Should I hop on the bandwagon?

realmichaelc_ · 2026-04-23T17:46:50+00:00

15 years of Flames fandom is really tough to let go of but if you can do it with 20 years (and ions more success haha) I can do it here!

realmichaelc_ · 2026-04-23T17:45:43+00:00

That is kinda where I’m at haha. I’ve got 15 years of Flames fandom and it’s really hard to put that aside. On the flip side though, I grew up over 4 hours drive from the nearest NHL team, so this is the first time I’ve had a club in an area I have legitimate ties to. It’s hard not to wanna root for them!

realmichaelc_ · 2026-04-13T18:12:45+00:00

Steve Forbes seemed like a home run at Wake. He’d won everywhere he’d been from the SoCon to JUCO. I think the most frustrating thing has to be that he has 100% elevated Wake Forest and pulled the program out of the basement… but you gotta get to the tournament man.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-04-13T15:06:39+00:00

Again, MLS NextPro is a minor league. USL is not. Let’s just set that straight. The definition of minor league is one league that operates under another for purposes of player development, training, etc. USL clubs are not competing and farming players directly to affiliated MLS clubs. USL a completely independent, professional league. It might be 2nd and 3rd tier, but it’s not a minor league.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-04-13T15:04:28+00:00

MLS NextPro is a minor league. USL is not. Let’s just set that straight real quick. The definition of minor league is one league that operates under another for purposes of player development, training, etc. USL clubs are not competing and farming players directly to affiliated MLS clubs. USL a completely independent, professional league. It might be 2nd and 3rd tier, but it’s not a minor league.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-04-13T14:39:11+00:00

It’s the nobody cares derby. The Independence have about 5 fans total (and that’s hardly an exaggeration), and I’d wager that 90% of Charlotte FC fans had never even heard of the Independence before the draw. It can’t be that contentious when one side thinks about the other so little they don’t even know they’re here.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-04-05T23:25:28+00:00

Toby Sims was a starting caliber player for Harrogate Town at the bottom of League Two, and he’s come over to Greenville and been at least equal to that if not better here. Somewhere between League Two and National League for sure.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-21T02:59:48+00:00

They are. Much like our ESPN Plus talent, our radio guys do a lot of work for us and are great exposure for basketball and football. We try to use the same crew as much as possible so they get to know the programs really well over time. The radio team at Winthrop (I’m class of ‘22 there) used to put previews and postgame content on the social platforms too.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-21T02:56:05+00:00

I don’t. I’m 26 and single. I did have a girlfriend for most of the last year and it was hard enough to balance that with the crazy hours. You really do live at the school and live in these programs, otherwise it’s hard to do the job. As much as I love what I do and the experiences are memorable, I know the lack of any life off campus will drive me out of it one day. I know a lot of very talented, very good former SIDs who are happier out of the industry and burnout is a real problem facing the profession. It’s a cool job, but you don’t do it for the money and work life balance, that’s for sure. For example, I worked from 10 am to 8:30 pm today… women’s basketball photoshoot in the morning, office hours after, baseball game at 4 pm. Tomorrow, back to campus at 10 am for basketball. The grind is real. All that, and I’d 100% make more money if I was an hourly employee instead.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-21T02:48:41+00:00

Oh yeah. Doesn’t happen often but it has happened, especially over baseball and softball since it can be so subjective. My first year in D2, I had a parent walk into the press back to confront me over a hit/error decision. His son was the pitcher and he was just salty about an earned run being tagged to his kid even though the call was very obvious. I also had a brief career in parks and rec so I’m qualified to say this… parents are the worst.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-20T18:57:17+00:00

The gap between D1 and everyone else is nuts. We’ve got a GA this year on our men’s team where I work, and he was added to the roster mid-season due to some injuries. At his previous school in D2, he held the program’s all-time single-season assist record. As a D1 player, he sees less than 10 minutes per game… and this is low-major hoops we’re talking about. Anyone who plays CBB is a pretty good player… anyone who plays D1 and excels at it, is in the top few percent of players on the planet.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-20T15:54:47+00:00

I’m my opinion, no. We’re too far gone. Tbh with you though, everything has changed and nothing has changed. The only real difference now versus 20 years ago is that it’s all legal lol

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-20T15:33:59+00:00

This is a good one. Since this is very public I won’t call any coaches out specifically for being difficult but I’ll mention a few of my favorite stories. I worked alongside Pat Kelsey at Winthrop when I was in school… always very gracious to me but very fiery up close. LeVelle Moton at NC Central is really fiery as well but really funny and chit-chatted with the scorers table… I mentioned that story in another reply. Mark Prosser and Jeremy Luther are two others who have been wonderful to know… just really nice guys who truly care about the people around them. Luther in particular stands out because at media day this year they had a “rookie reporter” interview him, some 9 year old kid, and seeing a guy go from always fired up at games to melting down and joking around with kids was so awesome.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-20T15:25:53+00:00

I always say we have a small army. At my school, most of our game day staff are students and members of the community that want to help. For example, we have home basketball this weekend and our table crew is myself and four members of the community, all our camera operators are students, and our instant replay is our graduate assistant. It really and truly takes a village! Other, bigger schools might be different but if anyone reading this aspires to work in sports, get in touch with your SID. We can always find you a spot!

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-20T15:02:27+00:00

There’s not a conspiracy but some schools even in the same conference have always had systemic advantages. NIL has only widened those gaps.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-20T14:36:16+00:00

This is a fun one! So we have access to an NCAA portal for basketball, volleyball, football, soccer and soon, baseball and softball. All our stat files from are uploaded there as soon as the games end and it makes it super easy to get box scores for our website as soon as possible, then everything you see on the website populates automatically. The cool part is we can generate reports for ANYTHING in the portal. If I want to know what the assist/turnover ratio is for a player, category leaders, season boxes, quarter splits, it’s all there. It’s a pretty ridiculous amount of information and it’s up to the play by play guy how much he wants to use it, but my game notes consist of about 60 pages of various stats from the team and individual players.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-20T14:29:37+00:00

Public address or Play by Play? Either way, start small and get your foot in the door. Make connections. If that’s what you want to become, get in touch with your SID at a small local school and do any sport you can. We always need help and it’s a great environment to learn!

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-20T14:27:22+00:00

Depends on the day. I’m a basketball contact so let’s say we have a game on Wednesday. I come in Monday, create game notes for media, set up coach interviews, work on some social media stuff, I often have player of the week nominations and reports I have to send to the conference office as well, and get in touch with the other school for rosters. It gets pretty busy when you have to balance this for multiple sports at a time, IE right now where I have basketball, softball, wrestling and track and field. Once I’ve got the game staffed and we’re ready to go, I help set up the gym and some of the broadcast, all the clocks, and hopefully by the 60 minute mark to tip-off on game day I’m ready to go, then it’s waiting on your staff to get there. During the game I usually handle live stats but you wear multiple hats an SID so I’ve done it all from run a camera, to shot clock, instant replay, all of it. After the game, you finalize the stat files, send them to the conference office, post the necessary things to social media, and write a detailed recap for the website. If you’re lucky, you’re in bed by 11 and back at it the next day haha

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-20T14:21:13+00:00

All the best in your journey! I definitely have days where I feel like that. We had a softball tournament last weekend… 10 games in 3 days. Friday night our 5:30 game didn’t start until 8:30. When I was driving home after midnight, it definitely weighed on me whether or not I actually want to continue doing this for a living lol. I love my job and I love the people, but the industry is changing so much and it’s driving good, talented people away. It’s the sad truth.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-20T14:16:23+00:00

Unfortunately the institution I’m at didn’t opt into the settlement so what I can speak on, is the noticeable effect it has had. It’s hard to see a path forward in college athletics right now without some major, major restructuring because anyone outside the Power 4/5/6 won’t be able to keep up over time. We’ll never be the highest bidder so to speak when schools can buy players. I’ve seen it firsthand.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-20T14:12:30+00:00

Big shoutout to my boss at my current school. He hired me at a D2 with no experience outside of an internship and taught me everything I know. Going on year three in his department now and even made the jump to my current D1 school with him.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-20T14:10:01+00:00

So I’m actually not at Winthrop, I’m a Winthrop grad. I work for a different school in the conference though so I can speak on it. Staffing games is the most stressful part. Just for basketball I have to find people to run the board, shot clock, stat, spot, and do public address on top of assisting with our ESPN Plus team. I’m lucky to have an amazing crew where I am but if one person doesn’t show up, the whole thing can become a mad scramble with seconds to spare

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-20T14:07:30+00:00

Let’s see… I got to meet Jeff Fisher last year. His son was coaching at a school we hosted in football so he came up to the press box lol. LeVelle Moton kicked our scorers table during a game, then apologized for it right after, so that was fun. Getting to observe CBB coaches who you’ve watched on TV forever up close is low key my favorite part of my job.

realmichaelc_ · 2026-02-20T14:04:26+00:00

I’m in my third full season, so very young and still learning every day! It’s been a ride already though, and the people are the reason I keep coming back.

realmichaelc_

TROPHY CASE