You’re Probably Wondering How We Got Here...Part II
ATM Sports Bank is my new creative outlet to unleash my incurable opinions on all things sports. Welcome to the second chapter of my story. Part I can be found here.
The Sports Information Director Years
For a lot of you reading this article, you’re probably asking yourself, “What exactly is a Sports Information Director?” Trust me, at one point I had no idea myself.
My best way to explain what an SID does on a day-to-day basis can be illustrated through a college athletics website, such as Red Storm Sports or Hurricane Sports. Any and all information on these websites is provided by the SIDs. But, the job doesn’t stop there.
When you visit the Miami Hurricanes Football twitter? That’s all the SIDs. The Red Storm Basketball IG page? That’s all the SIDs. Every time you tune into an Alabama Football game on CBS? The stats you see - SIDs. Organizing the video crew that broadcasts the game - SIDs. Who’s in charge of the media room that sports writers use during the game - SIDs.
This job requires long hours in and out of the office outside of your typical 9-5. Travel on the weekends, giving up holidays, not seeing your family when lacrosse is in-season. My first role was a Graduate Assistant with the Athletic Communications team. So in addition to the 50-60-70 hour work weeks, I attended school full-time in pursuit of a Master’s Degree.
If you’re wondering why and thinking that I’m crazy then you either: (A) are probably not a true sports nut yourself and, (B) need to understand that I did some pretty cool things while with the Johnnies.
I spent NCAA Division I BIG EAST basketball games walking the baseline of Madison Square Garden. I rang the New York Stock Exchange opening bell with the lacrosse team. I went to Los Angeles, UCLA and DisneyLand for the first-time ever with the women’s basketball team. I learned how to work broadcasts on ESPN. And I saw a ton of these same student-athletes graduate from college.
Fast forward to the end of my time at St. John’s. With a Master’s Degree in hand, while making some of my best friends and colleagues along the way, it was time for my next move. I begrudgingly convinced myself that I needed to take true advantage of my public relations degree from undergrad by finding a job at a traditional PR firm. I won’t lie, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to live in Manhattan working a 9-5 job like I grew up watching on Seinfield.
The next stop? Traditional PR.
The Jordan retirement - Corporate Public Relations
After I left the world of working in sports, I began a two-year experimental step in my professional career. I took a role at a boutique SoHo-based PR agency working with B2B brands spanning industries like travel, cyber and technology (riveting, I know). And for those of you struggling to understand why I relate this to Michael Jordan’s stint in Minor League Baseball… you can stop reading now - this is a sports blog.
JUST KIDDING. Sorry, I told you I was opinionated.
Despite my playful scorn, I’m grateful for the time I spent at this agency and respect the important step this was for my career. My first reaction to this PR work: hustle. My colleagues were scrappy and hustled to earn press and media opportunities for six-seven-eight clients at a time.
Although there was a bit of a learning curve to find newsworthy angles for clients that lacked, at times, glamour, our process was scrappy, fast-paced and successful. It requires a degree of creative thinking to earn press for whomever your client may be. You can bet it also requires some moxie working in the cyber and technology spaces.
Unfortunately, there was something missing. At times, those 40-hour weeks seemed to drag on. Even with all of my newly-found free time that was spent exploring NYC, I was growing restless. I’m not sure exactly when it clicked, but perhaps it was getting distracted each day listening to The Herd on my earphones at work. It wasn’t just The Herd at lunchtime. It was The Michael Kay Show in the afternoon, it was House of Highlights videos on my phone, skipping work to go to Yankee Games, ESPN twitter updates in client meetings.
Sports. I was missing sports.
Grateful for my newly polished skills of better attention to detail, creative editorial pitches to the media, and building relationships with journalists, I took my talents to Bleacher Report: the perfect solution to my problem of missing sports. I mean, it had to be, right?
Thanks for reading Part II of my introductory blog series. Part III can be found here.
