Why do I love sports? Yes, they are fun. Yes, they lead us to reach beyond our limits. And yes, they teach us teamwork, determination, and camaraderie.
But all you have to do is watch how Major League Baseball has rallied around the city of Boston to see that sports brings us together. It reminds us that, whether we are Royals fans or Cardinals fans, whether we wear the Cardinal and Black or the Kelly Green and White, whether we cheer for the Red Sox or the Yankees, we are Americans and we stick together.
To me sports is Jack Buck saying "Yes" we should play ball after 9-11. It is Neil Diamond flying all the way from California to sing "Sweet Caroline", Boston's trademark song, as the Royals and Red Sox squared off Saturday afternoon. It is exhausted marathoners rushing to the aid of spectators as they lay stunned and bleeding after a senseless act of violence at the classic race.
We often are slaves to our traditions, but I believe one of the smartest moves MLB made was when they ditched the classic "Take Me Out To the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch and replacing it with "God Bless America." We have a lot of problems in this world, and sports has its share of issues. But at its core, it is a father and sun playing catch, a mother teaching her daughter to swim, and grandfather telling his heirs stories of Mickey Mantle and Roberto Clemente and Jackie Robinson.
So play on, America, play on! It's who we are and it's what keeps us going strong!
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
GET SOME EXPERIENCE!!!!
Wow, it's been a crazy three weeks since spring break. Interviewing candidates, enrolling students, working on final projects with my classes, attending a conference in Las Vegas (no, I did NOT lose my shirt), shuffling game broadcast schedules because of the weather ...
Now I'm back. And I have three words for all you students: GET SOME EXPERIENCE!!! Yes, I know you have heard this soap box before. But every pro I heard from or talked to at the Broadcast Educators Association conference in LV said the same thing: I don't want a student who did great in the classroom but didn't do anything outside of class. I want students who have gotten their hands on the equipment and practiced. We had a highly energetic (albeit, um, colorful speaking, shall we say) alum visit my sports broadcasting class yesterday and he advised students to get as much practice as they can because they aren't competing against their classmates; they are competing against students at OTHER universities who are doing the same things.
Two former students who took sports broadcasting are now employed, one with the Missouri Mavericks (she started as an intern and now it looks like she might get a full-time job), the other with KOMU-TV in Columbia (he also worked with KMOS on campus). Three of our students landed internships with the Springfield Cardinals this summer, another got an internship with Fox4 in Kansas City (another student who has worked with KMOS also landed one of these internships. A fifth is doing a postgraduate internship with the Sedalia Democrat; he also is sports editor of the school paper and has provided ready analysis for local high school sporting events. He is a truly converged journalist.
Why did they land these primo opportunities? Because they didn't settle for going to class, writing papers and taking tests. They took advantage of the opportunities afforded them while on campus. They honed their sklls, they put what they learned in the classroom into practice in the field.
It's like I always say, if you don't have time to get experience right now, wait until you graduate: You'll have all kinds of time because you won't have a job!
Now I'm back. And I have three words for all you students: GET SOME EXPERIENCE!!! Yes, I know you have heard this soap box before. But every pro I heard from or talked to at the Broadcast Educators Association conference in LV said the same thing: I don't want a student who did great in the classroom but didn't do anything outside of class. I want students who have gotten their hands on the equipment and practiced. We had a highly energetic (albeit, um, colorful speaking, shall we say) alum visit my sports broadcasting class yesterday and he advised students to get as much practice as they can because they aren't competing against their classmates; they are competing against students at OTHER universities who are doing the same things.
Two former students who took sports broadcasting are now employed, one with the Missouri Mavericks (she started as an intern and now it looks like she might get a full-time job), the other with KOMU-TV in Columbia (he also worked with KMOS on campus). Three of our students landed internships with the Springfield Cardinals this summer, another got an internship with Fox4 in Kansas City (another student who has worked with KMOS also landed one of these internships. A fifth is doing a postgraduate internship with the Sedalia Democrat; he also is sports editor of the school paper and has provided ready analysis for local high school sporting events. He is a truly converged journalist.
Why did they land these primo opportunities? Because they didn't settle for going to class, writing papers and taking tests. They took advantage of the opportunities afforded them while on campus. They honed their sklls, they put what they learned in the classroom into practice in the field.
It's like I always say, if you don't have time to get experience right now, wait until you graduate: You'll have all kinds of time because you won't have a job!
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