Syed Dawer Hussain is not qualified for FS1 Network!
If you aren't a qualified and an experienced reporter or a former sports athlete, then you don't deserve to have TV time with a sports network like Fox Sports 1 (FS1). Well, I am not a professional reporter and I am certainly no sports athlete. I don't even have the qualifications to be a sports reporter, as I didn't go to a well-known college and I didn't even major in journalism. There are seven sports media people I follow on FS1 regularly. They are Skip Bayless, Shannon Sharpe, Colin Cowherd, Jason Whitlock, Nick Wright, Chris Broussard, and Doug Gottlieb. All these guys worked super hard to get to where they are right now. Also, they have inspired me to look at sports deeper and write about it. Yes, I know I am not close to any of these guys, but I have the potential to be one day, as good or even better than they are. I don't have their background to be a superstar sports media personality, but I have the passion and desire to put up all the hard work to become the next great sports' writer/reporter/analyzer.
Why I want to be a part of FS1?
How has Fox Sports 1 done since it came into existence in August of 2013? Well, its ratings have gone up every single day. When it first came into existence, not many people knew about FS1 network because of three major reasons. First of all, it was a new network and was working on its promotions. Secondly, it didn't have high profile sports personalities like it has now. Finally, FS1 doesn't come on television between channels one to thirty. Most people don't go further down channel thirty. On my cable network (Spectrum), it comes on channel seventy-two. I was able to track it down after I started watching Skip and Shannon's Undisputed show on YouTube. Even though FS1 still comes on channel 72, its ratings have significantly increased from 2015! FS1's ratings increased after it started spending money, time, and effort to bring in big-talented sports personalities for all their new shows. Most of these high profile personalities, like Bayless, Broussard, Cowherd, and others came from ESPN. FS1 took advantage of ESPN cutting down its payroll by letting go of their former sports media personalities. Executives of FS1 knew that they can't compete with ESPN and other sports' networks without bringing in some established personalities. So they spent whatever they needed to get the big guys from ESPN! What FS1 has done so far to make itself a known sports network, has really impressed me and many others. FS1 did their research, spent time in negotiating contracts with the likes of Bayless, Cowherd, and they entered the sports media world with the mentality of a takeover.
Like Skip Bayless, Colin Cowherd, Shannon Sharpe, Chris Broussard, and others, I can make a great impact for FS1 in terms of ratings. Okay, I am not as popular as them and have nothing in my background that would suggest I can make FS1 better. However, once I get on board and settle-down, FS1 will be on the verge to surpass ESPN in terms of ratings and a much better product. How can I say all of this? Well, like the big guys, I am all about acquiring news from all of the major sports and then going over them in detail. I look forward reading about big-time free agency signings, contract-extensions (from big ones to small ones), trade between teams, releasing of a productive player, news related to an injury to a player, and so much more. Football and basketball are my two favorite professional sports. Not so much in baseball, but I always read about major player movements during the season or in the offseason, and I also read about and watch big wins or upsets taking place, especially during playoffs. I read everything about football and basketball in detail, and then discuss it with my dad, uncle, friends and some people who I know follow sports closely.
How deep I can go in the world of sports?
Sometimes, before a major sport's news takes place, I don't get caught off-guard. Mainly because I had read so much about the team or teams who are part of the news, that I could anticipate what kind of moves those teams are going to make. Sometimes what I predict comes true, sometimes it doesn't come true, and at times, something similar to my prediction takes place. For instance, I know that the Los Angeles Rams this year are looking to make themselves a strong contender and are going for it all. They have been looking to get as many superstars on their roster as possible. So first, the Rams let go of Sammy Watkins in free agency and then started to look for his replacement. I knew they were going to make a move, most likely a trade to find a true number one receiver for their roster. Odell Beckham Jr. is somewhat on the trading block according to the New York Giants, and I thought that the Rams would give up their first-rounder and more to get him. The LA Rams did make a trade for a receiver, and they gave up their first-round pick to get him. However, they didn't make a trade for Beckham. They made a trade for Brandin Cooks with the New England Patriots. Now here, I have to admit that I was caught off-guard. Not because of the type of move the Rams made, but because of the player they were able to get, and the other team who participated in the trade with them. I had no clue of the Patriots having any plans to trade Brandin Cooks for a first-round pick, a year after they got him from the New Orleans Saints for a first-round pick. So in this instance, I predicted a stud receiver going to the Rams, but not exactly the player I expected.
I am very much into reading about stats of the players and the teams, but I don't solely use them to judge the player or the team. It is good to know stats in sports, as it gives a person an idea of what exactly happened in a game, season, or multiple seasons. However, stats could be misleading at times as they don't tell the full story of a game or a season. One of the examples could be a quarterback losing a game in which he didn't play till the very end. For instance, Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers started against the Minnesota Vikings in week six of last year and he lost the game. In that game, Aaron Rodgers got hurt early in the first quarter and then had to miss the rest of the game. Yes, Rodgers's Packers lost the game, but it wasn't because he played bad or just failed to make winning plays in the final quarter. A loss like this goes in the quarterback's record book, but we all know he wasn't actually the loser in the game. On the other hand, the backup quarterback, Brett Hundley who came to play for Rodgers for the rest of the game, and who threw three interceptions in a losing effort, doesn't get that loss in his resume. Hundley who played most of the game didn't get the loss, but Rodgers who played only two drives does get the loss for that game. So that's one of the reasons why I don't solely use stats to judge a player's or a team's success.
In general, I use both stats and eye-test to evaluate players, but mostly I evaluate a player with what my eyes are telling me. Sometimes a player puts up extraordinary stats and dominates the game. But when it is time to win the game or make plays to get back into the game, the player then makes bad decisions and ends up costing his team the game. If one keeps up putting great stats, but ends up playing bad late in games and doesn't make winning plays, I can't call him the very best player in the game. Yes, I know it isn't always one player's fault for a team losing late in games, but if he keeps disappearing in fourth-quarter time after time, especially when they were pretty close to winning those games, and it was up to that player to make plays (which he didn't), then I have to put the blame on him for losing the game. Great players do not always lead their teams to a victory, but more often than not, they make all the necessary plays to win games. To earn the title 'great', a player needs to make plays when his team needs him the most. If I and the rest of the world can't see a player lifting his team up and producing winning plays, then how can we call him a great player? Stats are fun, but like they say, 'actions speak louder than words,' in this case numbers!
In the NFL and NBA, there are players who are good and have the potential to be great. However, not everyone in the stands or people watching from home gets to see their true potential. I can help my audience and readers see those players' true potential with my writing. When I'm going to write about players in the league, I will use stats, the energy displayed by them on the field or on the court, their will and desire to win games, whether or not they were being selfish, and the end result of the games they played in, to show the people who those players really are. What I will have to say is not going to sit well with everyone who is going to read and hear about it. However, all my points are going to have reasoning, examples, and facts to back them up. Few of them will be based on my gut feelings, but even for those points, I'm going to provide very convincing arguments. Most of my statements which are going to be based on my gut feelings are going to be predictions for a game, season, or a career of a certain player.
If hired, what is FS1 going to get from me?
Once hired, FS1 is going to get better than it already is. The network will get a lot more creative. With my arrival, FS1 will be adding a lot more energy, as I'm going to come in determined and will be ready to do a whole of great things! Once I get in, FS1 will also get more viewers, even from foreign countries far from the United States. Finally, as I mentioned earlier, with me being there along with Skip Bayless, Shannon Sharpe, Colin Cowherd, Chris Broussard, and with many other high-profile personalities, FS1 will surpass ESPN as the most popular sports network on TV, radio, and the social-media world.
Position Seeking: Writer/Reporter for FS1.
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