Jenn Sterger’s visit barely covered two days.
In a short time span, I met an ardent sports fan who knows her college and professional sports. But I also met an interesting production crew with two members from New York and another from Chicago. Friday and Saturday, I tagged along as Sterger visited Eugene, and created a video for Sports Illustrated’s web site, SI.com, with Oregon students Nick Harrington and Aubrie Corey.
In an indirect way, the visit gave me access to athletic areas I wouldn’t have been able to see otherwise. I watched as Sterger and her three-person production team explored the Casanova Center and Oregon’s Hall of Champions.
I gained a peek inside the state-of-the-art football locker rooms, where media access is rare and football players enjoy plush accommodations. Lockers stand the size of a doorway. Three televisions hang from the ceiling at different angles. A digital counter above the entrance to the bathroom shows the time remaining until the season opener.
Once the production crew finished there, they headed to McArthur Court and filmed a segment inside the men’s basketball locker room. Inside on one wall, photos of the team’s trip to the Bahamas are displayed and on another, photos of the team’s most recent NBA draft picks are shown.
When the Emerald learned of the opportunity to interview Sterger, my fellow staff writer Jacob May and I vied for the chance with my seniority proving the difference in earning the assignment.
“I think when I told Jacob over there at (the Emerald) office, I think I actually heard him cry a little. I was like ‘Wow, it’s kind of a big deal I guess,’” joked Greg Walker, sports information director for the men’s basketball team.
And interest wasn’t restricted to the Emerald office. The preview story discussing Sterger’s visit on Friday was picked up by a blog from The Oregonian and amassed almost 2,500 online reads.
Our readers wanted the story and I gladly obliged. This is Sports Illustrated that came to campus, and come Wednesday at 8 a.m., Sterger’s video of Oregon will be seen by viewers nationwide.
Some might consider the assignment vain and in a way maybe it is. Sterger was discovered because of her looks and openly acknowledges the impact her appearance has in her popularity. But her celebrity also has to do with her passion for college sports and her sports column on SI.com.
If she uses this video series to show campuses not regularly shown by the national media, so much the better. As it is, Fox Sports Northwest seems to enjoy showing Washington Huskies highlights more than Oregon basketball.
Sterger showed in her short visit the dedication of camped out Pit Crew members, the environment of McArthur Court during a game, and Oregon’s sports celebrities with the likes of Joey Harrington and Phil Knight. Amidst a breakthrough season for the men’s basketball team – the last few games notwithstanding – Sterger’s visit is helping a national audience see what Oregon basketball is all about.
“I think what it all comes down to with college sports is that there’s heart involved in it,” Sterger said. “When you have all these professional athletes and stuff out there, I think at some point it becomes a job for them and the fans don’t associate with it as much.”
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