From the Beat: Point of View

 

Point of view is something that is always on my mind when it comes to writing. When I am writing fiction, I often play with perspective. Sometimes first person is great because it puts the reader intimately close with the narrator and keeps them blind to the things in the plot that I want to be a surprise in the end. Sometimes I prefer third-person because it allows me to paint with a broader brush while also giving more details from more angles.

In journalism, point of view takes on a little different meaning to me. I’m the viewer and I have to report what I see, and then what I learn from interviews. My natural inclination with football is to roam the sideline during games. While it can make keeping stats more difficult at times, the trade off is being mere feet from the action both on the field and the interaction between players, referees, and coaches on the sideline.

 Some sports scribes prefer the press box. My issues are that the view from press boxes at small schools in Illinois can vary greatly in size, quality, and space available. Often the better the press box, the farther away the field. I remember covering a state football championship game in Champaign and feeling like I was on another planet. While the view allows you to see formations, and how plays develop, I usually feel like I am missing the story of the game.

Friday night, I was pinged with a 10:15 PM deadline for the game between Mendota and Newman at Sterling’s Roscoe Eades Stadium. The early deadline meant I had to write pieces of the story during the game, so I needed to be in the press box. Roscoe Eades facilities are second to none in the state, so that wasn’t an issue. I did notice though that I felt like a complete stranger when approaching coaches and players afterward, and that reflected in the tongue-twisting questions I tried to ask. Maybe I am reaching for a connection there (I admit to never being a great interviewer), but it certainly contributed to the issue.

Anyways, I powered through and barely made deadline, but I am sure the story I told would have been very different if I had been on the sideline rather than the press box.

Check it out here: https://www.shawlocal.com/friday-night-drive/news/2022/10/15/newmans-smash-tops-mendotas-flash-in-tight-trac-mississippi-contest/