Opinion | Postcard from Paris: watching the Olympics is a tough job, but somebody has to do it
- The hottest tickets in town come with a responsibility to tell a story, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a fan sometimes
Working as a sports journalist comes with perks, the grandest of all being frequent access to the hottest tickets in town.
Essentially, you go to some of the biggest events around the world, and get paid for your trouble.
Improbable as it seems, there is a downside to this arrangement. Now, very few of us would swap what we do for the world, although a weary English reporter declared in a low moment over breakfast this week that he was minded to quit and work as a postman. He will not, of course. The job is a privilege and we are very lucky to do it.
Watching sport in a professional capacity, however, is not remotely comparable to going as a fan. It is an experience devoid of emotion, other than the brief adrenaline surge as deadline races into view.
Firstly, we see very little of the action. Scan any press box at these Paris Olympics and you would notice around 90 per cent of its occupants are buried in their laptops.
We are at the venues long before paying fans and still there, trying to glean an interesting quote and tapping copy, well past everyone else’s home time.