This year I'll be celebrating 10 years since founding 30HomeGames in Vilnius, Lithuania. I was recently invited on 'The Baseline Podcast' with Stevie Cozens to share my stories as a basketball traveller.
VIDEO: Official EuroBasket 2011 Anthem (English version)
Stevie is a New Zealander with a passion for hoops, he has an interesting mixture of guests who cover a range of perspectives on the game. The pandemic has put a halt on life as usual for all of us. Putting privileges like travel and opportunity in perspective, I'm lucky to have been able to take my chances over the years. Whilst New Zealand is an emerging basketball nation, Stevie and the Baseline Podcast is a great example of how technology and shared interests can open our world and shrink the distance between us. Even when we're robbed of travel or away from the action.
Stevie's guests on the Baseline Podcast have mirrored epiphanies I've had on my own journey. Photographer Diandra Ann shares her discoveries after being exposed to a wider universe of hoops through her work and fandom.My 7 year old daughter was introduced to the WNBA today in @sabrina_i20 's debut. "Mom, I can be a basketball player even though I'm a girl?" Yes baby girl, you can do anything ❤️ pic.twitter.com/EmzVeB8i8r
— Dia (@diandraann) July 25, 2020
Catching Up With Diandra Ann, The Queen of Blazers Twitter
DIANDRA ANN: (10m 55s) This is all a new world to me. I'm getting familiar with it as I go because there's so much that I don't know still but like you said this is really well known outside of the United States. I think of a lot of it is why you watch basketball? Do you watch basketball because you like LeBron James (nothing against LeBron James, he's a fantastic player). But do you watch basketball because of that or do you watch basketball cause you like to watch basketball? And I think if you're a person who just likes to watch basketball there are so many other people out there that you could be watching including organisations like FIBA...
For Diandra, her exposure began when she started working with Swish Cultures and FIBA. Having international colleagues and doing work with a global focus on the game gave her access to another perspective. Travel has usually been my gateway. I've cultivated my curiosity by exploring different cultures but personal connections to places and people cement that fondness. 30HomeGames began after spending an incredible month backpacking around hoops-mad Lithuania as they hosted EuroBasket '11. The festival atmosphere connecting with hoopheads from around Europe and the amazing hospitality from locals has been a high I've chased ever since.
DIANDRA: (16m 16s) When you put people in that are the best of what you've got then you've got the fans behind you and you build that global awareness for the game outside of just the United States. I still feel like I don't fully understand all of it as far as all the leagues, who's where and all that stuff. I'm kinda figuring it out as I go cuz it's all very new for me because I wasn't really exposed to it before.
When you hear people say all the time "Representation Matters. Exposure Matters" and all those things and that's very true because if you don't know it exists its hard to be familiar with it. As it gets more recognition and as it becomes a bigger thing we're gonna hopefully see excitement building for basketball outside of the NBA and the WNBA...
I'm a big believer in narrative, its a powerful drive in basketball. Its the reason we adore certain teams and players and why we despise others. It's also what pushes us to collect certain basketball cards or buy certain sneaker colourways. Its worth examining those stories because I think it tells us a lot about ourselves and each other. Looking at all my faves through the years, I've found that I have a bias towards, underdogs, small market teams and international players which I touched on in my episode.
Another conversation that resonated with me was Stevie's chat with Kaan Erel. Kaan was a contestant on 'GM School' which originally aired on NBATV and YouTube. His perspective on networking reflected my own, interestingly 'GM School' host Ben Lyons has been one of the most meaningful connections I've made on my 30HomeGames journey. I speak on that in my conversation with Stevie.
Kaan unpacks the basics of interpersonal connection and being able to present oneself as a professional asset. His words also double as great life advice.
Career In Basketball Media With Kaan ErelKAAN EREL: (34m 22s) Networking is crucial to display who you are to the people that you want... you gotta know who you are and be able to describe yourself in a way that you agree with it. Once you stop trying to get someone else to agree that you are worth it... once you find your own self worth, it becomes easy to talk about it to other people...
You never know when relationships will become something of actual business or professional value but if you don't go into them with that in mind they hold value just because of the connection... It's all about building connections that can amount to different things in the future. That's what I think networking is. It's not about "I need to find a job" or "I need to change out". I wanna meet more people because that's what life is actually about.
This sentiment by Kaan is something I touched on with Stevie. I have a similar philosophy around social media and been blessed to find the right people. My first NBA game was in 2015 at Madison Square Garden. As I do before embarking on my trips, I try to reach out to the destination NBA teams in search of a unique fan experience. During that time I had a modest 200+ Instagram followers (admittedly I don't have too much more 10 years on) but the New York Knicks graciously provided our traveling crew pregame access. That initial experience proved to me I didn't need to have tens of thousands of followers to warrant a connection. Genuineness and openness with timing and good fortune mixed in can go a long way.
Its an honour to be able to share my story on the Baseline Podcast. Enjoy the show.
Follow Stevie Cozens online here:
- Twitter at @StevieCozens
- Instagram at @BasketballContentNZ
- Subscribe to 'The Baseline Podcast'
Follow Diandra Ann online here:
- Twitter at @DiandraAnn
- Instagram at @Diandra.Ann
Follow Kaan Eral online here:
- Twitter at @iKaanic
- Instagram at @iKaanic
No comments:
Post a Comment