Background of a Sports Journalist

My name is Matthew Johnson, and for most of my life I played football. Now, I cover and study football among other sports. As an aspiring sports journalist I find myself very opinionated on certain topics in the sports realm, and since moving from Billerica, Massachusetts (where I was born and raised for 18 years) to Greensboro, North Carolina and splitting time in Virginia for school I find my opinions are not often agreed upon, or even understood sometimes.

The Patriots have been my favorite NFL team for as long as I can remember, and I am quite the outsider down here as a their fan. After watching the Patriots my whole life, witnessing a fourth Super Bowl victory for my team was amazing in part due to the circumstances, and I'm not talking about the Deflategate B.S. (which I will be discussing later at some point).

Throughout college, I've been studying how to cover sports. But before deciding on what is now my ideal career choice, I was really studying playing the game of football while trying to figure out what to study in the class room. After not being a mainstay in games high school until my senior year, it meant a lot to win some of the football honors I did my senior year in high school. Some opportunities were missed, but Averett University was the choice and it felt great to be welcomed into a new football family.

I was granted the opportunity to start a few games and play in five, but after tearing my right bicep and suffering an anterior and posterior labrum tear in that same right shoulder, my playing days were cut short. Two more training camps ensued, another similar labrum injury the first attempt at a comeback plus one of the implanted screws coming loose, and the second comeback an anterior labrum tear. But that first injury stirred an idea that made me feel obligated to try my hand at either sports journalism, or coaching, so I chose to major in the first and minor in the second.

Above: M. Johnson with the good hands inside. Made my first start in this game as a 19-year old true freshman at left guard for Averett University of the USA South Conference against Randolph-Macon of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. I played a little center (the position I was recruited as) during this season as well.

Above: Looking for pressure backside, I assume I was uncovered. (LG)

Since the playing days, I have found myself having done three different internships, two separate internships with Scout.com covering the MILB Rookie League Danville Braves, the Rookie League affiliate of MLB's Atlanta Braves. Essentially writing scouting report type articles on given players, it was great firsthand experience. After doing that two summers in a row, a bigger opportunity actually working for the Braves came about in the spring of 2014.

I was granted the opportunity to work as a full time paid intern for the Danville Braves of Virginia as their Media Relations Intern. This was truly the opportunity of a lifetime, watching baseball and getting paid, covering a team and going through the roller coaster of a season being a part of it. But if it weren't for my shoulder injury that ended my football playing days, who knows if any of this would have happened.

I also have done work for the Danville Register & Bee newspaper covering high school and division three college football and became the Averett University lead sports broadcaster. I have even worked as a student coach for the same university in the spring of 2014, working with the offensive and defensive lines, as well strength and conditioning program.

Losing football was a tough time for me in my life, but I think I have found a couple of different ways of looking at it. It's something I'll always miss, and I'll never get over how it ended, but football taught me to go after what I want and assert myself.

I feel that all these opportunities that I have taken advantage of are a result of the work ethic the game of football instilled in me. I was always aggressive in my approach to the game of football when playing, and I feel I have taken on the same philosophy as a sports journalist - not afraid to cover anything or step outside of my comfort zone, because trust me I have stepped far beyond where my comfort zone used to be.

Above: Now in 2015, I have earned the title as the "Dean" of AU Sports for serving as the AU Sports Network's lead broadcaster.

I like to think people enjoy talking sports with me because I have opinions that might be different but also because I have at least some sort of respectable knowledge on the subject. I grew up playing one sport per season as a kid, fall - football, spring/summer - baseball, winter - basketball. I threw shot put and (to a lesser extent) javelin in high school on top of football, and I tried my hand at boxing at the West End Gym in Lowell, Mass (for anyone familiar with the film "The Fighter").

So essentially, I like to think my sports experience gives me a leg to stand on. Let's see if anyone agrees, or disagrees coming up. Please, feel free to disagree. Look forward to an outstanding effort at keeping calm talking about the Patriots, the Super Bowl, Deflategate, and more coming soon.

Above: After my first start with my parents, Eric and Erika Johnson. Without a doubt, one of the proudest moments of my life, despite the 15-7 loss that afternoon. I vividly remember talking with my parents about how we should have one that game and still think we should have looking back. Just saying.