In some sense, I feel guilty about it. Having written for weeks now and not paid the city of San Francisco due diligence is a sin. After all, it is the city that serves as the blueprint and the foundation for all of our experiences. To say that we, as students and citizens of the world are lucky to live in San Francisco is a complete understatement. It is a blessing and a gift, one that we are each proud of and seek to maximize on a daily basis.
It is a daunting task; don’t think it isn’t for a moment. What could one writer possible say about “The City By The Bay” that hasn’t been said or sung? There is obviously something majestic about a place that attracts the likes of Frank Sinatra, Jack Kerouac and Mark Twain. Instead of playing into typical clichés of “The City”, I choose to offer an individual perspective about what makes San Francisco such an incredible city to live in and an ideal backdrop to study and grow from.
When I moved to San Francisco in July 2007 (the start of Cohort 27), I was a tender 22-year-old Canadian who didn’t know a soul in the city. Soon after exploring the vast variety of museums, beaches and parks of ‘Frisco, I discovered that I was not alone in being alone. One of the most unique aspects of this city’s population which peaks just over 700,000 is that most of the people inhabiting its shores are young and were actually born in a different city or country.
Currently, I live with three individuals whom I did not know before moving here. One is from North Carolina, another from North Dakota and the other Germany. My friends who live close by share a flat made up of a Southern Californian, an Alaskan and a Norwegian. These are only two households of a city filled with twenty-something young adults.
Sounds unique? Welcome to life in San Francisco; a hotbed of youth, diversity and excitement. Part of what makes the community of San Francisco so tight knit and friendly is the city’s infrastructure. As opposed to a traditional American city’s layout (from my personal experiences) of long stretches of highway divided by strips of plazas (necessitating a personal automobile), San Francisco is crammed tightly together and driven by public transportation. With every street in the city filled to the max with houses, apartments and flats, the masses almost have no choice but to live in harmony.
Additionally, the resources for culture and healthy living in this city are abundant and easy to take advantage of. There are new museums and academic centers popping up around the city constantly. A good example of this is the new California Academy of Science (http://www.calacademy.org/) which serves as the typical San Franciscan establishment – environmentally friendly, innovative and educational. (A list of the city’s museums can be found here:
http://sanfrancisco.about.com/od/museums/tp/museumsinsanfrancisco.htm
Lastly, I would like to address perhaps my favourite aspect of San Francisco – the weather. Perhaps it is my cold Ontarian roots that relish in nice weather all year long (yes, I was utterly fascinated by fog when moving here) but not having to wear a toque, gloves or jacket all year long do make a difference. There are sports leagues that play soccer, basketball and football outdoors 12 months a year! Nice weather, coupled with a city filled with bike lanes and jogging trails also means that healthy activities are carried out and socially encouraged. A small city (as previously mentioned) promotes walking to destinations that are easily attainable. It has it all.
Briefly, I have charted some of my favourite reasons for living in the city of San Francisco. Please notice I did not mention anything about Alcatraz, Cable Cars or two spectacular bridges. Don’t worry, these classic landmarks aren’t going anywhere. I was just trying to portray the aspects of San Francisco that one can fall in love with as a resident, not a visitor. I hope I have been able to offer some unique insights of San Francisco. The city and everything I love about it, made it quite easy to write.
If you have any questions/comments about San Francisco or the USF Sport Management Master’s Program, feel free to write me at
cssterling@usfca.edu
P. S - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4QkTvK2OEw
Friday, December 5, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Volunteer Opportunities : This is Your Life
Nothing good comes easy.
This fundamental life-lesson that is especially prevalent in the world of Sport Management. For those who enter the industry without any connections and are forced to fend for themselves, there are two magical words that will become forever etched into their memories: volunteer opportunities.
The Bay Area is plentiful with chances to gain professional exposure. Between the five professional sports teams in the area, handful of NCAA athletic programs and traveling tournaments that find their way to this geographic region, one can be certain that if they want to get involved they can.
Volunteering opportunities are essentially like tryouts for a sports team. You’re never certain how many positions are available (if any, which is the majority of the case) and you never know too much about the talent you are going to be working with. Ultimately, one recognizes that the impression they leave from their one day of volunteering can serve (in a good or bad way, pending performance) as a reflection of a person’s personality, work ethic and attitude.
Bearing all of this in mind, I would like to share a story about my first experience with a volunteer opportunity....
It was a cold and foggy San Francisco morning and I awoke with much anticipation. I was about to meet up with a few of my classmates and volunteer for the San Francisco Giants Jr. Giants Annual Golf Tournament. Having started the USF Sport Management Program one week earlier, I was finally provided the chance to prove my worth.
It was a lot of fun as Giants baseball players, both former and current checked in to the course. Along with the ball players, there were a variety of Bay Area sports legends participating in the event that raised money for the Jr. Giants foundation.
My first job, working with my lovely classmate Nancy Pike, was to distribute bubble gum to all the participants before they teed off at our hole. Although the job sounds mundane, it was quite fun because you get to meet and greet each athlete and Giants executive staff as they approach your hole (this is where the whole audition aspect comes in to play).
Being a Canadian and new to the Bay Area sports heroes, I recognized only a handful of the athletes. One who stood out was Jim Plunkett, the Raiders quarterback who won two trophies and was named Super Bowl MVP. I handed him his gum in a courteous fashion and briefly introduced myself.
As the afternoon moved a long, so did our responsibilities and I was soon moved to a hole where I was distribute special pins. It was the same drill as before. After one group had hit their balls, the next approached and it happened to be Plunkett’s group. I handed all of the players their pins and politely asked how they were all doing. Soon after, “Plunk” made a remark to the group how I was moving up in the world as I had gone from giving out gum to pins. Of course, this mildly sarcastic comment was met with a burst of laughter and rosy cheeks on my behalf. The group played on and the afternoon quickly came to a close.
Upon reflection, I thought more and more about Plunkett’s comment and feel that it fits a much bigger picture about working volunteer opportunities. On the surface, distributing either bubble gum or a pin is not ideal, but if taken with the right attitude and direction, it can bear unlimited fruit.
I sometimes work with Jim Plunkett in the Raiders broadcasting department. Of course, he still has no absolutely no idea who I am. But, the exchange we shared, aside from teaching me a lesson, motivates me immensely to do accomplish something absolutely incredible and then find Jim Plunkett and make some witty remark about a moment he could never remember. Such are the motivations of life.
This fundamental life-lesson that is especially prevalent in the world of Sport Management. For those who enter the industry without any connections and are forced to fend for themselves, there are two magical words that will become forever etched into their memories: volunteer opportunities.
The Bay Area is plentiful with chances to gain professional exposure. Between the five professional sports teams in the area, handful of NCAA athletic programs and traveling tournaments that find their way to this geographic region, one can be certain that if they want to get involved they can.
Volunteering opportunities are essentially like tryouts for a sports team. You’re never certain how many positions are available (if any, which is the majority of the case) and you never know too much about the talent you are going to be working with. Ultimately, one recognizes that the impression they leave from their one day of volunteering can serve (in a good or bad way, pending performance) as a reflection of a person’s personality, work ethic and attitude.
Bearing all of this in mind, I would like to share a story about my first experience with a volunteer opportunity....
It was a cold and foggy San Francisco morning and I awoke with much anticipation. I was about to meet up with a few of my classmates and volunteer for the San Francisco Giants Jr. Giants Annual Golf Tournament. Having started the USF Sport Management Program one week earlier, I was finally provided the chance to prove my worth.
It was a lot of fun as Giants baseball players, both former and current checked in to the course. Along with the ball players, there were a variety of Bay Area sports legends participating in the event that raised money for the Jr. Giants foundation.
My first job, working with my lovely classmate Nancy Pike, was to distribute bubble gum to all the participants before they teed off at our hole. Although the job sounds mundane, it was quite fun because you get to meet and greet each athlete and Giants executive staff as they approach your hole (this is where the whole audition aspect comes in to play).
Being a Canadian and new to the Bay Area sports heroes, I recognized only a handful of the athletes. One who stood out was Jim Plunkett, the Raiders quarterback who won two trophies and was named Super Bowl MVP. I handed him his gum in a courteous fashion and briefly introduced myself.
As the afternoon moved a long, so did our responsibilities and I was soon moved to a hole where I was distribute special pins. It was the same drill as before. After one group had hit their balls, the next approached and it happened to be Plunkett’s group. I handed all of the players their pins and politely asked how they were all doing. Soon after, “Plunk” made a remark to the group how I was moving up in the world as I had gone from giving out gum to pins. Of course, this mildly sarcastic comment was met with a burst of laughter and rosy cheeks on my behalf. The group played on and the afternoon quickly came to a close.
Upon reflection, I thought more and more about Plunkett’s comment and feel that it fits a much bigger picture about working volunteer opportunities. On the surface, distributing either bubble gum or a pin is not ideal, but if taken with the right attitude and direction, it can bear unlimited fruit.
I sometimes work with Jim Plunkett in the Raiders broadcasting department. Of course, he still has no absolutely no idea who I am. But, the exchange we shared, aside from teaching me a lesson, motivates me immensely to do accomplish something absolutely incredible and then find Jim Plunkett and make some witty remark about a moment he could never remember. Such are the motivations of life.
Friday, October 31, 2008
London Calling
Last Tuesday I was fortunate enough to head overseas to London and help the NFL UK with the second annual International Series which was played at Wembley Stadium. For this week’s blog, I am going to share some of my insights and experiences from the trip.
The entire situation was unique and not like anything I’ve been exposed to before. Think about it – you’re working a sporting event for a league that doesn’t have a team in the entire continent. As a result, I feel that the enthusiasm and anticipation for the game inspired all those involved with the event to work harder and ensure their jobs were done to exceed normal standards.
Working with the Brits and other Europeans was a real blast and probably my favourite part of the whole week. After the Saints first media day (located at Arsenal FC’s Training Facility), I followed a co-worker back to the NFL UK office where he asked me to write an article for www.nfluk.com and this is the result : http://www.nfluk.com/news/culturalmix_231008.html
What’s really interesting of the whole experience was working in the organizations headquarters. Essentially, it is all one large open room where one can hear the noises and conversations of those around them. In an epiphinous moment, I suddenly found myself on the set of BBC’s “The Office” (before the American one)! I was working beside all of these Brits with lovely accents and was entirely lost for a moment before I remembered where I was and what I was doing.
During my brief tenure working for the NFL UK, I enjoyed a plethora of unique jobs and responsibilities. Without doubt, my favourite moment was interviewing some of the Saints players for NFL UK TV. Here is the interview:
http://www.nfluk.com/video/1?id=48
It was a bit challenging because I had no idea who I was interviewing before I spoke to the guys and, working for the Raiders, know little about players from the Saints! The inspiration for the questions regarding the terms, “pear shaped” and “bangers n mash” came from a jolly British cameraman who I conversed with for about 20 minutes and did not understand one word! I asked him to clarify what they meant and had a real laugh when he explained it (once again, barely comprehending his words) figuring the NFL players might enjoy it too.
The game itself was absolute ‘quality’ as the Brits would say. It was an entertaining game set in the perfect backdrop of Wembley Stadium and the British masses who were eager to feast on any regular season action they could get their hands on. An experience not soon to be forgotten!
As always, if anyone has any questions about the USF Sport Management Master’s Program, feel free to email me at cssterling@usfca.edu. Thanks for reading!
The entire situation was unique and not like anything I’ve been exposed to before. Think about it – you’re working a sporting event for a league that doesn’t have a team in the entire continent. As a result, I feel that the enthusiasm and anticipation for the game inspired all those involved with the event to work harder and ensure their jobs were done to exceed normal standards.
Working with the Brits and other Europeans was a real blast and probably my favourite part of the whole week. After the Saints first media day (located at Arsenal FC’s Training Facility), I followed a co-worker back to the NFL UK office where he asked me to write an article for www.nfluk.com and this is the result : http://www.nfluk.com/news/culturalmix_231008.html
What’s really interesting of the whole experience was working in the organizations headquarters. Essentially, it is all one large open room where one can hear the noises and conversations of those around them. In an epiphinous moment, I suddenly found myself on the set of BBC’s “The Office” (before the American one)! I was working beside all of these Brits with lovely accents and was entirely lost for a moment before I remembered where I was and what I was doing.
During my brief tenure working for the NFL UK, I enjoyed a plethora of unique jobs and responsibilities. Without doubt, my favourite moment was interviewing some of the Saints players for NFL UK TV. Here is the interview:
http://www.nfluk.com/video/1?id=48
It was a bit challenging because I had no idea who I was interviewing before I spoke to the guys and, working for the Raiders, know little about players from the Saints! The inspiration for the questions regarding the terms, “pear shaped” and “bangers n mash” came from a jolly British cameraman who I conversed with for about 20 minutes and did not understand one word! I asked him to clarify what they meant and had a real laugh when he explained it (once again, barely comprehending his words) figuring the NFL players might enjoy it too.
The game itself was absolute ‘quality’ as the Brits would say. It was an entertaining game set in the perfect backdrop of Wembley Stadium and the British masses who were eager to feast on any regular season action they could get their hands on. An experience not soon to be forgotten!
As always, if anyone has any questions about the USF Sport Management Master’s Program, feel free to email me at cssterling@usfca.edu. Thanks for reading!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
A Night To Remember
Hello Sport Management world! My name is Cory Sterling and I will be contributing a personal blog for the University of San Francisco Sport Management Masters Program website. I joined Cohort 27 in July of 2007, making my tenure in the program just over a year long. It’s scary to think about, but time has breezed by so quickly.
I feel it would be fitting to start my first blog by recalling my first experience with the program, our orientation dinner. It was a special evening that remains vivid in my mind and secured in my memories.
How exciting it all was, entering a room full of people I would be spending the next two years with and not knowing a soul. There is something so unique about the innocence of initial introductions!
At the time, it seemed like we were a group of 30 strangers dressed “business casual”, making small talk over tender chicken breast. It didn’t take long for the ice to be broken and avenues for new friendships and professional connections to open up. I’ve been very lucky to meet and work with some fantastic people who I never would have known otherwise.
In hindsight, what amazes me most about my reflections of orientation dinner is the progression each individual in our cohort has made since that foggy July evening. If there was a map of the professional sporting industry (as massive and diverse it would be), our cohort has placed a flag on every corner of it.
Each individual has found a way to contribute to their niche in the sport management world, wherever that may be. The opportunities to get involved in the Bay Area are infinite and the results are promising.
Through all of our collective accomplishments, one theme unites us all: the USF Sport Management Program. All that we’ve done in the past 13 months and all that we will do in the future derive from our original starting point; the friendly small talk and that tender chicken breast.
Life as a Sport Management student is curious, challenging, intriguing and fun. It takes one through new experiences and scenarios never dreamed possible. It questions character and justly rewards effort and dedication. Most importantly, it is the only thing I would ever want to do.
Feel free to email me at cssterling@usfca.edu with any questions and concerns.
I feel it would be fitting to start my first blog by recalling my first experience with the program, our orientation dinner. It was a special evening that remains vivid in my mind and secured in my memories.
How exciting it all was, entering a room full of people I would be spending the next two years with and not knowing a soul. There is something so unique about the innocence of initial introductions!
At the time, it seemed like we were a group of 30 strangers dressed “business casual”, making small talk over tender chicken breast. It didn’t take long for the ice to be broken and avenues for new friendships and professional connections to open up. I’ve been very lucky to meet and work with some fantastic people who I never would have known otherwise.
In hindsight, what amazes me most about my reflections of orientation dinner is the progression each individual in our cohort has made since that foggy July evening. If there was a map of the professional sporting industry (as massive and diverse it would be), our cohort has placed a flag on every corner of it.
Each individual has found a way to contribute to their niche in the sport management world, wherever that may be. The opportunities to get involved in the Bay Area are infinite and the results are promising.
Through all of our collective accomplishments, one theme unites us all: the USF Sport Management Program. All that we’ve done in the past 13 months and all that we will do in the future derive from our original starting point; the friendly small talk and that tender chicken breast.
Life as a Sport Management student is curious, challenging, intriguing and fun. It takes one through new experiences and scenarios never dreamed possible. It questions character and justly rewards effort and dedication. Most importantly, it is the only thing I would ever want to do.
Feel free to email me at cssterling@usfca.edu with any questions and concerns.
Vivindo La Vida Con Passion
Ever since it’s creation in 1787, the personal alarm clock has controlled the lives of those who program it. Although its style, form and tones have adapted to modern society, its primary purpose – omitting audio wavelengths loud enough to awake a human from sleep - still remain the same.
Through a societal lens, the alarm clock finds itself in the unfortunate category of a despised necessity. As much as it is needed for the school and workforce to function, it is loathed because of its cognitive association with the end of sleep and start of a day filled with duties. In a recent survey, 81 percent of people polled answered that their favourite thing about their alarm clock was, “The Off Button.”
And then there are Sport Management Students.
Without question, one of the greatest benefits of being a Sport Management Graduate student and working in the professional sports industry is that it is so easy to love your job or studies. The root behind this simple equation lays in one critical factor: passion.
Most people who want to work in ‘sports’ do so because they’ve made the wise decision that they want to enjoy their career. In the American workforce, so much time (typically over 50+ hours) is spent at work that it is only logical to amalgamate one’s personal passions with occupation.
Close your eyes and keep them closed. Now, imagine…if WORK could be…fun?! That didn’t hurt too much did it?
The good news is that a personal career and work can be very enjoyable if it revolves around something an individual is passionate about. For those of us who really love sports, it is both logical and possible to enjoy work every single day.
To prove this point, I’ve put together a collection of quotes heard outside the capable and beautiful young professional students of Cohort 27’s classroom….
“Hey, I’ve got to work this weekend. The MLS Championship Game is in Washington, so I have to head out there tomorrow.”
“Girls, have you booked the hotel in Phoenix yet? I am sooo excited to work the Super Bowl on Sunday…”
“Dude, I won’t be able to meet up with you in the city tonight. The Dodgers are in town, and I have to work the game from behind home plate.”
“Come over this weekend for a going away celebration. I just found out I got the internship for the NFLPA and I’ll be moving to D.C for three months.”
“I was working the NCAA tournament in Southern California last weekend and got to watch the teams practice and sit courtside for the game.”
Holding nothing against used-car salesman, I am not confident we would hear the same sound bytes coming from outside their office.
The purpose of this exercise was simply to disprove the feared societal perception that “work” has to be mundane, draining and uninteresting. Conversely, studying a stimulating subject or working in a field that one is passionate about can easily lead to a career that is enjoyable and fun.
As Sport Management Master’s students, we’ve successfully shattered the contemporary myth that school and a career have to be a painful, drudging experience. Each time we step onto the field, into they gym or sit in the press box, we get that fortunate feeling of being passionate about our work and enjoying it too.
Consequently, those who study and work in professional sports represent that unique 19 percent of society who agreed that, “starting the work day” was their favourite thing about their alarm clock.
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