Many jobs in the sports world make games possible but often go unrecognized. Jobs like broadcasters, clean-up crews and groundskeepers make sure to give the fans the best experience they can have. Recognizing their hard work is important to the Wright State University sports community.
Important jobs behind game day
When fans think of college game days, the players, coaches and referees usually are what come to mind. While it is true that without these people there would be no game to watch, there are other essential factors and individuals that also go into gamedays.
Many of these jobs are either overlooked or not even known about by the majority of fans.
Think about technical difficulties that go on during a live broadcast, or when a graphic comes across the screen; there are jobs behind both of these things.
How the jobs effect game day
These jobs play into every game in different ways, depending on the tasks at hand. These can include groundskeepers, athletic directors, salespeople and even those who clean up when the game concludes.
Just like games at WSU, they also rely on these teams to help athletes perform at their best. Each role in these jobs require many hours and hard work. They do this so that the students are able to get the best experience possible.
WSU's Nutter Center is not shy of these jobs that too often go unseen. Fans may not often see the challenges that go on behind the scenes, as people are working quickly and efficiently to have everything run smoothly.
“Typical challenges they confront are issues average fans might not even think about, such as the increased demand for radio frequencies — sorting out those used by media members for interviews, so they don’t interfere with frequencies relied upon for referees or the coach-to-player radio system during the game,” Binghamton news site reads.
Cameron Jones is a sophomore sports broadcaster for WSU's radio station, WWSU 106.9, and talked about the importance of his job.
“It’s so important, because I feel like it helps other people. If they can’t be at the game live that you have background that can help people understand [and] at least give a visualization of what’s going on and stuff like that,” Jones said.
The importance of recognizing their work
All jobs are a key component to the games, so recognizing the talent and dedication these people put into their craft is significant to them.
An article by ESPN offers many different jobs and their roles for these teams.
“We take you behind the scenes and share the stories of four figures central to making these games that we see happen -- a 93-year-old San Antonio Spurs media relations official, the Tampa Bay Lightning ice crew, the Buffalo Bills groundskeeper and the Kentucky cheerleading coach,” ESPN says.
Just like professional sports, WSU relies on these jobs for game days to be possible. Without them, the Nutter Center would not be nearly as special of a home for Raider athletes.
Jones adds how much work and preparation it takes for them to simply set up for a gameday.
“There’s a bit I typically do. I gather stats to make sure I have as much information as possible and make sure I know what I’m talking about on air and stuff like that. Like top players for example, for volleyball I do who has the most kills, leading the team, who has the most serves, aces, assists and making sure I know what stats I’m talking about,” Jones said.
If the necessary information is not properly recorded, they are not able to give the fans the full listening experience.
These jobs all play a key role in supporting the players and enhancing the fans' experiences, so it is important to recognize and appreciate their work.
