They say that it's nearly impossible to break your first impression of something. When it comes to Indiana Wesleyan University and its student-run newspaper, The Sojourn, I think that's a good thing.
Yesterday was the first day of training, and it feels good to be part of a more formal, organized newspaper.
More updates to come...
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Ochocinco (written 8/20/10)
I just read the rules on broadcasting NFL games on TV.
Why? What are the cool kids doing on a Friday night?
As I sit here, cursed with the knowledge I have just obtained, one thing stands out in my mind. NFL really does stand for No Fun League. Yes, business is business, and I'll probably understand when I join the rat race myself, but it was still a sobering experience to see just how much business there is to the game I love so much. Wouldn't football be so much better if we didn't have to worry about contracts, blackouts, union deals, player lockouts, and uncapped seasons? Of course, all of these things are necessary evils for the NFL we know and love to function normally. But they just make me appreciate the lighthearted fun in the league even more.
Enter Chad Ochocinco.
I know a lot of people dislike him for his flashy style, endzone celebrations, and trash talk, but why do you think he does it? Because it's fun. Many people try to paint the artist formerly known as Chad Johnson as an arrogant, selfish crybaby who only cares that everyone is watching him. However, this is simply not the case. Chad Ochocinco does the things he does for the love of the game, but at the same time he cares about winning.
Think about it. When were the Cincinnati Bengals at their best? The answer is arguably 2005, when “eighty-five” was setting records and incurring fines left and right. When Chad stopped being Chad, everything seemed to fall apart. For his, and the team's sake, I hope Ochocinco is back up to his old tricks, and we get to enjoy a successful, entertaining season.
Why? What are the cool kids doing on a Friday night?
As I sit here, cursed with the knowledge I have just obtained, one thing stands out in my mind. NFL really does stand for No Fun League. Yes, business is business, and I'll probably understand when I join the rat race myself, but it was still a sobering experience to see just how much business there is to the game I love so much. Wouldn't football be so much better if we didn't have to worry about contracts, blackouts, union deals, player lockouts, and uncapped seasons? Of course, all of these things are necessary evils for the NFL we know and love to function normally. But they just make me appreciate the lighthearted fun in the league even more.
Enter Chad Ochocinco.
I know a lot of people dislike him for his flashy style, endzone celebrations, and trash talk, but why do you think he does it? Because it's fun. Many people try to paint the artist formerly known as Chad Johnson as an arrogant, selfish crybaby who only cares that everyone is watching him. However, this is simply not the case. Chad Ochocinco does the things he does for the love of the game, but at the same time he cares about winning.
Think about it. When were the Cincinnati Bengals at their best? The answer is arguably 2005, when “eighty-five” was setting records and incurring fines left and right. When Chad stopped being Chad, everything seemed to fall apart. For his, and the team's sake, I hope Ochocinco is back up to his old tricks, and we get to enjoy a successful, entertaining season.
Friday, August 20, 2010
C-Town Sports
I've acquired many nicknames in my time. The ones I am most proud of are “Sharpie”, “Jer-bear”, and “Nerd”. Okay, that last one wasn't so much a nickname as a hurtful description of my high school study habits, but I got it just as much as the other two. However, of all the monickers I've heard (and trust me, there have been many) I think my favorite is “C-Town”. How I earned it is simple. When I went away to college for the first time and people asked where I was from, I wasn't going to tell them Mt. Orab, a small town of about 4,000 that was turned upside with excitement when a new Kroger Marketplace opened, so I decided to say Cincinnati, the closest major city, which in all honesty wasn't that far away. Trying to impress my classmates with my cool Midwest lingo, I shortened my adoptive hometown's name to C-Town.
I was proud to say I was from Cincy, even though I wasn't actually from there, but I still hail The Queen City, The 'Nati, The Nasty Nati, Porkopolis, Chili Town; Cin City, as my own. But for years, not many Cincinnati sports fans could name their hometown with much pride. Long gone are the days when the Reds had a respected nickname of their own, and brought home the town's only major sports championships. Distant memories are the Bengals of old who lost Superbowls to Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. Most have forgotten about the Bob Huggins era in Bearcat basketball, when he led them to a Final Four, and one season was a Kenyon Martin injury away from a seemingly destined national championship.
You don't need to tell us Cincinnati fans that it's been rough.
For the most part, this entire decade has been one “maybe next year” after another. I realized just how bad it had gotten when local TV sports anchors tried to get Cincinnatians excited about the Cyclones winning hockey championships in some league called the ECHL. But hey, they did win the coveted Kelly Cup twice in three years. Other than the Bearcat's football team making school history in terms of success (which wasn't saying much), and a couple of [very] brief postseason appearances for the Bengals, Cincinnati hasn't been so much as a blip on the national sports radar.
But all that could be changing soon... I hope.
The Bengals have the T.Ochocinco Show, and a defense that actually looks like, well, an NFL defense (all in favor of the reinstatement of the phrase “Cardiac Cats”, say aye). The UC football Bearcats are looking to build off a couple of impressive seasons, and as for the basketball team... well they still suck (it can't all go right, okay?). But for me, the most surprising event is what's going on at Great American Ballpark. It's mid-August, and the Reds are still in it. They've begun their annual death march known as the West Coast road trip, and Reds are still in first place. Maybe, just maybe, this is a sign of hope for the Queen City.
Now, I say this with all the skepticism of a Cincinnati fan who has seen franchise players get hurt in playoff games, big stars come to the city and flounder, and great coaches leave for no other reason than more money. I've heard (and regrettably said) on many occasions that maybe 'this time' things will be different. But they never are. Ultimately, this town just goes back to its regular losing ways. Why? No one knows, we don't have a goat curse or hurricane to blame it on, all we have are names like the “Bungles” and the “Shreds” So after all this, why in the world would I think that there's any hope?
Because this time, things will be different in C-Town.
I was proud to say I was from Cincy, even though I wasn't actually from there, but I still hail The Queen City, The 'Nati, The Nasty Nati, Porkopolis, Chili Town; Cin City, as my own. But for years, not many Cincinnati sports fans could name their hometown with much pride. Long gone are the days when the Reds had a respected nickname of their own, and brought home the town's only major sports championships. Distant memories are the Bengals of old who lost Superbowls to Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. Most have forgotten about the Bob Huggins era in Bearcat basketball, when he led them to a Final Four, and one season was a Kenyon Martin injury away from a seemingly destined national championship.
You don't need to tell us Cincinnati fans that it's been rough.
For the most part, this entire decade has been one “maybe next year” after another. I realized just how bad it had gotten when local TV sports anchors tried to get Cincinnatians excited about the Cyclones winning hockey championships in some league called the ECHL. But hey, they did win the coveted Kelly Cup twice in three years. Other than the Bearcat's football team making school history in terms of success (which wasn't saying much), and a couple of [very] brief postseason appearances for the Bengals, Cincinnati hasn't been so much as a blip on the national sports radar.
But all that could be changing soon... I hope.
The Bengals have the T.Ochocinco Show, and a defense that actually looks like, well, an NFL defense (all in favor of the reinstatement of the phrase “Cardiac Cats”, say aye). The UC football Bearcats are looking to build off a couple of impressive seasons, and as for the basketball team... well they still suck (it can't all go right, okay?). But for me, the most surprising event is what's going on at Great American Ballpark. It's mid-August, and the Reds are still in it. They've begun their annual death march known as the West Coast road trip, and Reds are still in first place. Maybe, just maybe, this is a sign of hope for the Queen City.
Now, I say this with all the skepticism of a Cincinnati fan who has seen franchise players get hurt in playoff games, big stars come to the city and flounder, and great coaches leave for no other reason than more money. I've heard (and regrettably said) on many occasions that maybe 'this time' things will be different. But they never are. Ultimately, this town just goes back to its regular losing ways. Why? No one knows, we don't have a goat curse or hurricane to blame it on, all we have are names like the “Bungles” and the “Shreds” So after all this, why in the world would I think that there's any hope?
Because this time, things will be different in C-Town.
Going Wild...cat
I love my school. Let me start with that. When it came time to decide what college to attend, it really wasn't even a decision. Indiana Wesleyan University is my home; it's where I want to spend the next four years of my life. There's just one teeny-tiny thing. Sports writing is my passion, and when it comes to sports, IWU is no USC.
Now I'm not complaining. The plan was to go to a major D-I college and make a name for myself by writing for the school paper, covering bowl games and sweet 16s. But plans change. So instead, I'm entering Indiana Wesleyan as the only freshman working for the school newspaper, covering teams who compete in a league called the NAIA.
My experience as a sports journalist for a small town newspaper may already be coming in handy. The gig I had at The Brown County Press included no coverage of football. There was only one football team in the county, and covering it was the job of my boss' boss. Not to worry, because IWU doesn't have a football team either.
Am I concerned about what kind of effect all this will have on my dream of becoming a writer for Sports Illustrated? A little. But do I think I can still do it? Absolutely. Over the next four years, I want to prove what I've begun to say through the last three: I am a great writer. Not trying to brag, I'm simply confident in my abilities, and I feel I can back up my claims.
It's a little disheartening when I talk to my brother, who attended IWU as a freshman last year, and he knows nothing of our school's sports and little about the newspaper. It makes me wonder, is what I'm going to be doing that unimportant? But then I decided to take it as a challenge. There are movies about sports teams and schools being completely revitalized by a single player or coach. It is now my goal to turn around Indiana Wesleyan University's sports program, not from a field or a sideline, but from the bleachers.
Now I'm not complaining. The plan was to go to a major D-I college and make a name for myself by writing for the school paper, covering bowl games and sweet 16s. But plans change. So instead, I'm entering Indiana Wesleyan as the only freshman working for the school newspaper, covering teams who compete in a league called the NAIA.
My experience as a sports journalist for a small town newspaper may already be coming in handy. The gig I had at The Brown County Press included no coverage of football. There was only one football team in the county, and covering it was the job of my boss' boss. Not to worry, because IWU doesn't have a football team either.
Am I concerned about what kind of effect all this will have on my dream of becoming a writer for Sports Illustrated? A little. But do I think I can still do it? Absolutely. Over the next four years, I want to prove what I've begun to say through the last three: I am a great writer. Not trying to brag, I'm simply confident in my abilities, and I feel I can back up my claims.
It's a little disheartening when I talk to my brother, who attended IWU as a freshman last year, and he knows nothing of our school's sports and little about the newspaper. It makes me wonder, is what I'm going to be doing that unimportant? But then I decided to take it as a challenge. There are movies about sports teams and schools being completely revitalized by a single player or coach. It is now my goal to turn around Indiana Wesleyan University's sports program, not from a field or a sideline, but from the bleachers.
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