Friday, August 7, 2009

Writing about sports

Students interview a player at the Newark Bears vs. Long Island Ducks game on Wednesday. (Photo Credit: Brian Rokus '99) 

By Maria Guardado (Milpitas, CA)

Coming into this program, I can honestly say that I had no idea what to expect. What I did know was that I had no experience whatsoever in journalism and that I loved sports. Having interviewed random people on streets and written my very first article over the course of this week, the former is no longer true. However, I cannot say the same for the latter.

I think that my love for sports comes mainly from my two older brothers. When I was younger, I remember being engrossed in some reality show, only to have my brothers snatch the remote control away from me and change the channel to some sporting event. I used to become irritated whenever this happened, but then I realized that watching the A’s, the Warriors and the Sharks was ten times better than watching Paris Hilton pick her new best friend.

Yesterday, Athelia Knight, former reporter for The Washington Post was one of our guest speakers. I can honestly say that, due to lack of sleep, I wasn’t exactly the most attentive audience member. However, when she mentioned that she worked as a sports writer, I suddenly found myself hanging onto her every word. I was especially captivated by the story of her coverage of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. As an aspiring sportswriter, it would be my ultimate dream to be able to cover the Olympics. I think the Olympics are the embodiment of everything sports stand for -- for two weeks, they leave behind rocky political relationships and unite people around the world through competitions featuring the world’s top athletes. I, for one, would be honored to be able to attend such an event, let alone have the ability to tell people all about it.  

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