Competitors? I wouldn't say so. Sure, they're both news media outlets. Sure, they both cover sports in France. But would I say they're competitive? Absolutely not.
L'Equipe is a French news media outlet. They cover sports in France, in the French language. EuroSport covers sports all over Europe, in a wide range of 22 different languages. They have a much wider and broader target audience. L'Equipe has multiple different talkshows, different ways of reaching the target audience such as print, website, Twitter, Snapchat and other forms of social media. EuroSport isn't known for its talkshows, social media content, etc. because that would mean they would have to translate into 22 different languages. So, yes, they're both news media outlets that cover sports in France. But, one is much larger than the other, and one is much more focused than the other.
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Outside of the Notre Dame Cathedral, there are streets filled with places to eat. Tons of creperies, tons of pastry shops, tons of ice cream. What can I smell? Sugar. I can smell the warmth of the air mixed with the sweetness that intertwines the Parisian air. On top of that, I can smell cigarettes. Some places the smell is stronger than others, but I have yet to go to a place in Paris that does not smell even the slightest bit like cigarettes.
The smell of the sugar and sweetness in the air is only slightly familiar at home when I walk into a place like Gigi’s cupcakes, or a pastry shop in downtown Detroit. However, the smell doesn’t linger outside the building like it does in Paris. The smell of the cigarettes is more familiar at home, but again, not nearly to that extent. At home, walking past a person who smokes cigarettes is not unheard of, but also is becoming more and more rare. Here, I have yet to walk by a shop or down the street without seeing someone smoking, or smelling it. So, as I walk through Paris, I smell the sweet smell of sugar that distracts from the strong fumes of cigarette smoke. Mary Poppins with a twist. If I were in the Olympics for any non-big time sport and had the opportunity to represent the United States of America, I think the pressure would be the same. Knowing myself, and knowing how other athletes feel, the Olympic competition is much more than just receiving a plethora of media attention and winning gold. It's an iconic feeling knowing that you are representing this country in such a positive light. At the end of the day, if I were to win gold in a smaller sport that most people do not know and understand the rules, I still won gold for the United States. Point, blank, period.
It's the one time that everyone in the country is cheering for the same team, and to be quite honest, is completely and utterly thrilled with every victory and success that Team USA achieves. The wild part of the Olympics is that the best of the best from each country come together and compete, and most don't earn a medal. As a competitive athlete, you probably would feel like a failure. You compete and work and train to win a medal for you, your family, and your country, and when you lose, of course you feel like a failure. In hindsight, I don't think that's failure. I think that's doing your best, and representing your country in a positive light. And, that's sport. There's one winner, and that's how it should be. Touring EuroSport was such an amazing opportunity, and something that I quickly began to appreciate. Hearing that EuroSport programs 22 different languages is amazing, but watching how these people do their daily jobs gave me a greater appreciation for how difficult that is. Also, after being here for a few days and trying to interpret and understand French has been super difficult for me. I can't even begin to comprehend the patience and knowledge all of these individuals have to do their own jobs. EuroSport's culture is clearly very different from what I know of Fox or ESPN. The sports that are broadcasted and receive the most attention are very different from what is popular in the United States. But other than the fact that sports and languages are different, everything else is relatively the same. Broadcast is broadcast. The incredible thing is, we have a lot of what EuroSport has in our own newsroom, which is just another reason to be proud to be a Spartan. I was also very impressed with Laurent, our tour guide, and how fascinated he seemed to be with us, but also how fascinated he seemed to be with his own job after all of these years. I hope that for myself in the future. I applied for this study abroad during the fall semester, and ever since I've been ecstatic. People would ask me what my plans were for the summer, and for the first time I felt like I had a truly incredible answer: Paris and Rome. A couple of weeks before I left, I started to feel a little bit of anxiety. I began to take into consideration that I would be away from my family, my friends, my jobs, and the United States. I was still super excited, but a little bit on edge. Finally, the plane from DTW began to fly and the anxiety stopped. I was really doing this. Actually going abroad. It finally happened. Ever since then, everything I've done has really hit me. This morning, Lauren and I walked around and got coffee and croissants for breakfast. Mind you, we did go to Starbucks, but for some reason everything tasted better. I had creme brûlée for dessert at lunch. We saw the Eiffel Tower. We went on a boat tour down the Seine River. I paid for my groceries with Euros. I'm finally here and made it to Paris. It sounds completely cliche, but it doesn't feel real. I feel like time has stopped and I'm able to just sit and enjoy every second of this amazing place -- a place that people rave about, and I now understand why. Every pastry place we walk by I stick my head in to check out what desserts look the prettiest, and which one I want to try next. It smells like dessert and cigarettes everywhere I walk. I also had no clue that cigarettes were so popular here. Everyone smokes them constantly, and I see them on the ground everywhere. That's the only thing I don't like about this place, but it does bring some sort of culture that I can't seem to put into words. I don't like that, and I don't like the smell of the Metro during the day when it's hot out. It smells like sweat, but in a very confined place. Also, the Eiffel Tower is a mile from my apartment, and it really doesn't get much better than that. It's massive, beautiful, and I really don't think I could get sick of looking at it. We walked home in a thunderstorm from the Eiffel Tower, and it almost felt like a movie. The tower was lit up and truly stunning, and watching the lightning flash behind it was incredible. If I wasn't freezing and soaking wet I could have watched it all night. I can't wait to experience the rest of this city. Ernest Hemingway told a vivid story about becoming a writer, and described even the tiny details of the food and alcoholics in Paris, and how they inspired him. Hemingway used characters and personal experience to provide a lovely piece for all of us readers to enjoy.
Hemingway's world of a young sports journalist trying to make sense of his career and life resonates with me in so many ways. For one, the trials and tribulations he went through. As an aspiring sports media member, we go through trials and tribulations daily. It's a competitive field with many people that do deserve to be competing, and also many that do not deserve that. There are many different opinions and ways of doing things, which I think Hemingway experiences. One example would be Gertrude Stein being so critical of Hemingway and the writers that he admired. The Paris that I will be looking for is a place full of adventure and experience. I want to see another culture, and live it. I want to really live that culture. I want to experience other people's perspectives and views on the world and on sports. I want to live that. The sports journalism career that I want to have involves a lot of understanding, learning and respect. I want to have a career where I can understand the world of sports. In America, we think football. Or, at least I think football. However, there are so many other sports that need and deserve attention. I want to have a career where I learn constantly. Hopefully, I can learn daily. I don't just mean learning about how to write and report. I mean learning about people, different athletes, different moving parts of the sports industry. I want to learn from the best on how to be the best, and I want to learn from the worst and not make the same mistakes they did. Finally, I want to have a career full of respect from my peers. I want to do the best and be the best, but I also want to do it the right way, and earn the respect from athletes, coaches and fellow sports media members. My life doesn't look a lot A Movable Feast. I haven't had to struggle as much as Hemingway has. He describes his struggle, especially while he is hungry and poor. However, he says that "hunger is healthy." When he says that, I think ultimately he means that there is beauty in the struggle and the journey of getting to where you need to be. It's kind of like that quote, "The journey is the destination." That's how I see my life and career path: the journey is the destination. |