There are times I hate the pros. Young millionaires. Sure, they've worked hard to get where they are, and yeah, they're the best at what they do, but sometimes they play entitled, speak entitled, and create situations that place them in a bad light. And honestly, I don't know if I can get behind people like that. There are the class acts, but then there are the people who ruin it all.
As a young broadcaster I've worked with people who are the up-and-comers. The ones with fire in their eyes to play for pride. They don't play for the money, they play because they love the game. When you see the reaction of a team that has won a championship, when you see the reaction of a team who lost a championship, and they didn't play for money, they played for pride, you realize just how awesome telling that story was.
After being a part of Millersville hockey's championship loss and other large games in my career, telling those stories seems special. Even though many people didn't take part along for the ride, I felt so much more connected to these people. I wanted them to win. I wanted them to do well because I wanted them to show pride in what they did. It wasn't about the money.
The step to that "pro level" of broadcasting is perilous in two different ways. I don't know if I'll be like the athletes that get pro money, if I'll just forget about what it is to broadcast for pride as opposed to the money, or if I will enjoy broadcasting for pros. That I don't know, but it's something I'm legitimately concerned about.
Long story short, I love telling the stories of the people just working hard for the sake of working hard, you know?
Monday, May 28, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Finis
I came to Millersville University for a few reasons. I figured it was close to home if I wanted to head back to Harleysville, I was impressed with the TV studio, and it was the best state school in the entire PASSHE system. How could I go wrong? There had to be opportunity in a tiny little town in the middle of Pennsylvania just waiting for me, an arrogant 18 year old, to take.
I came in scared as hell. We were forced to say good bye right away. I didn't have time to say it in private, and I knew crying was inevitable. My entire orientation group saw me bawling my eyes out. I had no clue what to expect. I didn't know I'd meet one of my best friends here at school that day, or that week. So many from my group just took their own route, but I'd say Ethan Sholly was the first person to make me feel accepted.
Little did I know he would introduce me to my future roommates and my other great friends here at school.
That year I learned the value of living with someone you like. My first roommate proved that being a jerk gets you nowhere, on either end. The man I lived with was an arrogant fool. He drove me up a wall, and he forced me to find myself out of necessity. I thought I found people I liked, but they pushed me away. The next year, the same result. I applied myself, but that's what saved me from coming back to someone I absolutely despised when I went to bed every night.
It was all a learning experience.
I found something I absolutely loved to do. I loved to tell stories and get people excited over things they've never been excited about. There are a few times I've been told things that I just stopped and said "wow." I've been told that my broadcasting "saved someone's life" and had someone interested in hockey that had never watched a game before. In any event, it was fun to learn, and fun to improve. Every step of the way meant a new accomplishment.
I interned with the Reading Royals, forced to become a professional. I had credentials with the Hershey Bears. I interned with ABC 27. I won seven awards with the National Broadcasting Society, including my pride and joy, a national grand prize in 2010. I have their honors, Alpha Epsilon Rho. I am graduating cum laude. I was the media director and first-ever broadcaster with Millersville Hockey. I broadcasted games on the Marauder Sports Broadcasting Network. I broadcasted high school soccer on Blue Ridge Cable 11.
I can say, now that I stand at the end of this journey, I have done everything possible to ensure a career in play by play broadcasting...or something along those lines. Sometimes I worry if I'll like it, but if I think about what happened back in February, I'll be okay. As long as I touch a single life, it was worth it. It isn't about the people who hate you. It's about the people who love the team because you bring them to life.
I don't know how many broadcasters think of their profession so eloquently, but hey, maybe I'm a first.
I said I came into school scared as hell. In that fear, I learned a lot. I learned how to be a consummate professional. I learned how to be a truly genuine person. I learned how tough life can really be.
Most importantly, in the midst of it all, I learned how to love. Rebecca Knier has continued to be my beacon of support, the one I love so very much. It's a relationship that could have never happened. It could have taken a week and one of us could have grown bored. But that's not happening. She's my everything, and she keeps me going through the tough times. I'm sure she'll keep doing that.
I'm now just a few days removed from being 22 years old, and I'm still scared. There's no guarantees on obtaining a job unless I work for it and prove myself. I've said before, I can't wait to be tabbed as "the guy." I'm unproven otherwise. Hopefully soon, you'll hear me. I honestly don't mind whether or not you choose to tune in. I can't force everyone to.
The one thing I want everyone to realize is, whether you love me or you hate me, you were all part of a life-changing revolution that has taken place over the past several years. So, in either case, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Things get worse before they get better. That was precisely the adage that explained my emotional roller coaster ride here at Millersville University.
Thank you, and...so long.
I came in scared as hell. We were forced to say good bye right away. I didn't have time to say it in private, and I knew crying was inevitable. My entire orientation group saw me bawling my eyes out. I had no clue what to expect. I didn't know I'd meet one of my best friends here at school that day, or that week. So many from my group just took their own route, but I'd say Ethan Sholly was the first person to make me feel accepted.
Little did I know he would introduce me to my future roommates and my other great friends here at school.
That year I learned the value of living with someone you like. My first roommate proved that being a jerk gets you nowhere, on either end. The man I lived with was an arrogant fool. He drove me up a wall, and he forced me to find myself out of necessity. I thought I found people I liked, but they pushed me away. The next year, the same result. I applied myself, but that's what saved me from coming back to someone I absolutely despised when I went to bed every night.
It was all a learning experience.
I found something I absolutely loved to do. I loved to tell stories and get people excited over things they've never been excited about. There are a few times I've been told things that I just stopped and said "wow." I've been told that my broadcasting "saved someone's life" and had someone interested in hockey that had never watched a game before. In any event, it was fun to learn, and fun to improve. Every step of the way meant a new accomplishment.
I interned with the Reading Royals, forced to become a professional. I had credentials with the Hershey Bears. I interned with ABC 27. I won seven awards with the National Broadcasting Society, including my pride and joy, a national grand prize in 2010. I have their honors, Alpha Epsilon Rho. I am graduating cum laude. I was the media director and first-ever broadcaster with Millersville Hockey. I broadcasted games on the Marauder Sports Broadcasting Network. I broadcasted high school soccer on Blue Ridge Cable 11.
I can say, now that I stand at the end of this journey, I have done everything possible to ensure a career in play by play broadcasting...or something along those lines. Sometimes I worry if I'll like it, but if I think about what happened back in February, I'll be okay. As long as I touch a single life, it was worth it. It isn't about the people who hate you. It's about the people who love the team because you bring them to life.
I don't know how many broadcasters think of their profession so eloquently, but hey, maybe I'm a first.
I said I came into school scared as hell. In that fear, I learned a lot. I learned how to be a consummate professional. I learned how to be a truly genuine person. I learned how tough life can really be.
Most importantly, in the midst of it all, I learned how to love. Rebecca Knier has continued to be my beacon of support, the one I love so very much. It's a relationship that could have never happened. It could have taken a week and one of us could have grown bored. But that's not happening. She's my everything, and she keeps me going through the tough times. I'm sure she'll keep doing that.
I'm now just a few days removed from being 22 years old, and I'm still scared. There's no guarantees on obtaining a job unless I work for it and prove myself. I've said before, I can't wait to be tabbed as "the guy." I'm unproven otherwise. Hopefully soon, you'll hear me. I honestly don't mind whether or not you choose to tune in. I can't force everyone to.
The one thing I want everyone to realize is, whether you love me or you hate me, you were all part of a life-changing revolution that has taken place over the past several years. So, in either case, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Things get worse before they get better. That was precisely the adage that explained my emotional roller coaster ride here at Millersville University.
Thank you, and...so long.
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