September 13, 2018,  Baseball, Football  No comments

From Fan to Writer

By Michael Morgan

My entire childhood, I always planned to be a professional baseball player. My goal was to become the starting catcher for the Chicago Cubs. As I got older, I began to realize that I needed to have more realistic goals, and I knew that I wanted those to be involved with sports.

I have always had a passion for football and baseball my whole life, and now I will be writing about them for my professional career. Watching the Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Indianapolis Colts are some of the fondest memories. Carlos Zambrano, Ken Griffey Jr., and Peyton Manning were some of my biggest role models.

Throughout high school, interestingly enough, I hated English class. I despised anything that I had to read or write and even stated, “I will take the bare minimum of English/writing classes in college.” Little did I know that when I became a college student, that all changed.

Deciding on what I wanted to do as a career became easy once I got to college: I planned on becoming a sports writer. There is always a story to be told, and can be much more in depth than the public may see on the surface. I want to convey the story while being as close to sports as possible.

Being a writer, I get to assure readers are receiving truthful and accurate information. I know as a reader myself, it frustrates me reading information that is not correct. Having relevant and truthful information in articles that also interests readers is my biggest goal.

Distancing myself and becoming more objective has been much more difficult than I had imagined. Being a Marshall football fan and a Marshall student, it is a bit more difficult to not be a “cheerleader” as professor Burnis Morris said in feedback on one of my articles when writing about the university’s athletics. Instead of giving my opinions as a fan when writing about something, I try to incorporate quotes of those that are close to the subject I am covering or those that are passionate about it to show their excitement, rather than mine.

Learning a new style of writing was a big obstacle as a writer for me as well. I was always used to tweeting my opinions in short, choppy statements when it came to sports. Learning the AP style and seeing how certain things are written is still a challenge to me. Learning to write different than you speak is a skill that I am improving.

He is not in the field of journalism but I asked my father for his opinion on my career choice and my writings. He told me, “I can definitely see an improvement and growth in your writing compared to when you started college, and you should do whatever makes you happy.” Having support like this means so much more than he could imagine.

Analyzing batting averages and on base percentages in baseball, or completion percentages and quarterback ratings in football, is a hobby of mine. I enjoy math and these numbers interest me, so I want to use this as an advantage in my writing. I know that it gives validity to performance evaluations of players and supports any claims I would have. My biggest motto as a fan and a writer is, “numbers don’t lie.”

My ideal job would be a writer that covers a team that I am a fan of, but I realize that would be difficult. I believe that I can stay unbiased and objective, while giving my opinion accompanied by statistics to interest readers. I hope to cover professional sports, but I am willing to start in smaller markets and then work my way up.

Matthew Berry and Tim Kurkijan, I’m coming for you!