Introsports 2022

Main schedule

Class policies

Required materials

Field assignments

Assignments and grades

6. Social media coverage

7. Live gamer

Explore

5. Gamer 1

Introduction

The gamer is the culmination of what we are working on this semester. Based on your work on statistics and play-by-play, you’ll coming up with a strategy for covering a game and deciding what to focus on as the reasons the game turned out the way it did. You’ll also interview coaches and players afterward to see what they can add to your observations. We’ll also continue our exploration of grammar and style to make sure your stories come out crisp and well-written.

Learning objectives

Break down a game story to its basic elements

Learn how best to apply game writing conventions to stories (focus on importance, not chronology)

Practice interviewing skills

Deadline writing

Assignment specifics

Readings 5_1:

PFWA Dave Goldberg 2021 Game Story Award Winners

1. Kevin Fishbain, The Athletic: How the Bears Came Back and Won a Ridiculous Game in Atlanta:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d42uin8a0m260k0/%E2%80%98No%20one%20gave%20up%E2%80%99%20How%20the%20Bears%20came%20back%20and%20won%20a%20ridiculous%20game%20in%20Atlanta%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Athletic.pdf?dl=0⁠

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2. Greg Bishop and Jenny Vrentas, Sports Illustrated:

How Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers became Super Bowl champions⁠

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3. Ben Shpigel, New York Times:

Tom Brady’s 7th Super Bowl win ends N.F.L.’s most challenging year⁠

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PFWA Dave Goldberg 2020 Game Story Award Winners

1. Zach Berman, The Athletic:

First playoff snaps for Carson Wentz and Josh McCown were significant for different reasons⁠

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2. Jenny Vrentas, Sports Illustrated:

The Chiefs’ seven-year journey to a Super Bowl title⁠

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3. Aaron Reiss, The Athletic:

The Texans’ collapse against the Chiefs⁠

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Lecture 5_1 (look at the slides along with listening to Prof. Led):

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Quiz 5_1⁠

Activity 5_1: Pick one of the award-winning game stories listed above and find the seven elements of a game story:

The Lede

Organization

Context/Analysis

Key Plays

Statistics

Quotations

Language

Write a 300-word post pointing out the elements and discuss which the writer used most effectively to the 05_gamer1 channel for your instructor.

Activity 5_2: Watch a college basketball game. Write up a 400 word basic gamer from the game itself—don’t worry about quotes or interviews. Post in the 05gamer2 channel for your instructor.

Reading 5_2: Gisondi Ch. 3

Lecture 5_2: The art of the postgame interview and postgame takeaways

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Activity 5_3: Partner up with a classmate and interview them about a particular game they remember spectating or participating in. Ask good questions about the factors relating to how the game turned out the way it did. Make sure to ask them to repeat the question as part of their answer. Record the interview and post a transcription of questions and answers (make sure to identify your interviewee and the game in question). We would advise doing the writeup yourself, but if you want to use a transcription service,

otter.ai⁠

rev.com⁠

are good choices; just proofread VERY carefully. Post the transcription to the 05_gamer3 channel for your instructor.

Field assignment

Prep

Write a short summary of the event you’re covering noting records, key players, potential storylines, and statistical highlights for each team. Post to gamer_instructor_prep for your instructor the night before the event to which you’re assigned.

In-game

Tweet pregame and at least once per inning/three times per half with scores, context, and interesting moments in the game.

Post-game

Interview coach and players, making sure to record and take notes on players’ answers. Write up a 400-word game story with a strong lede and organizational structure, including key points on key plays and players, stats, key quotes and what the game means for each team. Write in a Google doc and post a link via DM to your instructor two hours after the game’s conclusion.

Follow-up

Within 48 hours of the game’s conclusion, send the following as Google docs to your instructor via DM:

A 500-word story providing more detail and context about the game and what the team faces in its next game.

A transcript of coach and player interviews, along with a self-critique noting which questions got the best response and which did not work out as well as you hoped.

Gamer schedule

Gamer schedule

Day

Date

Time

Type

Description

Wednesday

2/23/2022

11:59 PM

Homework

Lecture 5_1, Readings 5_1, Quiz 5_1

Thursday

2/24/2022

Class

Introductions + game prep

Monday

2/28/2022

11:59 PM

Homework

Activity 5_1

Tuesday

3/1/2022

Class

Gamer forms + news quiz 3

Wednesday

3/2/2022

11:59 PM

Homework

Activity 5_2, Reading 5_2, Lecture 5_2

Thursday

3/3/2022

Class

Gamer review and event prep

Friday

3/4/2022

11:59 PM

Homework

Activity 5_3

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