The Perks of Being a Sports Writer

I’m sitting through my first trip to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in Saint Louis.

It’s not just my first tournament as a sports writer, but my first tournament period.

I’ve never wanted to be a sports writer. I like watching sports, but I’ve never enjoyed covering them. Who wants to go to a game when you can’t drink $7 beers, be rowdy and root for the home team?

But covering sporting events like this has its perks. The staff takes great care of you, you have access to almost anywhere you want and the universities athletic departments make it easy to get a hold of any statistic or interview you are looking for. Did I mention you have the best seats in the house?

Yes, sports writers seem like a dime-a-dozen, and there is the idea that only sports nuts make great sports writers.

I believe that’s a little inaccurate. Although having a general interest in whatever you write about will have an impact on your final product, you don’t have to be crazy about sports to be a great sports writer.

I do enjoy college basketball, but I would never consider myself anything more that the casual observer. I do, however, use the same skills I would when covering any other non-sporting event. You interview both sides of the story and deliver it in an accurate and unbiased way.

Plus, sporting events like the MVC Tournament bring out the passion in people, whether that be players, coaches or fans.

It’s hard not to get excited when you work in the company of 22,612 screaming fans.