Work for a non-profit instead.

I realized today that I no longer want to be what I thought I wanted to be when I grow up.

Now that I'm done with college, and I'm an "adult" by most reasonable standards, I'm supposed to know what I want to "do."

Well, I don't.

2 reasons...

(1) I'm sure that, like me, many of my fellow communication graduates from VT came in as freshman expecting to leave with their B.A. and immediately get a hot-shot job as a sports-writer/broadcaster/reporter/marketer. And like me, most of them are finding that task just shy of impossible.

It's not that these people aren't talented. In fact, I had class and worked with a ton of supremely talented people. Great people. The problem is that a very small percentage of those people are now employed in the fields that they set out to join.

Why? Well, because as people have known for a few decades now, it's not how talented you are but rather who you know. Too many idiots that I graduated with are now gainfully employed by network TV stations or top-100 market news stations because mom/dad/uncle had a connection or because they looked good in a halter top. Do I sound bitter? Jealous? That's probably because I am. It's impossible not to be.

In a field that's supposed to require creativity and real talent to succeed, it's hard to watch people prosper who have neither.

(2) I am honestly embarrassed to work as a part of the sports media. It's the same recycled garbage day in and day out. The 24 hour news cycle has irreparably ruined sports (and news for that matter). Everything and nothing is newsworthy all at the same time.

Selling oxycontin to middle schoolers is a more noble profession than being a sports reporter/writer/marketer.

Nothing is original. Even when people produce work that does show originality it can't stand out among the perpetual crap that we're exposed to daily.

Did anyone watch the post-game press conferences during the NBA Finals? What an embarrassment! For every thoughtful, legitimate question asked there were 5 more that made you cringe or laugh out loud. I'm a HUGE Lakers fan, but the best part of the series was watching Stan Van Gundy in the post-game. Belittling and embarrassing those reporters should have a least gotten him a few votes for Finals MVP.

Most talk show hosts are intolerable, unoriginal hacks who steal and regurgitate other hosts' material. Anchors like Stuart Scott and Jonathan Coachman make me want to light my head on fire and sit indian-style on a speargun. For Christ's sake, Jonathan Coachman was an announcer for "WWE Raw." That's professional wrestling for those of you who don't know.



Most sideline reporters are so incredibly ignorant that you can't help but mute the television. This, however, is largely the law of nature. Networks only hire hotties to do that job, and we all know that the percentage of hotties/smarties is marginal.

Even Erin Andrews, who is fairly good at her job, can't be taken seriously because everyone knows why she got the damn job in the first place.

Play-by-play announcers are largely a talented group of people. Reporters like Jeremy Schaap, Rachel Nichols, and Tom Renaldi produce great material more often than not. The entire cast of "HBO Real Sports" (minus that uber-douche Bryant Gumbel) is a dying breed. That show represents the kind of quality journalism that will be extinct in 20 years.

Every time I think of applying to another job with a TV or radio station, I can't help but become overwhelmed with a sense of guilt for not doing something more meaningful with my life. And that really pisses me off, because there was a time when you could aspire to work in this industry and not be ashamed of it.

Most of you are thinking "He's full of it. He would take a job with ESPN in a heartbeat."

You're damn right I would. It sure as hell beats working a boring 9-5 for the rest of my life.

But the bottom line is this: the sports media is largely becoming a joke and if you allow yourselves to take a step back and look at it for what it is... you might just be as embarrassed of the profession as I am.

Coaches, players, GM's and most fans no longer respect the sports journalism profession or the "professionals" that comprise it. If they can't, how can we?