I’m a bit of a newbie on this one.
On the first Saturday in August, I put on my favorite pair of business slacks, sage green pants, and walked to Chapel Hill to cover my first media appearance for the UNC football team on my first day off from my summer internship.
Filled with nerves, I arrived at the venue way too early, asked if I was at the right entrance, called assistant editor Emma Moon to confirm directions, then called last year’s sports editor Shelby Swanson to confirm, and then finally, I called her to confirm, maybe she was hiding behind a brick wall. Turns out I was at the right door all along.
Inside, among a gaggle of veteran reporters wielding cameras, cellphones and notepads discussing everything from this year’s team to the weather, you could count the number of women on one hand.
I secured my spot for the interview and hopped from one foot to the other, a thin layer of sweat beginning to form on my skin even though the athletes hadn’t yet reached the podium.
As new faces and familiar faces rose to speak, I fought to have my questions heard, frantically jotting down timestamps for the best quotes, and listened closely to their responses.
As the tension began to ease, a mixture of adrenaline, excitement and passion started to take hold – a certain kind of confirmation that this was where I was meant to be.
Yes, I’m a bit new to this sort of thing. Football press conferences have never really been my forte before. But a writing job here on the sports desk at The Daily Tar Heel? No, that’s nothing new.
The green pants were spotted in the press box for women’s basketball games at Carmichael Arena, in the press box inside Karen Shelton Stadium and in the light blue seats at the Chewy Tennis Center.
