Being Inspired (March 2014)

            Looking through the archives on my laptop, I found something that I totally forgot I had written. Be inspired like I was:

March 2014

Yesterday, as I watched George Stroumboulopoulos interview newly introduced TFC superstar Jermaine Defoe, I couldn’t help but find myself so incredibly intrigued as to what I was witnessing. Two human beings discussing the world of sports. And it was at that point that I said to myself I knew for sure what I’m meant to do in my life.

            I’ve always known that I want to make a career doing what I love and what I’m passionate about, and there’s nothing that I love more than sports. As I watched this interview take place in front of my eyes, I came to realize that there is nothing more interesting than watching two individuals have a conversation that is sincerely in depth. This is the art of interviewing, and that is what George Strombo has shown me.

            When the taping was done and George had asked if anyone had any questions. Something within me compelled me to ask him what advice he had for an aspiring sportscaster like myself. He mentioned a lot of things, but two of those many things are going to stick with me for the rest of my life.

            The first thing he said was that I need to be able to understand human philosophy to be a good broadcaster in general. At first I didn’t clearly understand what he meant, but then I got it. To be able to have a conversation with someone and being able to ask them all sorts of questions, means that you need to be able to see how the human you are talking to works and reacts to the things you say. It’s a wonderful tip.

            The second thing he said to me was a quote that I will be replaying in my mind for the rest of my life. He said “There’s one thing you need to know about our business… and that is that, you need to toughen the **** up”. He went on to reveal to me that people in the industry are going to rip me apart, but it just comes with the package of being a broadcaster. Granted, I know that’s something I need to work on, but at the same time it doesn’t scare me. I know within myself what I was meant to do. I was meant to talk about sports for a living, to live through my passon. To report on things and bring interesting news to the people around me who love and care about sports just as much as I do. I know that nothing will bring me greater joy.