"No"

 

Let's dispel with this at the top: the media aren't that enemy.

I mean, not all of us are.

Most -- me -- have a job to do. In my case, as a reporter, I'm gathering facts and telling the truth. The same, essentially, is true as a play-by-play announcer. If anything, I'm here to promote the athletes. I try to do right by the coaches and families as well.

So, then, why is there sometimes a distrust, even in high school sports?

I've had some strange interactions, including being accused of being a scout and/or a spy.

Today was different.

First, let's talk about rosters. Every team has one.

Every team has to have one.

Often they are not regulated for eyes outside of a game.

Now, I know that when basketball is the sport, there has to be a full roster in the scorebook.

In baseball, there are lineup cards.

In hockey, a roster is given to the scorer's booth.

At worst, in those sports, I know where to find a roster if I need one.

To be clear, a roster shouldn't be alphabetized. It shouldn't be sorted by grade or any other system.

It should be sorted by number.

I've rewritten many a messy roster into the format I need to use. I've typed them and copied and pasted them and have made it work for me.

So it needs to have the basics, and that can be as simple as number and name (yes, first and last). It's nice when they also have grades, hometowns, and maybe heights. But I can make it sing so long as it has basic information.

It should be required that rosters (accurate rosters, I might add) be uploaded to a central location online. The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) has a place online but doesn't enforce it. It's more of a request.

NJ.com has good information for New Jersey schools when it's provided.

Oh, you can try MaxPrep but that is dicey. 

Maybe there's a team website.

Indeed, there are a variety of ways.

When dealing with schools associated with Brunswick, it can be a bit dicey. Maybe the roster is on the school's website or somewhere else.

But in 24 years of broadcasting high school sports, I've always found a way.

I used to have them faxed to me. Now they can be delivered via email and even text or social media messenger.

In the rarest of cases, I'd get told I'd have to get a roster at the game. When I called New Jersey girls lacrosse last spring, I was told that there was only a digital program with rosters online. So, if you're paying attention, I called four games off digital rosters ... on my phone.

Circumstances have led to having to buy a program at a game and even borrowing the PA announcer's copy and handwriting it as we went on the air. Imagine doing that for a football team. Yes, I did that.

In the case of Brunswick, I'm normally sent an email with the opposing team's roster. As one didn't arrive this morning, I reached out to the opposing team myself.

No response. OK, people get busy. Coaches are teachers and administrators and work other jobs. Emails don't get received. Things happen.

I exhausted a few avenues and just decided I'd find someone at the game. Virtually every time, a coach would apologize or just produce a roster that I could have. At worst, they'd have one copy that I could take a picture of.

It always worked out.

I approached a coach today and introduced myself. I explained that I'm the game broadcaster. I always approach in good spirits, and supportive of the players and coaches. I also am normally quite sheepish because I don't want to bother anyone. I just want to do my job and represent the teams honorably.

What I've come to discover is that people who care about the quality of what we do is fading. When I first started with LocalLive games, I asked about pregame shows and game presentation. They weren't concerned with lengthy pregames and that was fine with me. So, while it was a shock to Chris Erway, I go live only a few minutes before the event starts. But it still serves as a brief pregame show.

By comparison, we almost always do a 10-minute pregame show on WGCH. It's literally to get on the air and make sure things work.

As for postgame, it might take five minutes to wrap things up. Generally no more than 10. To me, that's a quality broadcast that has a few minutes to open and close. Those are the bookends of a proper presentation.

But I'm digressing. 

So back to procuring a roster. I asked for one today and the response was simple.

"No."

I stood there. I was incredulous.

"No roster?"

"No."

"OK. I'll make it work."

I was astounded. I couldn't figure it out. I still can't.

It wasn't, "No, I'm sorry, I didn't carry an extra with me" or "OK, let's see if I can point you in the right direction." 

Just ... "No."

But the thing that must always be remembered is that, in a matter of speaking, I represent Brunswick. Or I represent Greenwich High School. Or any other entity that worked with (but not necessarily for).

So no matter what I'm feeling, it looks bad if I turn into a diva.

Instead, I turned tail, mentioned the response to someone, and went back to the booth.

Oh, and then I could let loose on a friend or two.

But. I had a thought.

I knew of someone in the lacrosse business that I could reach out to. He had asked me -- coincidentally -- for a roster earlier in the season. I was happy to oblige. These are the relationships that make the business special.

So I sent a message. I told him I knew it was a long shot. He responded immediately and told me he wasn't surprised but that he could help.

Instead of referring to a team by their numbers or made-up names, I had a roster in a response along with colleges that the players were committed to.

With 19 minutes before game time, I grabbed my scoresheet, turned it to the blank side, and wrote the roster out so that it would be in my hand.

I finished with time to spare.

It always works out.

From there, it's literally everything to maintain that same dignity and professionalism. It has to happen. I called the game. I made a small mention of how I was reading my own handwriting so I apologized for any mistakes.

I couldn't allow any interaction to impact my call of the game.

And, to that end, when that team won the game, I praised their players and gave their win the call it deserved.

I packed the equipment up and went home.

I can hold my head high.

This business -- this world -- is small. I tell this story without a bite to it in the hope that it was just one of those things. 

As I said off the air, "Sometimes the blog topics just write themselves." This one was easy.

I'd say that I learned something today but, honestly, I don't know what. I asked for a roster, as I have for over 24 years. I'm there to promote players and schools.

I'm there to honor the sport and the profession of play-by-play. 

I'm there to report and give a quality broadcast.

I did my job.

It just took some effort.

But it always works out.