My vision board: Depicting a keen interest and knowledge of Sports Analysis

My vision board: Depicting a keen interest and knowledge of Sports Analysis.

 A vision board shows a pictorial view of one's goals, routines and intentions. It paints a picture of a man's life expectations and experience. My vision board does the same for me. It's like looking in a mirror, only this time you see less of your present self and more of your proposed future. It sounds lovely right. My goals and ambitions are clear but uncommon. Having a desire and ambition to pursue sports Analysis and writing is one that's rarely seen. However, it is a beautiful experience with vast opportunities and fields. I'd love to show them to you. 

  The beauty of sports seen by fans and lovers of the game is portrayed by the players and athletes, but is captured, enhanced, and narrated by Sports Analysts. A sports analyst is charged with the responsibility of providing commentary, opinions and data on sporting events, based on game statistics, player performances, overall team performance, predictions, business operations, recruitments and even game history. The various factions of these units are; Live commentary, punditry, article writing, amongst others. Sports analysis is an integral part of the game that cannot be taken out. From football or soccer as the Americans call it, to basketball, tennis, volleyball, racing, rugby and many more, analysis and breakdowns are needed to carry the fans along. Using my favorite sports football and basketball, let's break down these factions. I promise it won't get boring.

Live commentary is the heart and beauty of the game. It is an important and indispensable aspect of it. Memories from historical games in football and basketball live rent free in my head because of the commentary that was with it. From Peter Drury's commentary on classic derbies in the English premier league to Ivan Gerlecep's legendary reaction to Iniesta’s extra time winning goal in the 2010 football world cup final at South Africa. Basketball isn't short of these moments either. As a matter of fact, iconic commentaries occur in almost every game due to scenarios like game winning shots, buzzer beaters, circus shots, crazy crossovers, dunks, and long threes. For me, Mike Breen's exclamation to Steph Curry's three point shots are most memorable. Games like this were made memorable by the players and commentators. 

Pundits are also used for live commentary. A sports Pundit is deeply rooted in knowledge of the sport in question. The reason for bringing them during commentary is for tactical analysis, point of view, and sometimes history of the team or athlete playing. Pundits in sports are mostly veteran players or athletes with deep knowledge of the game. This doesn't mean that a person who hasn't played the game can't pursue this field. Interestingly, it has been observed that pundits who are retired athletes tend to give biassed notions and opinions on the game and current athletes. An example of this is Kenyon Martin, a veteran NBA basketball player and pundit in the Gil’s Arena podcast who gave an inaccurate and somewhat biassed take on current player Draymond Green. According to him, Draymond Green is an average player lucky enough to play alongside greats and win championships. Draymond is a four time champion, four time all-star and one time defensive player of the year bro, what are you saying!. Surprisingly, Kendrick Perkins, a fellow basketball veteran and pundit for ESPN who has publicly expressed his dislike for Draymond on many occasions, came to Green's defense. Perkins stated that a decorated player who has anchored a team's defense even with his size to win four rings should be given his flowers and respect. My thoughts exactly, thank you Perkins. 

Pundits also give takes and analysis on sport shows and podcasts. For football we have CBS reality covering champions league games anchored by Kate Abdo, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, and Big Meeks. It's a lovely show if you haven't seen it. For basketball, we have the NBA on TNT with veterans like Shaquille O'Neal, and Charles Barkley anchoring it. By the way TNT wasn't renewed for next season as CBS would be taken over with the special presence of NBA legend Micheal Jordan. I really can't wait for next season. There are pundits who never played the game. A perfect example is Stephen A. Smith of ESPN who is in fact the highest earner in sports Analysis with a contract of 100 million dollars. Wow!!

My favorite field is Sports writing. It is the least considered but one of the most important. It involves creative writing of match reports and highlights, latest news and updates, with Statistics and history of players. It is a tasking Job that requires an in-depth knowledge of the games rules, history, athletes or teams, and vocabulary terms used in the sport. A sports writer narrates the game in a way that a person with little knowledge of the sport can relate to. I'd like to think it's exactly what I'm doing now.  

As you can see, the field of sports analysis is vast and very lucrative. There is no boring side to it and that is exactly why I have a keen interest to keep pursuing it. I think you would too.