Back to Normal

On Saturday I went to watch Stanford Men’s Volleyball play at Maples Pavilion for the first time since the pandemic began, and it was awesome. It felt so good to be at a live sporting event with actual cheering fans, and just to see people in general. I had gone to the match alone but ended up connecting with friends I hadn’t seen in a while, which was great. The Stanford fans were also excited since their team had just beaten No. 1 UCLA the previous night in a tight 5-set match. UCLA ended up avenging their loss in the repeat match, but it was competitive and fun to watch nevertheless.

It’s been quite a journey for the Stanford team, as the university had unceremoniously canceled the sport (along with 10 others) in the middle of the pandemic, but then reversed course last year after “newly galvanized philanthropic interest.” The conditions and drama couldn’t have made for a better story, so I decided to reprise my role as media for Stanford Men’s Volleyball and interview one of the players after the match.

I wish I could say that it’s a piece of cake to do these interviews, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, it helps that I enjoy meeting new people, but I’m not a good public speaker and as an introvert I tend to process my thoughts internally. It’s nerve-wracking enough just figuring out what you’re going to ask and not say “um” in a 3-minute conversation. My goal is literally to come across as natural and not dumb — once I master that maybe I’ll try sounding like I know what I’m talking about.

Seriously, though, Will was a great interview subject, and I only wish I had asked better questions in the beginning so I could have better led into the story. Regardless, it was a blast, and I love that I was uniquely positioned to tell his story and that of the team.

It’s funny how life works — I rarely watched sports growing up, and even when I did I never thought I’d want to be that person interviewing athletes after a match. Obviously I’m not going to quit my day job to do that, but if there’s an opportunity to do that in the future, I’m going to take it.