Seventy Days, Three Countries, Eleven Cities: What Sports Journalism Really Looks Like Beyond the Cameras

PC- Trisha Ghosal, RevSportz

When people think of sports journalism, they often imagine front-row seats, accreditation cards, interviews with athletes and photographs from some of the world’s most iconic sporting venues.

They are not entirely wrong.

But they are only seeing the final frame.

They do not see the alarm ringing after barely four hours of sleep because there is a practice session to cover before the day’s live shows begin. They do not see the race to catch a train immediately after filing a match report because the next assignment is in another city. They do not see journalists eating their first proper meal late in the evening because deadlines always come before dinner.

This assignment began on 25 May.

I landed in England with the kind of excitement every sports journalist dreams about. The itinerary itself was enough to make anyone passionate about sport smile: India Women’s tour of England, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, the historic first-ever women’s Test match at Lord’s, the men’s ODI series and, finally, the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Women’s cricket is a sport I deeply care about, while multi-sport events are perhaps the greatest classroom a sports journalist can ask for. On paper, it looked like the assignment of a lifetime.

It was.

It was also one of the most demanding.

During these 70 days, I travelled through three countries — England, Wales and Scotland — and worked across 11 cities, some of them more than once. London became familiar, then unfamiliar again. Suitcases were packed, unpacked and packed again almost every other day. Two or three nights in one city were often enough before another train, another bus and another hotel or Airbnb awaited.

People often ask whether travelling so much is exciting.

It certainly is.

But travelling for work is very different from travelling for leisure.

You are not discovering cities at your own pace. You are calculating train timings against filing deadlines. You are wondering where to find a quick meal between a press conference and a live show. You are checking whether tomorrow’s accommodation has reliable Wi-Fi before wondering whether it has comfortable beds.

The weather became another opponent.

The opening week across London, Chelmsford and Bristol was unexpectedly scorching. Most Airbnbs did not even have fans, something almost unimaginable in such heat. Chelmsford was the only exception. Just days later, Taunton welcomed me with rain, a cool breeze and what everyone calls a typical English summer.

As journalists, we cannot ask the weather to cooperate.

The sport continues. So do we.

Somewhere during the Women’s World Cup, another challenge arrived unexpectedly.

A bizarre finger injury while covering India’s group-stage match against Australia at Lord’s.

It was no excuse to stop working, but it was painful enough to make every suitcase feel heavier than before. Carrying luggage from station to station, typing stories, recording videos and continuing with the assignment became a daily reminder that work rarely pauses because you are uncomfortable.

That, perhaps, is the biggest lesson long assignments teach you.

Fatigue is inevitable.

Compromising your standards is optional.

There comes a point during a tour when your body begins to protest. You feel physically drained. The excitement of reaching another city slowly gives way to the routine of finding the nearest supermarket, locating your accommodation and preparing for the next day’s coverage.

Yet, every article still has to be accurate. Every analysis still has to be thoughtful. Every interview still deserves careful preparation. Every live broadcast still requires the same energy the audience expects. Readers should never feel that this is your 68th day on the road rather than your first. Perhaps that is the invisible contract sports journalists sign with their profession.

The story always comes first.

Assignments like these also mean living in two time zones simultaneously. While physically working in British Summer Time, deadlines, meetings, edits and newsroom conversations often continue on Indian Standard Time. Days become longer than they appear on paper. Nights become shorter than your body would prefer.

And yet, strangely enough, every day also becomes a lesson. Every unfamiliar railway station teaches planning. Every new city teaches adaptability. Every athlete teaches resilience. Every press conference teaches patience. Every deadline teaches discipline.

The assignment changes you as much as the stories you write.

This profession is often romanticised. Social media certainly contributes to that image. Stadium photographs, accreditation cards and picturesque skylines make sports journalism appear glamorous. There is glamour.

But glamour is the reward, not the job.

The job is waking up when your body wants more sleep. The job is chasing stories instead of waiting for them. The job is researching a para-athlete with the same commitment as an Olympic champion because every athlete deserves informed coverage. The job is producing meaningful journalism when your mind is tired and your feet ache from another day spent walking between venues and transport hubs.

Sports journalism has never been about collecting selfies with athletes or ticking famous venues off a travel list. It has always been about curiosity. It has always been about consistency.

It has always been about showing up.

As these 70 days draw to a close, I will remember the medals, the records and the historic moments. But I will also remember the train platforms, the endless packing, the changing weather, the missed meals, the injury that refused to slow the work, and the quiet satisfaction of knowing that every single day was another opportunity to learn.

Because long after the accreditation expires and the suitcase returns home, those lessons stay with you. And perhaps that is what sports journalism really is. Not simply reporting sport, but learning every single day, how to keep telling its stories with the same passion – no matter how demanding the journey becomes.

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