After a long hiatus I am back doing what I love the most: writing about sports! This article is very special to me. Why is that do you ask? It’s because I get to talk with well-known sports personalities and find out why they love their jobs so much. In one of my earlier articles I mentioned that I never thought that I would be able to talk with some of these folks. When this dream turned into a reality, the only feeling I felt was blessed! How can someone in the field of sports not feel blessed? They get to talk about and analyze one of the best fields ever. In this article, I will interview Ian Rapoport, NFL Insider from the NFL Network. I want to also ask Ian the burning questions. What kind of work flow chart do you have when you are working to compile information on a certain topic? Do you have a specific department that helps you find the information you are looking for? What makes you so passionate about going to work each day?
Ian Rapoport
MB: Ian, as a Patriots beat reporter back in the day, what was your big break that got you to the NFL Network?
IR: My big break happened unbeknownst to me… if there even was one. I had appeared on NFL Network a few times on Around the League, doing a five-minute spot as they used to often have beat writers do. That must’ve been something that someone at NFL Network liked, because when I was at the Super Bowl the year the Patriots lost to the Giants the second time, I got a call from someone at NFL Network saying some higher-ups wanted to meet with me. So I sat down at a conference table with three of them. They asked me question after question for an hour. About all things journalism. Finally, they said, ‘Do you have any questions for us?’ I said, ‘Yeah, what am I doing here?’ And they explained they wanted to hire some reporters and were taking a hard look at me. I said, ‘I don’t know anything about being on TV.’ They responded, ‘That’s OK, you can report. We’ll teach the rest.’ A year later, I was promoted to Insider. Pretty wild year if you ask me.
MB: How do you handle praise/criticism from your social media followers and co-workers? The reason I ask is because I feel like it’s necessary for young adults to find out from someone that is so respected in the sports business and how you handle something like this.
IR: I get a lot of criticism. Tons. On a daily basis. That’s one of the downsides of Twitter is that you see instant and often unwarranted vitriol. So much of the hate comes from stories I didn’t even report or things I didn’t say. They get translated and translated that I get responses based on that. But I also covered Alabama for three years. There is nothing like it with the intense hate from Auburn fans and from Alabama fans who don’t agree. I got death threats and taunts. At some point, you realize it doesn’t amount to much and you see how uninformed it is. Eventually, you stop worrying about it. That’s where I am now. I don’t worry about all that a ton. Reasoned debate on twitter, I like. But aggression just for the sake of it, I don’t have much use for.
MB: As a young adult growing up when did you know you wanted to be in sports and did someone inspire you to take this path?
IR: I consider myself in journalism and in reporting more than sports. And I try to tell younger people that all the time. If you get into this business solely because you love sports, you’ll be disappointed. This job isn’t watching sports for free and attending games because they are fun and talking to athletes after. For me, a lot of it is covering the business of sports. And it’s being a journalist who happens to cover sports. I like the writing and reporting more than the sports, and I think it has to be that way. So growing up, I didn’t know I wanted to be in sports. I just knew I played them and loved it (football, baseball, wrestling). When I got to college and started writing for my school paper, that’s when the love took off. By sophomore year, I was hooked and knew that’s what I wanted to be. I interned at ESPN as junior, and took a job out of college at a local paper.
MB: When you collect data for a specific story could you give a little insight to my readers as to how that works? Does the NFL Network have a specific work flow chart? Do you have teams?
IR: Mostly it’s just me. I think of the newsworthy stories out there, whatever it is, and start making calls and figure out what I want to find out. That’s the key. What do I want to know and who actually knows? Is an injured player going to play? How is a team handling a locker room problem? Is this player going to sign a long-term deal? I have a targeted approach in that I find out what’s important and then go after it. But I always have to be wary of finding out news in a random phone call and going after it and realizing it’s news. And I can’t just target one story. There are endless stories, especially during the offseason. That’s why I spend so much time on the phone. But it’s also important to remember, sources and info can come from anywhere. You have to always be listening and on the lookout and never underestimate the value of any conversation. It’s all important.
MB: What’s your gut feeling on Deflategate?
IR: I don’t really have a gut feeling. I’ve talked to a lot of people about it on all sides, and I still don’t know what to think. Balls clearly were under inflated. But why? Was it intentional? Could someone have possibly done this? Does any of it actually matter or is it simply that rules were broken and that’s wrong? So many questions, so few answers. That said, it’s nice for the Patriots that they won a Super Bowl without any of this controversy mattering.
MB: How will the Patriots be punished?
IR: We shall see. Unfortunately, I can’t really answer this one now. It’ll all depend on the Ted Wells report, which should be out in a few weeks.
MB: How will this tarnish Bill Belicheck’s legacy?
IR: I’m not sure it will. His legacy is as one of the country’s best coaches in any sports, and unless there is some indication that he knowingly cheated and lied about it (which I don’t expect) then it should leave his legacy unchanged. He just won his sixth Super Bowl ring, fourth as a head coach, and has a team always ready to compete for titles. He did make mistakes in SpyGate and apologized for it and paid the price. This Deflategate situation does not appear to be anything close to this, at least not at this point. But we shall see. Either way, he’s still one of the greatest coaches ever in any sport.
MB: Who was the most important player in the Super Bowl for each team?
IR: For the Patriots, I’d say Julian Edelman was the guy the Patriots leaned on for toughness, key first downs, and whenever they needed a play. Proved himself invaluable, and is rightly being celebrated for it. For Seattle, I’d say Earl Thomas. Mostly because he wasn’t healthy, and struggled some with his shoulder. And without him being his usual all-pro self, the defense wasn’t the same.
MB: Ian, before you go, could you let my readers know what your Twitter handle is?
IR: It’s @RapSheet. All sorts of fun happens there.
Thank you, Ian Rapoport, for taking the time to speak with me.
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