I have written 2 articles.
Attended a number of classes.
Read endless amounts of sports stories in various formats.
Heard from some experts in the field of sports writing.
I still have no idea what I am doing.
Considering I have to get an "A" on every single remaining class before I graduate to save my GPA from the land of "2's" this was quite an ambitious undertaking (I just did not know that yet).
I like sports. I like to watch them. I like to play them. I even like to talk about them.
And now I know I do not like to write about them. Not because I don't like sports but because I do not feel in any way qualified to do so.
How naive of me to think that just because I liked to watch the occasional sporting event and that I grew up playing sports and in a family of fairly athletic people that I could just start writing about sports like I knew what the heck I was talking about!
It's one thing to report on a couple of games. After the game is over the teams give you all their stats and the "why does this game matter" info. Then you just report the scores, get a few comments from the players and coaches and put it all into context and you are done!
However this week when I sat down to write my first sports column everything I thought I knew about sports and my ability to write about it came crumbling down around me!
A column is your opinion on a topic. But you have to actually know a thing or two about the topic to even get out the first sentence!
Most likely this will be a topic that many people will be very passionate about or else it would not be a good opinion topic to begin with. So your audience will be highly educated on this topic and ready to shred you if you get one little thing wrong or sound like you don't know what you are talking about!
If a person is to have a passionate stance on something - especially sports - they really must know a heck of a lot more than "Well that seemed like a good game, I'm glad Carolina won."
Duh!
So what now? Do I beg someone in the class to help me? Do I throw my self at the mercy of the Prof? Should I start milling around the sports department at work (heck I do work at a newspaper after all)?
All of those things will mean I have to admit that I was shortsighted and arrogant in my ability to pass this class. :( boo that sounds - kinda - not - fun! Besides the guys in the sports department might think I am stalking them and my Prof and classmates I'm sure have better things to do than a remedial class in sports history.
If this were a client of mine I would say:
OK - get it together Mr. Advertiser!
What is it that you actually need to get done!?
What do you know now?
What do you need to know to be successful?
How do we do that?
(and then the always potent questions)
"what will happen if you fail? what is it worth to you to succeed?"
And - BAM - we have our answers and a plan on how to get there!
So let's apply my brilliant marketing and sales strategies to my current situation...
Here are my answers to my own questions:
Q: What is it that you actually need to get done!?
A: Uh, pass this class and not sound like an idiot in
all my assignments!
Q: What do you know now?
A: SportsCenter comes on at 11pm so if you miss it earlier
b/c you can't get the kids to bed you are not screwed
(thank god)!
Q: What do you need to know to be successful?
A: Historical knowledge of all sports and the ability to
use that to write something interesting and compelling
about current sporting events.
Q: How do we do that?
A: I don't know - you tell me - you're the marketing
expert (Wow I always get mad at that answer, but now
understand the meaning so much more than I did before)!
(and then the always potent questions)
Q: What will happen if you fail and What is it worth to you
to succeed?"
A: Get out of my office and don't come back!
Gee now I know why people hate sales reps.
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