Today is officially “World Sports Journalists Day,” and that means it’s time to reflect on all of the accomplishments of the hard working sports journalists out there.
Now, I know that many people would argue sports journalism isn’t nearly as complicated or important as other forms of journalism. Some would say that being embedded with the troops in Afghanistan is far more impressive than writing up the college football national championship. My response to that is a simple one. Feel free to make those statements after you’ve had to write up a game recap from a bar after drinking a dozen beers and being rejected by every woman in sight. It takes some serious heroics to push through a scenario like that, or so I’ve been told.
The important thing about journalists is that they’re inherently humble, but none are more humble than sports journalists. We do our work in the shadows of the big game and we never make the story about ourselves.
Sports journalists also dig deep on the important issue. Can you imagine how cold and dark the world would be if the “Jordan vs. Lebron” debate hadn’t been discussed a billion times? I shudder with the thought.
We’re also great at making sideshows of actual sporting events. For example, as the humble journalists we are (props to myself for recognizing how humble my peers are), we recognize that NFL fans don’t actually want to crack open a cold beer and eat a burger as they watch the game. What they actually want, but clearly aren’t smart enough to know for themselves, is to be told about Colin Kaepernick 24/7 and how anybody who thinks he’s an awful quarterback is a racist. Nobody thanks ESPN enough for pushing this narrative. Truly a heroic stance the network has taken.
So, we have this one day a year where we are celebrated. We don’t need to brag about how important we are or any of that garbage. Much like the athletes we cover we just go out there and get it done in silence. A less humble man would feel the need to remind people of that. In closing, happy “World Sports Journalists Day,” and shoutout to myself for simply existing. It’s a tough job, but those cold beers during a game won’t drink themselves.