Martin Fennelly

Martin Fennelly was by far the most enjoyable visitor all semester. When I started my Broadcast major, I wanted to be a sports reporter. That was it, nothing else.


Then the more involved I got with news and reporting in general, the more I came to love reporting of any kind, especially news. I loved that I could produce stories that meant something to someone somewhere.


I liked knowing that I could make a difference though storytelling, something I never had the pleasure of experiencing in sports.


So as I went though the classes I began to fight a battle, would I pursue sports reporting, which is fun and light and really has no importance or would it be news, where I could maybe make a difference?


Last semester being heavily involved in news, that was the path I was going to take, but this semester I swung back to sports and I know I will change my mind 1000 more times before I actually land a job.


It was great listening to Martin speak.


Yes he is a sports columnist but he says he just tells stories.


While talking about sports he said, “It doesn’t matter that much- but people matter.” That was important for me because telling sports stories is what I love but I sometimes talk myself out of it because it is not important and it does not matter.


What I took away from Martin’s comment was, no, sports don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things but the people, the athlete, and the story does matter. Martin said, “The great stuff in this business is the people stuff.”


I also found it interesting when he spoke about the persona of many athletes.


Fennelly said, “They are just people, but they are no way connected to reality.”


His anecdote about the ball players knowing he could have sex with every woman in the bar he was in was perfect for that point.


I have had some experience with this very notion, and the hardest part about admiring certain players that you loved all your life is covering them because you learn more about who they are, and most times they are not the stand out, great people you built them up to be.


I related to everything Fennelly discussed and my attention didn’t waver for the entire time he was on display. Usually my thoughts race and I can’t help but make to-do list after to-do list in my head, but not this time.


One more thing I absolutely loved about Martin Fennelly, he feels no need to conform! I love that he doesn’t follow the “dress code.” Slacks and ties are overrated. If I could land job reporting on television in jeans and a beat up hoodie, I would never wear a suit jacket another day in my life.