Give Yourself Credit For Your Own Sportscasting Success

Since I began SayTheDamnScore.com there has been a blurb about myself on the bottom of the page that said this is a site about sportscasting through the eyes of an aspiring sportscaster. I thought nothing of it until recently when I received this email from a reader named Shawn Tiemann from Tulsa, Oklahoma:

Greetings from Tulsa Logan. I have enjoyed listening to a few of your podcasts. I noticed somewhere on your site, though, it says you are an aspiring sportscaster. You have a legit gig in the industry, so you are a sportscaster. You might want to drop the word aspiring. It makes it seem like you are a college student or an intern. Just a thought. I appreciate your contribution to the industry with the website.

I’m my own harshest critic and I do aspire to climb the sportscasting ladder. At the same time, it’s important to give credit when it’s earned it. I’ve climbed from a backup high school announcer to covering a small college. I’ve gone from knowing nothing about sales to being my stations top biller for three consecutive years. I have a stable income at a reputable radio cluster with good ownership. I’m sure there are others in the industry who would love to be in my position. It would be foolish to take that for granted.

I still have big goals. I constantly find myself looking into the future and figuring out how in the world I can accomplish what I’ve set out to do from the middle of nowhere South Dakota. If I get there, it will certainly be an underdog story. But sometimes I need an email from someone like Shawn in Oklahoma to remind me to enjoy the successes I’ve had. After all, this industry is supposed to be fun!

I’m not at the top yet but I’m not on the bottom of the mountain anymore either. So to Logan from Logan, enjoy this pat on the back.