There's this haze that most college students enter right after they finish their last final. They don't want to look at a textbook or a notebook or even a notecard. The only thing that they want to do is either go to sleep or if they're of legal drinking age, drink. However, this year just after I completed my last final of the year, I found myself in a very reflective mood about my journalism this year. So here are my top 10 Marquette moments in journalism for the 2012 school year. (Warning: These are fun moments too!)
#10-Convincing Junior Cadougan to do a singing promo for MUTVSports. Right as media day approached, it was released that Junior Cadougan and Buzz Williams were going to have a karaoke contest at Marquette Madness that night. In order to get some promotional material, I talked the junior point guard into singing a promo for MUTVSports. It took off when we played it on Marquette Madness, garnering about 300 views on YouTube and was the opening clip for our department highlight reel.
#9-Jimmy Butler/Steve Novak Interviews. Pinky/The Brain. Ferris/Cameron. Bonnie/Clyde. Add Butler/Novak to that list. In possibly the funniest interview I have ever been a part of, Steve Novak of the Knicks and Jimmy Butler of the Bulls just had fun with my radio partner, Sarah Barshop, and me. They joked about their favorite foods, lack of originality and laughed more than any pair I have interviewed.
#8-Volleyball Send Off for the NCAA Tournament. The Marquette Women's Volleyball team made its first NCAA tournament in school history. I went to help a freshman reporter with covering the event and was impressed at the large, but well deserved, turnout that the team received. Coach Bond Shymansky was all smiles and the team boarded the bus to Illinois for their first game.
#7-Women's Soccer victorious over national champion Notre Dame. For as long as I live, I will never forget this game. It rained sideways that day and the wind at Valley Fields nearly blew me over. My co-director, Greg, and I decided to wring out our clothes at halftime, but then the game went into overtime. Taylor Madigan scored the winning goal in the first minute, putting us out of our cold, wet misery and securing a monumental win for the women's soccer team. That win cemented their place on the national stage. After the game, Greg and I wandered over to the tent and SID Amy Ufnowski looked at us and said, "You were out there the whole time?" We nodded and she shook her head. Even Coach Markus Roeders was impressed we braved the weather and thanked us for staying.
#6-Peter King Comes to Marquette. Sports Illustrated's Peter King came to Marquette to speak about his job as a senior NFL writer and why students need to be well-versed in all kinds of multimedia mediums to get jobs. He served on a panel that I moderated with Mark Strotman and Victor Jacobo. Not bad for King's substitute left-fielder on the Montclair Bears.
#5-Marquette Madness. NBA Lockout+Wes Mathews Birthday Party in Milwaukee x Paint Touches Overwhelming Dwayne Wade's Mentions on Twitter + Steve Novak and Jimmy Butler working out at the Al McGuire Center=NBA Stars at Marquette Madness. Need I say more?
#4-Charlie Lyon Interview. For my sportswriting final, I had to answer a simple question: why do sports matter in our lives? I figured I might as well interview a Marquette athlete. After some investigating, I discovered Charlie Lyon's story. Lyon, a sophomore goalkeeper from St. Charles, IL, tore his PCL coming into his freshman year at Marquette and had to redshirt. He told me of his struggle to come back from the injury and his desire to play for the Golden Eagles. An interview that was supposed to last a half hour turned into an hour and a half conversation.
#3-Danny Pudi Watches MUTVSports. When the famous Marquette alum was in town, he informed me that he cannot get good Marquette coverage in California. The comedian and star of NBC's Community said he tunes into MUTVSports to get all of his Marquette basketball coverage. I was stunned, but motivated to produce and deliver better content. Finally, we beat Paint Touches in something!
#2-Traveling to Louisville for the NCAA Tournament. Few sophomores get the opportunity to travel to cover their team in the NCAA Tournament. I was one of them! I traveled to Louisville for five days and filed multiple stories for MUTVSports. After Marquette's win over Murray St., I was literally sprinting back to the media room to catch Buzz Williams' press conference when an usher yelled at me, "Run Forrest Run!" I immediately thought, "If you want me to do this for the rest of my life, I'll do it. This is fun!" It was an incredible experience and one that I will never forget.
And for my top journalism moment of the year....
#1-Interview with Dwyane Wade. This might have been the biggest coup of the year. I walked up to Wade during a media timeout and asked if he would be willing to talk with us at halftime. He agreed, but before we could get to him, he was whisked back into a private room, which I completely understood. That did not mean that my staff and I were going away. We camped out and waited for him throughout the entire halftime. He eventually came back and spoke with us for two minutes. The interview took off and garnered 1,000 views on YouTube within the first 24 hours of being online.
For those of you that helped make these moments, thank you.
#10-Convincing Junior Cadougan to do a singing promo for MUTVSports. Right as media day approached, it was released that Junior Cadougan and Buzz Williams were going to have a karaoke contest at Marquette Madness that night. In order to get some promotional material, I talked the junior point guard into singing a promo for MUTVSports. It took off when we played it on Marquette Madness, garnering about 300 views on YouTube and was the opening clip for our department highlight reel.
#9-Jimmy Butler/Steve Novak Interviews. Pinky/The Brain. Ferris/Cameron. Bonnie/Clyde. Add Butler/Novak to that list. In possibly the funniest interview I have ever been a part of, Steve Novak of the Knicks and Jimmy Butler of the Bulls just had fun with my radio partner, Sarah Barshop, and me. They joked about their favorite foods, lack of originality and laughed more than any pair I have interviewed.
#8-Volleyball Send Off for the NCAA Tournament. The Marquette Women's Volleyball team made its first NCAA tournament in school history. I went to help a freshman reporter with covering the event and was impressed at the large, but well deserved, turnout that the team received. Coach Bond Shymansky was all smiles and the team boarded the bus to Illinois for their first game.
#7-Women's Soccer victorious over national champion Notre Dame. For as long as I live, I will never forget this game. It rained sideways that day and the wind at Valley Fields nearly blew me over. My co-director, Greg, and I decided to wring out our clothes at halftime, but then the game went into overtime. Taylor Madigan scored the winning goal in the first minute, putting us out of our cold, wet misery and securing a monumental win for the women's soccer team. That win cemented their place on the national stage. After the game, Greg and I wandered over to the tent and SID Amy Ufnowski looked at us and said, "You were out there the whole time?" We nodded and she shook her head. Even Coach Markus Roeders was impressed we braved the weather and thanked us for staying.
#6-Peter King Comes to Marquette. Sports Illustrated's Peter King came to Marquette to speak about his job as a senior NFL writer and why students need to be well-versed in all kinds of multimedia mediums to get jobs. He served on a panel that I moderated with Mark Strotman and Victor Jacobo. Not bad for King's substitute left-fielder on the Montclair Bears.
#5-Marquette Madness. NBA Lockout+Wes Mathews Birthday Party in Milwaukee x Paint Touches Overwhelming Dwayne Wade's Mentions on Twitter + Steve Novak and Jimmy Butler working out at the Al McGuire Center=NBA Stars at Marquette Madness. Need I say more?
#4-Charlie Lyon Interview. For my sportswriting final, I had to answer a simple question: why do sports matter in our lives? I figured I might as well interview a Marquette athlete. After some investigating, I discovered Charlie Lyon's story. Lyon, a sophomore goalkeeper from St. Charles, IL, tore his PCL coming into his freshman year at Marquette and had to redshirt. He told me of his struggle to come back from the injury and his desire to play for the Golden Eagles. An interview that was supposed to last a half hour turned into an hour and a half conversation.
#3-Danny Pudi Watches MUTVSports. When the famous Marquette alum was in town, he informed me that he cannot get good Marquette coverage in California. The comedian and star of NBC's Community said he tunes into MUTVSports to get all of his Marquette basketball coverage. I was stunned, but motivated to produce and deliver better content. Finally, we beat Paint Touches in something!
#2-Traveling to Louisville for the NCAA Tournament. Few sophomores get the opportunity to travel to cover their team in the NCAA Tournament. I was one of them! I traveled to Louisville for five days and filed multiple stories for MUTVSports. After Marquette's win over Murray St., I was literally sprinting back to the media room to catch Buzz Williams' press conference when an usher yelled at me, "Run Forrest Run!" I immediately thought, "If you want me to do this for the rest of my life, I'll do it. This is fun!" It was an incredible experience and one that I will never forget.
And for my top journalism moment of the year....
#1-Interview with Dwyane Wade. This might have been the biggest coup of the year. I walked up to Wade during a media timeout and asked if he would be willing to talk with us at halftime. He agreed, but before we could get to him, he was whisked back into a private room, which I completely understood. That did not mean that my staff and I were going away. We camped out and waited for him throughout the entire halftime. He eventually came back and spoke with us for two minutes. The interview took off and garnered 1,000 views on YouTube within the first 24 hours of being online.
For those of you that helped make these moments, thank you.