It was all a dream: the unreal world of sports writing

There are times that seem surreal to me.

Like at Madison Square Garden for the Big East… There are times that seem surreal to me.

Like at Madison Square Garden for the Big East men’s basketball tournament last March. Jeff Greer and I, covering the tournament for The Pitt News, nabbed seats three rows up from the floor, right at center court.

Right then my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was my friend Ben, whose family perennially had tickets to the tournament since I met him in first grade.

“Hey,” he started. “I totally see you down there.”

Granted, we got the seats because we were the media, technically. But floor seats at the Big East Tournament, in the world’s most famous arena, in the country’s largest city? Which cost me nothing? That’s unreal.

I’ve been able to go places and cover events as a sportswriter that I never dreamed I would before coming to Pitt. Every game I cover is another wonderful experience.

That’s what sports writing is about. Experience. You have to have it if you want to make it as a sports writer, and you have to know how to get it.

Here are some tips to get ahead:

Start early

If you really want to be a sportswriter, get started writing as soon as you possibly can. Take journalism classes, apply to the student newspaper, like The Pitt News, and start to find your strengths and weaknesses as a writer.

I started as a freshman with relatively no writing experience. I wrote for my high school newspaper, but I learned more in a semester here than I did in two years of high school.

I didn’t take any journalism classes my freshman year, either, and I was an editor by the end of the spring term. I improved because I wrote a lot and learned what I did well and what I needed to improve.

And I’m still doing that. I look at my stories now compared to some of those I wrote two years ago and see a drastic difference. You need to write for a long time to learn how to master your technique.

Look for stringer jobs

Chances are the sports department at your local newspaper, wherever your hometown is, has a few stringers who come in for a few hours each night to answer phones, take local high school and college scores and write short briefs and things of that nature.

Send an e-mail to or call the high school or college sports editor and inquire about those jobs. If you stick around long enough and show the right work ethic and enthusiasm, they might give you smaller feature stories to write for a branch paper or for the high school sports section. Those clips are some of the most valuable pieces you can get, especially as an undergraduate, and they can be solid resume builders for your job search.

Make connections and take opportunities

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know, right? Yeah, but it’s also the impression you make on those people. Making connections is such an important part of any job search, but it’s even more vital in sports writing because jobs aren’t nearly as bountiful as they are in some other professions. Well, most other professions.

So, take every opportunity you get to write, because you may not get another one. I’m not saying to overload yourself, but taking those opportunities, making the most of them and showing your bosses you do good work will definitely lead to more.

It’s a good job, but it’s a tough industry.

If you’re looking to be a sportswriter you’re going to have to start somewhere. And in the sports writing industry that typically means in the basement.

It’s easy to get discouraged, but the writers who show a tireless work ethic even through the lean stages are the ones who will progress.