Ambition Made of Sterner Stuff

Story and photograph by Kristin O’Grady.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Jonathan Singh possesses the expected attributes of a former athlete: cool confidence, muscular physique, and an exhaustive list of sports experiences. He says he has tried his hand at nearly every sport and can recall the memories of each experience with ease. An aspiring NHL play-by-play commentator, he ostensibly conforms to the athlete-turned-broadcaster mold. However, there is something about Singh which promises to break that mold and propel him straight to the top of his field: his fervent ambition.

From Port Washington, N.Y. to Dowling College to the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, he seems untouched by inhibition and running head first into the career of his dreams.

“Five years from now, hopefully I have… my dream job," Singh said.

Quite the lofty aspiration.

“I might not be calling games for a top NHL team—maybe a minor league team,” Singh said. “As long as I’m calling games and getting practice, I think I can do it.”

Even when he is deep in his career, Singh knows that he will remember his journey through Newhouse, and he plans to give back to students who will work just as hard as he does now. He looks forward to the day when he can offer advice and consolation to students pursuing play-by-play and other areas of sports journalism.

Below is the transcription of my interview with Singh.

Listen to the audio version here.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q&A with Jonathan Singh

KO: Talk to me about your background in sports. You already told me that you competed at the collegiate level... running cross country. Just take me through your timeline of sports in your life because, obviously, it wasn’t just your undergrad experience. I’m assuming there was more to it.

JS: Right. So, sports dates back, to me, as far as the elementary school level. I was always involved in tee-ball [and] kiddie soccer, and then eventually [I] moved up to middle school sports, and then high school sports, playing on the field and what not, and then I took it to the collegiate level, ran Division II cross country, enjoyed it. So, I pretty much had the opportunity to experience sports, playing-wise, from elementary, middle school, high school, and at the collegiate level.

KO: Okay. What did you play in high school?

JS: So, in high school, I played football and I wrestled.

KO: Okay. So you’ve done a lot of different stuff.

JS: Oh, yeah. I’ve played a great amount of sports. I was always interested in trying out a bunch of sports. I mean, I’ve pretty much played most—all of them. I’ve rowed crew, I’ve played tennis, I’ve played lacrosse, baseball, football, wrestling. So, I’ve done a lot, and it’s cool to see how each sport is played and the way people play it.

KO: So, obviously, you’ve done a lot. At what point in your life did you decide that you had enough of a passion for sports and sports media to decide that you wanted to have a career in it?

JS: So, I’ve always had a great passion with sports just from playing as a young kid. The sports media side of it came, probably, [in my] later years in high school: my junior/senior year[s]. I was always curious of how people at ESPN did their job. Where did they go to get educated to do their job? So, I did some research on journalists and what not. I knew nothing about it in high school, and then, early on in college, I took a few communications courses, and then I switched over from a PE major—Phys. Ed—to a Communication Arts major, and I just got a lot more details on how journalists do their things, and I kind of just shifted gears towards that.

KO: Since you’ve looked up a lot of different journalists and what not, who would you say are your role models in the sports media industry?

JS: My role models in sports media? I would probably say—Joe Buck, for one. He’s my number one. Joe Buck. Play-by-play for Fox Sports. [He] does MLB on Fox and NFL on Fox. So, definitely Joe Buck. I like his partner, Troy Aikman, as well. He’s a good color commentator. He’s got a great background in all of sports—for football at least. I also like, on the writing side—print journalism—Gregg Sarra of Newsday. He does the high school sports for Newsday. He’s been doing it a long time. Also in print, Bob Herzog is very good. He also went here. I think he was the Class of ’70-something. Those four are pretty good.

KO: Speaking of big-time guys in the media, what is your dream job? Where do you see yourself at the apex of your career?

JS: So, at the top of my career, hopefully I’m calling play-by-play for a national hockey team in the NHL. That’s always been a goal of mine—for quite a while now. I just like the action and what not. I want to be in the booth calling a game, you know, giving an audience the perspective of how I’m seeing the game, telling them the story, pretty much from what I’m seeing and calling. That’s my career goal. I also, maybe, [want to] be a studio host for a sports station—an intermission host, possibly an ESPN reporter. I don’t know. Honestly, there is so much in this field. I can give you a better answer if you want to follow up at the end of the year on that one, but there’s so much in this field, you know, and it’s very competitive, so, if you’re not doing something, someone else is.

KO: Right, and you have time to figure it out, obviously.

JS: Not much time.

KO: Time enough! You have a year.

JS: Yeah.

KO: Interest question: Who’s your favorite hockey team? I know we’re not supposed to be “fans,” but what’s your favorite hockey team?

JS: The team I enjoy watching the most is the New York Rangers.

KO: Okay. I had a feeling you were going to say that. Alright! Coming down a little bit from that “top of your career” thing, if we’re being realistic, obviously you’re not going to get your dream job coming right out of here.

JS: Absolutely.

KO: But, you’re on a path to a place where you want to be. So, on that path, where do you see yourself in five years from now?

JS: Five years from now, hopefully I have… my dream job.

KO: Wow! That’s ambitious. Okay! I appreciate that.

JS: Yeah, I mean, obviously, walking out of here, I’m not going to bring myself into a huge market. [I’ll] start somewhere small, build up, get that resume up, get some more camera time, get some more time reporting, get my feet a little bit more wet, and I think five years from now, I can do my dream job. I might not be calling games for a top NHL team—maybe a minor league team. As long as I’m calling games and getting practice, I think I can do it.

KO: Yeah. Final question. So, the other day in class, Professor Card kept repeating the phrase, “Sports matters.” So, with that in mind—that specific phrase and that idea—what do you hope to accomplish when you reach the top of your career and you’re in your dream job?

JS: When I’m at the top of my career, I would like to teach others on how to do it, just like what we’re seeing here. We’re all young journalists, and we have a lot of guest speakers that come in that give their insight [and] their opinions of how to do it [and] what’s the best way to do it. They give you their advice on the road they took to get where they are. I would like to do something like that: give back to the youth of aspiring journalists who are looking to pursue the path that I did, or looking to see what they can do, because I know a lot of people are unsure. They have a few things they want to do, like I have right now. Just give back to the educational youth, schools, and give my insight to other people.

KO: Thank you!

JS: You’re welcome.