A Life through Words
Why I do what I do
My dad played for the Washington Huskies back in the 1980’s. Back then, their defense was known as the “Purple Reign,” because it was so good it was like trying to see in the rain; you simply couldn’t get past it. He continued to play for them for about two to three years, until he broke his leg and dislocated his hip on the same play. He never touched the football again. After that, he moved away, worked in Amway for a little bit, and now his lifestyle consists of late nights with family and building a new company here in Reno, Nevada.
Growing up, my dad always told of his Washington glory days. I’d sit in his lap and listen to how unstoppable they truly were. As a child, they were all just stories. But as I began to develop my body, and grow to become a man myself, those purple reign stories began to become a lifestyle. At the youngest age I could, I signed up to play Pop Warner football. My dad did the same thing when he was a boy. Football was my main sport, but as I got into my older ages, I got more involved. I ran track and field for a year in high school, but only to stay in shape in the offseason, because it was what my dad did. In high school, I played football, basketball, baseball, and tennis. Now, if you know your sports, tennis and football are in the same season time. So how could I possibly played? Well that was the day my life took a whole new direction.
I continued to play football all throughout my youth and on to my high school ages. I was a Wide Receiver, and I was pretty good. Starter, got a lot of receptions, and I even got a couple looks from small colleges. Of course, in my house, Washington was the dream, and I was no where near to being as good as my father was. During a Friday night game, I ran a cross route right across the middle, and got my knee absolutely blown out by a defender. I had to be carried off the field, and see a doctor immediately the next day. During my check up, he said I was going to be okay, but I had a decision to make. That either I could go back out there, strap on my pads, and risk getting hit like that again, and possibly never being able to use my knees the way any man would want to. Or I could walk away from the game and save my knees. I decided I loved knees, and walked away from the only game I knew.
During a time of having no idea what to do with my time, I found a saving grace. My English teacher at the time, who saw the pain I was feeling, reached out to me, and asked me if I wanted to have a swing in his journalism class. I was a pretty good writer, but journalism? I wasn’t sure, but I trusted his judgement, so I enrolled. Within a year a half, I went from writer, to Sports Editor, to Editor in Chief. I helped promote the schools social presence, as well as became the face of the sports side of our reporting at the high school. It all came so naturally to me, I felt like I was on cloud nine. I decided to make this the lifestyle I wanted, and since then, have worked with local news stations, FOX, ESPN, NBA, am on a full academic ride scholarship for journalism, and have never looked back.
So, why? Why did I tell this story? Because its why I do what I do. Journalism is my way back in to the sports I can no longer play. It puts me back out thereon the field with the smell of fresh cut grass on a Friday morning. It gives me the rush of coming out of the tunnel to meet the fans. It gives me the content of a cold beer in the stands and a hot date on your arm. Its why I will be spending this class writing and reporting on a sports blog and truly showcasing my favorite type of work to create. Sports writing isn’t just something that I chose, it chose me.
