For the past three years I have provided you, the readers, with reporting on various Cornell sports in what I would call an objective manner — although my fellow editors and higher-ups might say otherwise at times.
But the time has come to offer you the opinions that I have developed over the years of being a sports writer for The Cornell Daily Sun. And for my first of many takes, I offer you this:
You should write for Sun sports.
If you have stumbled onto this article I gather you have either an interest in sports, journalism or perhaps both. In that case, you are deemed qualified to write for us (assuming you are currently a Cornell student. Sorry alumni). Congrats.
But whether you’re a freshman getting started here at Cornell, or a senior trying to make the most of your last year on the Hill, the best time to join The Sun is now.
Back when I arrived in Ithaca in August 2015, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, or really much about myself at all. But I did know two things for sure about myself: I enjoyed writing and I had been a sports fan my entire life. And sure enough, the one thing I have consistently done throughout my time at Cornell has been being a member of The Sun’s sports department.
So let me break it down for you. Here are the three reasons, in no particular order, why you should join us.
1) Cornell sports are much better than you may think
Even though Cornell isn’t a big-time sports school in a power conference, the Red still manages to find itself in some very high-profile events in college athletics. While teams like football and basketball have not excelled in the past few years, teams like men’s hockey, wrestling and most recently men’s lacrosse have been featured on the national stage.
Just in the last semester, I was able to cover those three teams in their respective NCAA tournaments. Wrestling even had a national champion in then-freshman Yianni Diakomihalis, who I later interviewed and wrote a feature about.
I was also given the chance to travel to the NCAA tournaments for both hockey and lacrosse, sitting in press boxes and conducting interviews alongside media outlets like ESPN and such. Needless to say, this is not an opportunity your average college student gets.
2) You get to be the interviewer.
As college students, all of us are constantly interviewing for internships, jobs and other organizations. And as you may know, it’s not that fun being the interviewee. But as a Sun sports writer you get to be on the other side of the table — you get to ask the questions. You get to steer the dialogue surrounding Cornell athletics.
Plus, these aren’t your average interviews. Every single student athlete at this school has a story — many quite compelling. And it’s our job as Sun sports writers to hear these stories and write about them. From national champions to Olympians, every interview offers something new.
Interviewing athletes allows you to immerse yourself in the sports world like you haven’t done before. Watching a post-game interview online is far from being in the room, being a part of the conversation.
So if you’ve ever found yourself scratching your head at the decision and gameplan of your favorite sports teams, you can now finally ask, “why?” You can be the one to ask why they decided to go for it on 4th down in the 1st quarter, or why they pulled the starting pitcher despite four strong innings.
3) You get to write about something that actually interests you.
Think about all those times as a student you’ve been given writing assignments on topics that just aren’t that interesting to you. Most likely, it ends up being drudgery. But also think about those times you’re actually engaged with the subject. The task of writing in this case is actually enjoyable.
That’s what writing for Sun sports did for me. It made writing fun. Every week, I’m eager to bring out my laptop and start an article because the material genuinely interests me. Writing for The Sun has allowed me to incorporate sports into my life in a way I hadn’t been able to do before.
A lot of people watch sports. Some play them. But very few are given the opportunity to write about them. You don’t have to be an aspiring journalist to want to write for us. But if you want that one chance in your life to write about sports, the time is now.