Hoodies, homers and objective sports journalism

Sports journalism tends to have to types of people, the completely impassioned and the guys who look at it as if it were any other job. 

The passionate sports journalist can rattles off a play-by-play of the entire game with a flurry of furious adjectives while the 9-to-5’er robotically fills a story with statistics and quotes as he or she weaves it into a formula that has been honed, sharpened and used often throughout his or her career.

A seasoned professional can spot a homer from a mile away. Team color polo or pullover, khaki pants and non-descript tennis shoes, a fan could hardly tell a homer from a member of the school staff. 

Sure, it’s hard to find a sports journalist who can truly have an objective view on their coverage. All sports journalists secretly hope their team succeeds, at least for the company reimbursement on a fun, far-off trip to cover a postseason event. Maybe it was hearing their horrible press conference questions or cheers and guffaws at every big or blown play, instead of being professionals, keeping quiet and taking notes, but I detest homers. The problem is fans expect the local reporter to be a homer. 

I may have made a few fans angry last fall while covering a football game against Windthorst. It was chilly that night so I wore my Kansas City Royals 2015 World Series Champion hoody, not knowing Windthorst’s school colors happened to be the same Royal Blue. To make matters worse, I shot the second and third quarter from the Windthorst sideline so I could get shots of Olney players with Olney fans in the background.

A fan working the chains recognized me and laughingly asked if I was too embarrassed to shoot from the Olney sideline?

On the surface, I have to appear neutral, even though I do occasionally cheer a great play or accidentally blurt something out when a bad call effects the Cubs or Lady Cubs. 

After covering the Cubs and Lady Cubs through two seasons, and interviewing many of the players, it’s hard not to root for them. I admit, I do get a bit of a thrill when the Cubs or Lady Cubs win,  especially when they pull out an upset, but my thrill comes from knowing everything they had to do to get there. A homer believes his or her articles somehow effects the team’s performance as shaman takes satisfaction in a seemingly successful potion. 

A homer reporter will say “we won” while a professional will say “they won.”