The drive from Piscataway, New Jersey, to my hometown was only about 30 minutes. But those trips with my dad — usually coming home from Rutgers football losses — were where I learned to love reporting.
Many fall Saturdays while I was growing up, my dad and I would pile into a car, ever hopeful his alma mater could spring an upset. I was in the stands the night Rutgers beat a top-10 Louisville team thanks to Jeremy Ito’s right foot. The call, “Pandemonium in Piscataway,” still plays in my house. But most of the time, it was a tough loss.
No matter the outcome, my favorite part of the day was the drive home. My dad would turn on the car radio to listen to the postgame news conference and we’d break down everything he saw and heard about Rutgers that week. We’d talk about the reporting in the newspaper. When we got home, I’d write my own version of a story in a notebook filled with real newspaper clippings.
I didn’t know it then, but those weekends led me to this new role as the Utah Jazz reporter at The Salt Lake Tribune.
I always dreamed of being the person writing the stories that sparked conversations among friends and family. My dad and I would talk about the reporters, who made the players, coaches and program come to life. It was our world, with its own characters and saga.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kevin Reynolds.
Sports were a way to connect with my family and my community.
So that is what guides me now as a reporter covering the Jazz. I’ll strive to find stories that you’d want to talk about over the dinner table or the TRAX ride home.
To me, that means diving into why something happens — not just what happened. You all know if the Jazz win or lose. My job is to tell you why your team made a trade, or give you a peek inside the locker room, or a story that connects this organization to your life.
That can look different depending on the day. As The Tribune’s reporter covering BYU the last four years, that sometimes meant telling how AJ Dybantsa ended up in Provo, or explaining why the star quarterback left a month before the season. Other times, it was highlighting a player living out of his car and selling his own plasma, or showing how a religion and its university were at odds over Name, Image and Likeness issues.
To be honest, some of the best parts of my week are still getting on the phone with my dad and breaking down stories.
So for me, it’s an honor to be part of a reporting process that, at its best, can connect us to family and community. Hopefully, we will provide you with stories that you want to talk about with the most important people in your life.
It’s all I ever wanted to do after a game.
