Sometimes, you have to be willing to take a risk. Sometimes, you have to be willing to ask for something. And that’s exactly what I did last week and my perseverance was rewarded.
Sports Illustrated’s senior NFL writer, Peter King announced a couple weeks ago that he was going to have a “stweetup” Friday at Scotty’s Brewhouse in Indianapolis while in town for the NFL combine. If you don’t know, a tweetup is a special opportunity for people on twitter to meet and interact with a person they follow. At Scotty’s, there was also a twitter feed shown on a screen where “tweople,” if you will, were following along online and asking questions.
Peter King is a notorious voice on twitter. Whether it’s breaking NFL news or giving a unique and insightful perspective, King tweets.
As a ball boy for the Indiana Pacers, in my ninth year, I had to work Friday when they hosted the Utah Jazz. In doing so, I would miss King’s tweetup. I still wanted to meet Peter King and get his perspective on the sports journalism world because I want to be a successful play-by-play announcer. Instead of letting the opportunity pass me by, I replied to him on twitter and surprisingly he answered, willing to make the extra effort to do whatever he can.
It’s guys like this that stand out above the rest. He cares about the future of journalism, he cares about giving back and he cares about others. One of the most respected writers in the National Football League took about twenty minutes out of his busy NFL combine schedule to meet with me, when he could have been talking with NFL owners or top league executives.
In my time with Peter King, he was very interested in my story. We talked about my aspirations to be a sports broadcaster and my willingness to do whatever it takes. He was very interested in my experience of taking care of NBA and WNBA athletes, and also what I have done to advance myself.
I learned a lot from King is my short time with him. He, like few others, rose from the bottom all the way to the top of their profession. While in college, he said he wrote six days a week to keep improving at his craft.
I will forever be grateful for Peter King taking the time to meet with him. It’s people like him that leave an impression—an impression that I hope to duplicate if I am ever as successful.