sports ... it’s the entire atmosphere of the event itself, whether it be at the high school or the professional level.
Think about it: attending sports live (though I do love the NFL on TV more), you get all the sounds, smells and overall feeling of the game atmosphere.
When I attend McClain football games, the aroma of fried fish flows through the air. At high school basketball games, it’s the smell of buttered popcorn. When walking in to Great American Ball Park, the best part is the echoing sound of all the people speaking at once and the smell of the food in the stadium. (OK, so maybe I like smelling food, but you get the point).
In just total reflection because it is the holiday season, I think of how sports have molded me as a person.
Some of my best childhood memories are of me playing catch with my dad or watching baseball games with my uncle as he would ask me a trivia question involving Harvey Haddix. I still pick NFL games with my parents (my mom wins every year, it seems). Many of my friendships were started because sports was some type of common bond.
I guess the easiest way to comprehend my rambling is I love the fact I can wake up and know I get to go to a sporting event. I love how I get to add stats, read box scores and figure out how to tell the story of a game I just watched unfold before my eyes.
I guess the easiest way to put it is ... I’m lucky and thankful – and this is “a heck of a way to make a living.”
Ahh, who am I kidding? I love sports because the food tastes much better at a ball game!
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. Contact Stephen at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.
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That was the day, during a pickup game of basketball, I twisted my ankle so bad that not only was it a much darker color and in pain, but that was the day I realized My goodness … I should never play basketball again.
OK, once I got off the crutches that year way back in 2000, I didn't really go back to the basketball court for some time, but I did continue to play football and baseball throughout the remainder of my high school years.
But back when the injury to my ankle occurred, for gym class I had to write a one-page paper each class pertaining to any sports topic of my choosing. My gym teacher was Troy Dawson (the same Troy Dawson who coached football at McClain and Washington), and he seemed to really enjoy them.
Plus, since my athletic abilities weren't so great, my hard work on the athletic fields only took me so far. After graduation, I decided I wanted to do this right, went to college for four years, took all the English, journalism and writing classes I could find, stayed away from math as long as I could, completed an internship, and now, more than five years later, I’m writing an almost weekly (sometimes more, sometimes less) column on sports.
I told that story to tell this one about why, exactly, what I love about being a sports writer, and trust me, it’s not about the money.
My absolute favorite thing about covering sports is that I watch games for a living. One of our newspaper carriers said to me a couple weeks ago as we unloaded newspapers and talked about some games, “It’s a heck of a way to make a living.”
My response was “I know.”
I actually thought, I’m lucky. During this time of gloom and doom to our nation’s economy, I’m lucky to cover sports in an area that has a passion for it. I’m lucky to cover sports in an area where most realize it is just a game once the final buzzer sounds. Most of all, I’m lucky that I cover sports for five different high schools that have accepted me and allow me to cover their games on a nightly basis.
I am, indeed, lucky.
What also is so great about doing what I do is seeing it from a different angle. I go into a gym, or walk through the gates of a ball field not knowing exactly what I’ll see on a given night.
Isn’t that the great thing about sports … the unexpected?
Take, for instance, the Green Bay Packers losing in Week 15 to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts winning against the Tennessee Titans in the same week.
If that doesn’t describe unexpected, I don’t know what does.
No offense (OK, maybe some or I wouldn’t have said no offense), but covering sports is so much better than anything else in this business. At this point in my life, there is no way I would want to do anything else in this business, and if I’m sane I’ll never want to do anything else. Too much political mumbo jumbo or “he said, she said” for my tastes. Plus, if I wrote about politics … let’s just say I wouldn’t be well-liked.
What I do like is telling the stories of others.
Take, for instance, this week’s Highland County Press Page 11. I had the opportunity – no, the privilege – to interview former McClain basketball coach Rick VanMatre about his career and his soon-to-be induction to the Hall of Fame.
That’s what makes this job so worthwhile ... interviewing others who have a similar passion about what they enjoy.
One of the greatest storytellers was Dick Schaap, who 10 years ago this Wednesday died.
I remember watching him on the “Sports Reporters” when I was younger, just starting to think maybe I could write sports, too.
Along with storytelling and interviewing people is being able to talk to others, and I’ll tell you when I first started this, especially at the very beginning, I was shy. I still am to an extent, but not enough to cause me any problems.
Sports – even though it’s “just a game” – can have more meaning when it comes to life itself.
I’ve been doing this long enough where you can see players go from deer-in-the-headlight freshmen to leaders on the court and field ... and I’m willing to bet playing sports had a part in that.
Even with me, when I first started writing, I wasn’t the most mature person in the world (I’m still not ... “Family Guy” and “South Park” are must-see TV for me), but I like to think I’ve become a better person in the past five years, and I know a huge part of this is my profession.
The actual writing is just one part of what I love about covering sports ... it’s the entire atmosphere of the event itself, whether it be at the high school or the professional level.
Think about it: attending sports live (though I do love the NFL on TV more), you get all the sounds, smells and overall feeling of the game atmosphere.
When I attend McClain football games, the aroma of fried fish flows through the air. At high school basketball games, it’s the smell of buttered popcorn. When walking in to Great American Ball Park, the best part is the echoing sound of all the people speaking at once and the smell of the food in the stadium. (OK, so maybe I like smelling food, but you get the point).
In just total reflection because it is the holiday season, I think of how sports have molded me as a person.
Some of my best childhood memories are of me playing catch with my dad or watching baseball games with my uncle as he would ask me a trivia question involving Harvey Haddix. I still pick NFL games with my parents (my mom wins every year, it seems). Many of my friendships were started because sports was some type of common bond.
I guess the easiest way to comprehend my rambling is I love the fact I can wake up and know I get to go to a sporting event. I love how I get to add stats, read box scores and figure out how to tell the story of a game I just watched unfold before my eyes.
I guess the easiest way to put it is ... I’m lucky and thankful – and this is “a heck of a way to make a living.”
Ahh, who am I kidding? I love sports because the food tastes much better at a ball game!
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. Contact Stephen at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.
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