Cameron Lynch Feature
By Jared Rosenthal
Oatmeal. Water. Prayer. This is the order that hyper-energetic, NFL free agent, Cameron Lynch decided to start his morning off with before visiting a class of high schoolers at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
Standing six feet tall and weighing in at 229 pounds, Lynch walked into the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism wearing a pair of black Air Jordan 1’s, casual gray pants, salmon-colored short-sleeved button down shirt, and a beige beaded bracelet. When Lynch was questioned about the significance of his bracelet, he developed a realization.
“I usually keep all my bracelets whenever I travel, but I think now I’m going to look at this [the beige bracelet] like, believe in me, believe in you; you can do it.”
Lynch played football for the University of Syracuse and was on the special teams unit for both the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Though Lynch has had a career in the NFL, his vibrant personality has officially made its way to a larger platform.
When Lynch attended Syracuse University, he originally disliked being in front of cameras; the change occurred when he realized that his friends teased him frequently about his lack of confidence which ultimately motivated him to work harder and become more comfortable. Through more repetitions and constructive criticism, the progress was in the works.
This comfort level eventually was elevated to a height that influenced Lynch to start his own show at Syracuse called “Cam’s Cam” where he would interview his teammates and mimic the formats of talk shows that can be seen today. Dan Anyaegbunam, one of Cameron’s former Syracuse teammates who now works for NFL operations, played a heavy role in his process of finding passions and sharing them with others.
“Regardless of what it is, whatever your thing is, rock out with it. Somebody else is out there that probably watches it just like you, you know?”
Entering the NFL, there was much uncertainty for Lynch. For starters, Lynch started off as being undrafted and had to grind his way to the top in order to earn his spot on a team. Also, because Lynch was a part of two teams that were featured on the TV show, “Hard Knocks”, the pressure to perform while not allowing the media to penetrate his skull were factors that weighed in on his brain.
“It was very tough because it takes your focus away from what you’re doing (essentially). Right? It’s an added entity.”
As Lynch continued to hone in on his sports broadcasting passion while playing in the NFL, he decided to enforce the quality of his experiences in the broadcasting field by selecting a media team. One member on Lynch’s media team, Akeem Gonzales, spoke to the class and explained his beliefs on college athletes being paid.
“So athletes are being currently paid right now in the form of scholarship, but the NCAA and the universities don’t want the athletes to collectively bargain for something more. So I would say we don’t want to have things to be paid that can come later down the line. First, we need to secure human rights.”
What makes Lynch such a tremendous candidate for being a TV personality is that although he enjoys discussing the sports that he fully comprehends (i.e. basketball), he also loves to learn about other sports in order to obtain more experiences. Lynch produces podcasts in his free time in order to enhance his craft.
“I have to educate myself outside of just football and what I know.”
Though Lynch has an exceptional ability to play and discuss sports as well as having the ability to relate with other athletes, he is more than an athlete. In fact, Lynch is an anime enthusiast and sees multiple parallels between himself and Naruto.
“Naruto believed that himself, no matter if people counted him out, whether it be the NFL, whether it be whoever, like you [Cameron] believe in yourself.”
Lynch’s “afterlife” from football has enabled him to see the big picture of life, and this can be heavily attributed to his mother. He intends on attending graduate school for specialized journalism, and eventually reach the feat of his role models including Mike Tirico and Michael Strahan. Though Lynch wants to follow in these large footsteps, he intends to carve his own path to achieve success as a media personality.
