3 tips for Philly sports media creators
Plus an invitation to a highly exclusive club
Some of you may be familiar with a little 1976 film called Rocky.
When Rock and Adrian go ice skating on their first date, Adrian asks a very reasonable question and gets an honest answer.
“Why do you wanna fight?”
“Cuz I can’t sing or dance. Aaaaaaaaayyy.”
For the Italian Stallion, it was simple: He did what he was built to do. He fought.
He continued fighting well past his prime (even if it was against bums like Spider Rico). And eventually his commitment paid off. Not only did Rocky become a heavyweight champ, but he also single-handedly ended the Cold War.
The man knew instinctively what I’ve come to learn: We should all do what we’re built to do in this life.
And if you are built to be a Philly sports media creator, I have some tips for you.
More about me
I can’t sing or dance either. And I’m sure not a professional boxer.
What I can do is build an audience.
When I was younger, I spent some years with big fancy law firms in Philly and DC. The career was much better than my previous jobs: window washing in Center City, slinging UPS packages at the Philly airport, and making sandwiches for drunk kids in Happy Valley, just to name a few. I had cushy offices with nice views and the money was incredible. Everything I’d dreamed of in college and law school.
But it never felt quite right. The work was dry. Unsatisfying. I was in a profession for Very Serious People doing Very Serious Things.
Deep down, I always knew I was a little too goofy for that environment.
Luckily, right around that time, a brand new occupation was emerging from the primordial sludge of early social media. The internet creator. And I was built for it.
Creator wasn’t really the term back then. But in between billable hours, just for fun, I anonymously launched Philadelphia Eagles fan pages on Facebook and reeled in tens of thousands of followers. Awake and stressed at 3:00 a.m., I’d make Andy Reid memes until I fell back asleep. I’d travel to board meetings with the wealthy and powerful, then argue online with 12-year-old New York Giants fans from my hotel room.
Later, during the miserable 2015 Phillies season, I “live-tweeted” the 2008 championship run and started to build an audience on the app now known as X. A decade later I hit 40,000 followers. In between, I worked the Phils beat for one organization and wrote Philly sports and culture columns for another. My mom got to see me on local television. I started the substack you’re reading right now.
Just the other day, I was a guest on 94WIP—the radio station that basically raised me—talking about Cole Hamels.
If this journey seems bizarre to you, well, congratulations. You are normal.
But if it makes sense to you or sounds fun, you just might be a fellow creator. And I have some tips for you.
Tip 1 - You can just do things.
I often get messages from people asking about working in sports media. They want to know how to get started.
My advice is always the same: just start doing what you’re interested in. If you want a radio gig, know that absolutely anyone can launch a podcast. If you want to write game stories, the game is on television. You saw the same thing everyone else did, my friend.
Most postgame interviews are televised nowadays as well. Does it make much of a difference if Rob Thomson is speaking to you in your living room instead of the Citizens Bank Park media room? As someone who has been there, I can tell you it absolutely does not.
For better or worse, the traditional gatekeepers of the industry are fighting a losing battle. If you want to work in sports media, know that you are fortunate enough to live in an era where nobody can stop you.
Just do it. (That’s an original slogan I made up and trademarked.)
Tip 2 - Your audience is everything.
The key to working independently as a creator—in any industry—is building an audience.
Your audience is your income, your job security, your everything. Doesn’t matter if it consists of ten people or ten thousand; guard them with your life. And always be grateful for their support.
Let’s be real—I didn’t land my writing gigs because I’m Ernest Hemmingway on a keyboard. I landed them because I could get eyes on the articles. I brought an audience with me.
And when I was dropped from said gigs? I still had my audience. Sports media outlets will come and go, so your personal “brand” is all that really matters. Even if you work in more traditional media, you’re likely to be replaced by someone younger and cheaper some day.
Unless you have an audience that will notice when you’re swapped out.
(That reminds me…. If you’re not already a subscriber to this newsletter, now would be a great time to hand over that sweet, sweet email address.) 👇
Tip 3 - No one gives it to you. You have to take it.
I was not well-liked on the Phillies beat. And understandably so. Guys (yes, the industry is still roughly 90% guys, even now) spend years writing about high school sports or whatever, going to journalism school, grinding and networking relentlessly, etc. before finally landing a job covering a major team. Then suddenly the twitter person is doing the same work? I get why that could be annoying.
There’s also a caste system among the credentialed press that I wasn’t interested in respecting. Because if you and I are in the same place, I’m going to do everything I can to get my audience the same information as your audience. While The New York Times, The Inquirer, NBC Sports, MLB itself, and WIP get one level of access, smaller newspapers/websites get another. And somewhere below that, you would find me. The Phillies—a well-run organization in many ways, but famously slow to adapt—still charmingly refer to internet-only publications as “new media.”
My assigned seat in the press box had an obstructed view. I spoke with Bryce Harper exactly zero times. The BBWAA Philly chapter head refused to send me any information about joining the union. Despite more people reading my work now than ever before, Phillies PR nixed my credentials for 2026.
Is much of this stuff unfair?
Yes.
But do I let it bother me?
Also yes.
And it should bother you too, if you’re similarly excluded from their club.
Here’s the thing: industries change all the time. These guys yearn for the good old days, when everyone would mash away at typewriters in smoke-filled rooms, saying things like, “What a scoop!” while their editor is like, “Bring me Spider-Man!”
But even though those days are over, many of the powers that be don’t know it yet. They will still throw up whatever roadblocks they can, and you’ll have to be a little pushy—maybe a lot pushy—to get your audience the information and content they deserve. You’ll need workarounds.
The good news? You don’t have to do it alone.
An invitation
If you’ve made it this far, you should think about joining Cre8tor Club. (8 like 2008, do you get it? It’s very clever and not dumb at all, actually.)
Cre8tor Club is a collection of like-minded individuals paving independent lanes in the modern media landscape. We support each other, promote each other, improve our work together, and build massive audiences. If you’re a writer, artist, podcaster, YouTuber, TikToker, Only Fanser, or anything similar, consider joining the team.
It’s Philly sports-centric, of course, but all are welcome.
You get:
A personal evaluation of your work (I’ll be brutally honest about your strengths and weaknesses);
Monthly one-on-one 30 minute zooms with me to discuss a tailored approach to growing your audience;
Periodic group zooms to meet other creators;
Promotion of your work through 2008philz social media accounts; and
A Cre8tor Club newsletter with specific weekly tips on navigating social media algorithms and expanding the reach of your work.
I get:
Seven American dollars and ninety-two cents each month. Basically a venti coffee.
Not a bad deal, in my unbiased opinion. You’ll also get anything else that goes behind this substack paywall, such as features from guest writers and artists.
Are you built for this???
Upgrade to a paid subscription here and let’s start growing your audience:
This article came to me at the perfect time. As someone in the earliest stages of Philly sports media creation, I needed these messages. Real and encouraging!