I was recently asked to write an article for a School Video Newsletter about TV broadcasting for sports. Following is the article:
“100% of Professional Athletes Ultimately Experience Job Termination,” I frequently chant. 25% are bankrupt within the first year out, 60% to 80% get divorced, and over 75% go broke within two years out.
As creator and host of the FROM GLORY DAYS TV SHOW I have the honor of sitting down with many former professional athletes. I’ve listened to the personal stories of Hall of Fame, All-Star, and World Champion former athletes as they’ve transitioned from the pinnacle of their professional careers back into normal, everyday lives. Needless to say, I’m unable to take my position as host lightly, but because of much preparation and focus I’m able to enjoy the process throughout.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my friends….preparation is the foundation of any sports broadcast. Detroit Pistons TV broadcasters, Greg Kelser and George Blaha have taught me this the most. The hours of prep they put into every NBA broadcast inspired me to be as thorough with my TV show. Simply showing up at the studio to interview my guests just doesn’t happen. Once our guests are secured I’ll spend hours per athlete, scouring their sports history from high school through their final day as a professional, looking for any fact or angle that would make interesting conversation.
As an example, I was able to find a minor detail about 1984 World Series Champion Detroit Tiger, Dave Bergman and posed it as an opening question for the show. The question was just enough to cause Dave to pause and think, and then opened a flood gate of dialogue about this detail and beyond. In that moment my hours of research paid off.
Another example came during my research for Episode 6 when I discovered NCAA Champion and former NBA star, Terry Mills had a post sports involvement in drag racing. Imagining a 6’10” body strapped inside a low flying rocket and racing down a quarter-mile track made for some great discussion while being insightful and entertaining to our studio audience and viewers.
Not all of my preparation finds humor or fun facts about my guests, as discovered when interviewing a former NFL quarterback in Episode 8. Sadly, this guest’s transition from sports included bankruptcy, jail, and the suicide of his 15 year old son. Our discussion took much sensitivity on my part while the tape was rolling, but ultimately led to my guest sharing his current involvement as an advocate for depression as he travels and speaks throughout the country.
I also discovered no matter how much time I spend on preparation, sometimes things just happen and I have to go with the flow. This couldn’t have been truer than during Episode 2 and my interview with 1968 World Series Champion, Jim Northrup. Partway through our taping we got onto the topic of dairy farming (Jim grew up on a farm, but also worked in the cattle business following his pro sports career). In response to his comment, ‘anyone can milk a cow’ I simply responded with doubt of my own ability. To the studio audience and my surprise, Jim elaborated about the process including details of grabbing the ‘tits’ of the cow and pulling until milk starting coming out. Once I stopped laughing out loud I regrouped and continued the interview, trusting our fine editing crew would eloquently remove his explicative of the cow’s certain anatomy. As I occasionally see that particular clip I can’t help but laugh to myself again, but understand preparation is not simply enough.
You can find out more about my bestselling book, TV show, and services at:
www.fromglorydays.com
