Tyler Mayforth

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Author: Tyler Mayforth Page 8 of 11

Currently working in New Orleans, Louisiana as a communications assistant for the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Former ink-stained wretch who last worked in Athens, Georgia. This blog is for random musings in my life and career.

Don’t Let Mistakes Keep You Down

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On June 10, 2015

In Journalism

It stared at me as soon as I walked in the office on Tuesday.

As I got closer to my desk, the purple circle punched me in my gut.

When I sat down and took a deeper look, I felt sick to my stomach.

After a conversation that afternoon about mistakes in display type (or headlines to those not in journalism) in general, I not only busted one, but also got the person’s name wrong in the mug. If there was any saving grace — to be honest, there isn’t any — it was on an inside page. Still, to have that happen the day of a discussion sucked.

I let it affect me much longer than I choose to admit and went on autopilot not too long after. I went right to work on paginating Op-Ed, and halfway through I found out that wasn’t my duty for the day. I only had to do sports. Oh well, I still finished it.

For some reason, while wallowing in my mistake-borne malaise, a scene from the newest Rocky move (“Rocky Balboa”) played in my mind. Yeah, I don’t know either.

All right, if we’re being completely honest here, that scene didn’t play in my mind. It just seemed so right to put in here. And when it comes down to it, that’s what I did.

I shook whatever funk I had and wanted to make sure today’s sports section sang. I put my all behind every section I design, but this one had extra motivation behind it.

Our centerpiece was a lengthy feature on the evolution of tight ends by a Georgia Grady School student. From what I understand, they write a tome as part of their curriculum and get extra credit if it runs in the newspaper. We had several others grace our section and each time I made sure it looked good for them to have a clip.

And remember what I said about good art making a centerpiece? Today’s picture, taken by AJ Reynolds, recently won top honors from the Georgia Press Association. You’ll see why. It would be a true travesty if it didn’t win, because the lighting hits it perfectly and the action inside the frame — as well as the reactions — are golden.

So there you have it. Today was quite the adventure, but with every mistake you make in life, you can either let it eat you alive or learn from it and move on.

I’ll try to do better next time. It’s all about growth, right?

Elation, Pressure and the Belmont Stakes

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On June 7, 2015

In Journalism, Sports

Elation to buried under mounds of self-induced pressure.

That’s how my Saturday night went on desk at the Banner-Herald.

Why? Well, I’m glad you asked.

Around 6:40 p.m., I walked from our downtown office to Mellow Mushroom on my way to getting dinner. Thanks to my reconnaissance during trivia nights, I knew that place had a lot of TVs and a low-pressure waitstaff, which would allow me to settle in and potentially watch history be made with a plethora of other cheering patrons.

See, American Pharoah needed to win the Belmont Stakes on Saturday to complete the elusive Triple Crown. It had been 37 years since Affirmed last did so in 1978.

I’m one of those folks who, like many I’m sure, loves to see sports history unfold in front of their eyes. Needless to say, I wanted to be in front of a TV on Saturday.

Sure enough, American Pharoah led wire-to-wire and pulled away at the end for a comfortable victory. I exchanged high-fives with people around me and walked out.

I had more important things to do, like design an eye-catching centerpiece. Oh, boy!

Once I got back to the office and got settled, I began to sift through the avalanche of images the Associated Press snapped at Belmont Park. I pulled a few that caught my attention and knew eventually they’d post one that would pull everything together.

I cycled through designs and suddenly felt a load of stress on my shoulders. It wasn’t like deadline staring me down (I still had a few hours), but the self-induced pressure of being a perfectionist. I wanted the front page of the sports section to pop since it was a big moment and let’s face it — how many are on desk when history happens?

Time marched on and while I had something on the page that looked good enough, it wasn’t great. I wasn’t going to accept anything less than great in my eyes, so I hit delete and combed through the AP’s stockpile again until something stood out.

Eventually I found an aerial of the finish, which had enough air for me to work with.

Then I found a sidebar from the AP that broke down the keys to victory in the race.

Slowly, but surely, the puzzle came together until I truly liked the finished result.

What UDXC/TF Really Meant To Me

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On June 6, 2015

In Life Happenings, Sports

I never expected to be a Division I athlete.

Heck, as a high school freshman I was 5-foot-1, 105 pounds. If that.

During freshman orientation at Mount Pleasant High School (Go Green Knights), they had tables set up in the library manned by various sports coaches.Scrawny me went up to the football table and got laughed away. Seriously, what was I thinking? Then I walked across the room to the cross country table and they welcomed me with open arms. I’m sure they never turned someone away, probably for the better.

And after one failed attempt at playing baseball my freshman year, I turned my full attention toward running (cross country and track). Funny story: The football coach was also the track coach, like many are, and chuckled when he saw me come out.

Over the next four years I grew physically (Thank God) and athletically. By the time I was a junior, I became a decent runner. Then my senior year it all came together.

I placed fourth at the state cross country meet, seventh in the 1,600-meter run of the state track and field meet and third in the 3,200-meter run at the same event. I capped my prep career at the Meet of Champions, where I ran 10:06 in the 3,200.

Fast forward nine months and I toed the starting line as a varsity member of the University of Delaware track and field team. What happened between May 2003 and March 2004 isn’t really important. I ended up at UD, mainly because of the in-state tuition, went out for cross country/track and field because I knew I loved to run and before I knew it, I ran the 10,000 meters at the Monmouth Invitational.

Over the next four years I ran in plenty more races, lettered three times in cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track, but that’s not what sticks with me.

Eight years after my last race, I still feel as if I have the confidence that becoming a Division I athlete gave me. I worked hard for that. While I ostracized (or vilified) myself from the team — and today that remains as one of my biggest regrets — the feeling of being a part of something and the accomplishment of putting myself in that position to succeed urges me on not only in my athletic endeavors, but life.

There I am! And boy, am I white. (Photo courtesy DelawareOnline.com)

Today, no other guys can embark on that road since the University of Delaware axed the varsity cross country and track teams back in 2011. Our coach since left for greener pastures and only remnants remain in the form of two club teams.

Recently, an effort has been made to restore the program. According to that story from The News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware, a father of a runner who was on the team when it was cut filed a complaint to the Delaware Division of Human Relations that states the University of Delaware violated a state law in doing so.

Who knows how far it will go — if it gains any traction at all. I hope it creates some kind of ripple that will end the same way the recent fiasco involving the University of Alabama at Birmingham football program did — with it being fully reinstated.

I’m not going to get my hopes up, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed there’s good news.

——————————-

Now’s probably one of the best time to post that clip of me nearly killing myself (not really) during the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Even made America’s Funniest Videos.

Being Alone Isn’t All That Bad

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On June 5, 2015

In Life Stuff

Thursday is a weird day to have off work.

If it’s Tuesday or Wednesday, you know where to find me.

Recently Thursday switched with Tuesday and it’s a different story.

Today I decided to treat myself to a matinee showing at the movie theater. My ultimate decision came down to “Entourage” or “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

As serious internal debate raged as I weighed the validity of each option.

“Entourage” is a guilty pleasure of mine. How can it not be? It’s “Sex and the City” for men. I watched each and every episode of the show — and also have them all on my computer to pull up at a moment’s notice — and felt compelled to finish the run.

Then there was “Mad Max: Fury Road” and all of the praise it received from critics. Plus, it has all the makings of a great summer movie (tons of action and little plot).

Ultimately I decided on “Mad Max: Fury Road.” I could easily Redbox “Entourage” and not miss out on anything in the viewing experience that I would in the theater.

So I bought my ticket and went alone. If not for five other people who showed up five minutes before showtime, I would have been the only person in the theater.

I don’t mean this to be a sob story, actually the furthest thing from it. The movie was a blast (probably a much better pick than “Entourage”) and I don’t mind being alone.

Don’t get me wrong: I love hanging out with other people and being part of a team. In fact, I can’t wait to see my family in less than three weeks as they’re coming down to Georgia to celebrate me and my sister turning 30. Yeah, that one crept up fast.

But I truly don’t mind being alone. For the past eight years or so, I’ve been off on my own as I’ve embarked on creating my career from Maine to Texas and now Georgia.

Maybe being a journalist helped me learn how to function well alone. After all, you often chase a story by yourself, write by yourself, travel by yourself and all of that.

Some of the more recent positive happenings in my life have been after I branched out completely on my own. I did a solo road trip to New Orleans for WrestleMania 30 and loved every second of it after I got over the initial fear. I went to trivia alone the first few times, trying my best to hang tough with the better teams. I met my girlfriend after going to Terrapin Brewing Company alone on a spur of the moment.

I’m sure there are others and probably many more to come as I blaze my own trail.

The Perfect Headline Brings It All Together

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On May 26, 2015

In Golf, Journalism

A designer’s best ammunition — or worst nightmare, depending how you look at it — is an empty budget. It means free reign on content and the all-important centerpiece, but it could also spell disaster if you don’t know what news should fill your pages.

Such a scenario presented itself to me on Sunday.

Left to paginate the entire Banner-Herald, I had a budget for news but not sports.

I did a quick perusal of the AP Sports Digest and wrote down some items I knew should get in — the Braves-Brewers game, a standalone photo of the Hawks-Cavaliers game since it would finish too late for print, an online tease for the Coca-Cola 600 and the Indianapolis 500.

Saturday and Sunday each had high school baseball as the centerpiece, so putting the Braves there was overkill in my opinion. I needed something big to happen.

A few hours before deadline and just before I went to dinner, former Georgia golfer Chris Kirk won the Colonial when Ian Poulter couldn’t eagle the par-4 18th. Perfect! Based on how much our readers love golf and the Bulldogs, it would work well.

Then I began thinking about the design and knew I wanted to go vertical with it since a few of my previous pages were horizontal. I picked good art of Kirk, but found myself stuck in a rut.

How was I going to play this? What can I package?

After thinking a bit, I stepped away from my computer and began to walk out the door for my long-awaited meal. Then I stopped in my tracks.

I sat in front of my computer and looked through the art I pulled. The best picture I had of Kirk was him kissing the champion’s trophy. What about art from the Indianapolis 500? Sure enough, I grabbed a picture of Juan Pablo Montoya kissing the bricks.

Kirk would go large; Montoya small.

I needed a headline for it all to make sense.

It didn’t take long for the idea to pop in my head.

“Sometimes there is nothing sweeter than … A CHAMPION’S KISS”

Check out the page. I thought I did a good job with it.

Flash Floods and Severe Weather, Oh My!

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On May 25, 2015

In Georgia

Less than one month after I moved to Georgia, I shot out of bed early in the morning to the sound of a siren. It honestly seemed like it was right outside of my window.

When I first heard it, I couldn’t put a finger on what it meant. I opened my blinds and scoured the outside trying to find what kind of person would try to pull a prank that hour of the morning. You can probably tell I don’t think too straight when I wake up.

Once I checked my phone and turned on the TV, I realized it was a tornado siren — not a practical joker. Tornadoes had touched down around the Atlanta area and the forecasters predicted the weather system would head to the Classic City next.

I never heard a tornado siren in the six-plus years I lived in San Marcos, Texas.

Needless to say, I was scared out of my mind and called home. Yes, there was 29-year-old me frantically pacing around my apartment with my mom on the line.

Long story short, nothing happened. The cell passed right by Athens.

Come to think of it, I never experienced any severe weather while living in the Lone Star State. An inch of ice on the ground is treacherous, but nothing more extreme.

Old-timers in San Marcos always brought up “The 100-Year Flood” as to the worst disaster to hit the city. Being situated between two rivers — the San Marcos and the Blanco — I had no doubt in my mind that it could be horrible if the rains came down.

Well, they finally did over the weekend and the aftermath is/was devastating.

Thousands of residents in San Marcos and Wimberley were displaced and hundreds of homes washed away in the flash floods. Power is slowly being restored daily.

The apartment complex where I used to live in San Marcos flooded. It was situated less than 2,000 feet from the Blanco River, which crested at 41.5 feet on Sunday.

My heart and thoughts go out to my former co-workers, friends and others affected by this past weekend’s floods. Pictures probably do no justice to what transpired.

Hi, Athens. It’s Been 10 Months

By

On May 23, 2015

In Georgia, Life Stuff

Dear Athens,

How are you, my dear?

It’s been about 10 months since we got serious and started our relationship.

Time flies. I know.

Who could have imagined a long-distance, online courtship that started back in April of 2014 would turn into what it is today?

There was something different about you when I sent that first message. Yeah, I’ll admit it was a little bit cocky — but it caught your eye.

To be honest, you were my “What if?”

When I was much younger, another “What if” came into my life. So did a sure thing.

I’m ashamed to admit I took a run at the sure thing. It didn’t work out.

So when I saw you, I leapt at the opportunity. “What if,” became “What is.”

I don’t know if you see it, but there is a lot of admiration out there for you. Some might even call it “love.” After all, “Athens, I Love You” is the phrase of choice and even beget a Snapchat geocentric overlay the kids use these days.

One thing I noticed is that the people who use those aforementioned four words have been committed to you a long time. They might be lifelong residents, transplants or most likely students of the University of Georgia (woof-woof, etc).

I’m trying to feel that emotion for you. I am.

It took me a while to even think about uttering those words to San Marcos. I know I shouldn’t talk about past relationships in front of you, but it must be done.

I wasn’t planning on staying with San Marcos as long as I did. Two years max, I said.

But the longer you stay in a relationship, the more you grow — and learn.

I finally fell for “San Marvelous” one month after contacting you.

There was just something about the way she pulled together around her softball team and in turn, my coverage and in turn, me. I poured my heart into that month. As the kids say these days, “I felt some type of way.”

That’s probably why I cried when I put her in my rearview mirror one month later. I never shed a single tear over a previous relationship ending, but seven years — plus a lot of long nights, sweat and everything else — finally caught up to me.

Athens, I’m excited about what the future holds in store for us.

I’m learning to like you more and more every day.

Hopefully it turns into love.

Yours for now,

Tyler

Spidey Senses: Bad for Journalists, Great for Fans

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On May 16, 2015

In Journalism, Sports

Work in an industry long enough, you begin to develop “Spidey Senses.”

This goes for any line of work, but journalism is one of those where those senses are honed and trained, because something can change in less than a moment’s notice.

Such was the case Friday night in the Athens Banner-Herald sports department.

Two hours until deadline I let the sports editor know our centerpiece had to change since the original art wasn’t good enough. I could create an element, but good art is good art and good art pulls a centerpiece together and draws readers to the page.

A quick succession of texts set Plan B — Hawks-Wizards Game 6 — in motion (“OK. Cool) and put my “Spidey Senses” on high alert (“Hawks are up big”).

At the time, Atlanta led Washington by 10 or more points in the third quarter. But if you paid attention to the series at all, Game 3 and Game 5 were decided on the final basket while Game 4 turned on a missed shot, so Game 6 would likely follow suit.

With 30 minutes until deadline, I turned on the TV to see the Hawks squander a five-point lead with less than five minutes left. Then, as if I knew it would happen all along, the Wizards had a chance to send the game to overtime. I turned to a fellow desker and told her, “Watch this. One shot is going to destroy my front. I know it.”

Paul Pierce received a pass from John Wall, dribbled into the corner and fired up a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Swish! If it held up on replay, the game would be tied.

I started to move elements around to centerpiece Plan A.

Referees concluded the ball left Pierce’s fingertips a split-second too late.

Atlanta celebrated. Washington was in shock. My centerpiece survived.

If you’re a fan of basketball, the Hawks or Wizards, Friday night was a treat.

If you were on desk or writing about the game, your “Spidey Senses” got a workout.

How about some other instances in which my “Spidey Senses” went into overdrive?

  • Back in 2009, Texas State led Southeastern Louisiana by 24 points early in the fourth quarter of a Southland Conference football game. Like a fool, I started to write my game story — then stopped. I turned to a colleague and told him the game was far from over. Sure enough, the Lions scored three consecutive touchdowns and added the ensuing two-point conversions, sending the game to overtime. Southeastern Louisiana scored first in the extra period. The Bobcats answered and missed the extra-point attempt.
  • I wrote about this before, but late in Texas State’s win over Denver in the 2013 Western Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament, I heard the players chanting something on the bench. After the game, I asked what it was and the head coach told me “No comment.” That sent my “Spidey Senses” off in a good way, which led me to an award-winning angle.

Dr. Strangeblog or: How I Learned to Love Themes

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On May 9, 2015

In Blogging

I’ll go ahead and just say what y’all are thinking.

No, not that. Close, though.

“Just pick a theme already and stick with it!”

I’ll admit it: This blog has schizophrenia.

Every time I think I settled on a theme, other themes want their say. As I stated before, I’m a perfectionist, so I want everything to look as great as it can.

If you come around these parts enough, you’ll see I primarily switch between two themes — Rowling (current) and Trident Lite (previous).

I dig Rowling because of the colors and look. To me, it just looks clean and that’s what I think matters when it comes to a personal/professional blog. Too cluttered is awful and an off-the-wall color scheme screams 14-year-old One Direction fan (They’re still a thing, right?) I’m also partial to the related posts that show up on each post.

Then there is Trident Lite, which also has a strong color scheme and looks relatively clean. What I don’t like about it — and tried to change through CSS, but nearly killed my blog doing so — is the blank space after three or four posts. It’s a small thing, but as I stated above, I’m a perfectionist and want everything to look just right.

If I could blend Rowling and Trident Lite, it would be the perfect theme. Heck, if this one had post previews underneath the featured image, it would be my first choice. Until that comes along, I’ll continue to cycle themes and give those downloaders who create these wonderful themes and extra download and might even give a review.

Scatterbrained, but for blogging that’s OK

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On April 29, 2015

In Blogging, Georgia, WrestleMania

As I watch the main event of WrestleMania 31 again — which was highly underrated, by the way — I’m trying to come up with something fascinating to write. I figure it had been long enough since my last post and in order to keep whoever reads this blog entertained, I must keep on a relatively regular schedule.

My original idea for this post was going to be centered around the Athens Twilight Criterium that happened this past weekend in Athens, Georgia. I’d discuss how impressive it was to see those cyclists tearing around the city streets, then segue into my own experiences on a racing bike. I bought a Trek 2000 off Craigslist about six years ago in order to be able to compete in my first triathlon. Three triathlons and countless other rides later, I’m more comfortable “in the saddle” as they say, but terrified of tight turns.

Once that idea fizzled since I thought it would be a stretch to jump from Athens Twilight to my involvement in triathlons, I considered writing about wrestling and listing my favorite all-time matches. Then again, how popular is professional wrestling and who’d want to know my Top 10 includes Cactus Jack versus Triple H at Royal Rumble 2000, Stone Cold Steve Austin versus The Rock at WrestleMania 17 and Daniel Bryan versus Triple H at WrestleMania 30 (I was there), among others.

Then I pinged Todd for ideas and he suggested writing about something “off the wall,” like food, my car or relationship with my sister. Well, I still can’t find a good burger or sandwich in this town, my 2006 Honda Accord is running well but could use some body work and there isn’t enough bandwidth to express how much I love and how proud I am of my twin.

So there you have it. I had three ideas for this post but none of them panned out.

But then again, that’s OK. Scatterbrained is OK when it comes to blogging.

My goal when it comes to this blog is posting something of substance when it tickles my fancy. If I “mail it in” or don’t really have a point, I don’t want to post. It’s as simple as that.

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