newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JERRY MILANI

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

New Yorkers get to experience Tina Cervasio’s passion for sports in short bursts. Usually it is on the sidelines during a Knicks or Red Bulls game, interviewing a player or coach as he heads to and from the locker room. Sometimes it’s in longer form pieces, or on Fox 5’s Sports Extra or Good Day New York shows. Because many times she is there and gone, sports fans in the area know of her but do not know her that well.

For example, they may not know the time she spent on the sports beat in Boston, especially covering the Red Sox, or that she has a passion for the Giants or was a soccer manager at the University of Maryland. Many may also not know that she is very dedicated to giving back to the community, resides in New Jersey not very far from the Nutley home where she grew up, or that she has a commitment to mentoring young people in the community.

She is also a gifted writer and has begun chronicling the off-season and her Red Bulls work at tinacervasio.com, and will be hosting a series of event in the coming months to get women even more engaged in understanding all the positive aspects about sports.

Often she is at work pulling out details that the fans want to know about an athlete or coach, so we felt it would be fair to turn the tables and give fans some insight into one of the people they follow, and how they got where they are. Here is a look at New Jersey’s own Tina Cervasio:

NJNR: What do you enjoy most about working in sports?

TC: It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve been around sports all of my life and inspired by the stories. Now it’s my opportunity to tell those stories about today’s athletes and bring fans the answers they want to know after games. It’s my responsibility to make fans and viewers feel like the athletes are talking to THEM, and I’m so passionate about having that role as a sports reporter and announcer.

NJNR: You have worked in both New York and Boston. What do you find to be the biggest differences and similarities amongst the fans?

TC: What I love the most about both cities is the knowledge of the fan base. Especially when it comes to the history of the team and significance of former players and historical moments. They take on some differences though. In Boston and specifically with the Red Sox fans, they are searching for a flow of information about their team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Red Sox Nation is a Religion, even more so than for fans of the Celtics, Patriots, and Bruins. It’s year-round. From the day after the Red Sox won the World Series, I was reporting on the team’s next move, Winter Meetings, trades, what the current players were doing in the off-season, from opening pre-schools, to kicking back with their wife and kids in random rural American towns. In New York the passion is equivalent, and year round as well, especially for the Knicks, but I feel when I engage with Knicks fans or fulfill my duties reporting for MSG, the goal is quick news updates, keep everyone current, and then the New Yorker may be off to other things because New York is a bit more diverse and sometimes more distracting. That doesn’t mean that he or she cares less, it means that they may get pulled in a few more directions.

NJNR: What is your proudest professional moment thus far?

TC: Tough to name just one moment, especially after being presented with a 2007 World Series Ring with my name on it along side Red Sox and NESN, where I worked six weeks of Spring Training, 162 Regular season games and 15 post season games! That was a marathon I’m proud of. But most recently, when Carmelo Anthony made his Knicks debut on February 23, 2011, and the atmosphere of Madison Square Garden was electric with so much anticipation for this game … Carmelo helped the team beat the Milwaukee Bucks and I was the first person to interview him right after the game, on the court, broadcast to our MSG audience and live on the speaker to the 19,763 Knicks fans in the building. I was nervous, he was emotional, and I wanted fans to see how emotional he was. I believe I was able to capture that in the quick interview. Fans began chanting his name, and I asked him about that. My interview was run on ESPN SportsCenter and other national news outlets for the next 48 hours. Made me feel I did my job right.

NJNR: As a female working on a largely man's world, what advice do you give to young women interested in sports journalism and media?

TC: My advice is, forget that you are a woman. You are a journalist. Present yourself in that way and you will be respected as an equal. In the end, yes, it’s a reality you have to work a tad harder to maybe prove your knowledge, show your experience, but that’s the easy part (working hard).

NJNR: Did you have a role model growing up in the business?

TC: I always looked up to the women who were trailblazers in this business; Suzyn Waldman, Lesley Visser, Hannah Storm, Gayle Gardner, Linda Cohn. But two people who took me under their wing very early in my career where NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger and CBS Sports Spencer Tillman. At the time Brian was at FOX and I worked with Spencer on NFL Sunday Ticket on DirecTV. They taught me how to prepare, how to treat other people, how to deal with the challenges, and they believed in me. That gave me confidence I could succeed in this business.

NJNR: Is there anyone in the business today you rely ob for advice or try and emulate?

TC: I’m always asking for advice, picking on someone’s brain about their experiences. My first year at MSG I would always go to Al Trautwig and Mike Breen. This year I’ve connected with great sideline reporters; Doris Burke from ESPN, Jason Jackson who’s the host and reporter for the Miami Heat and Stacy Paetz who has the same role for the Indiana Pacers. In the past I’ve reached out to Lesley Visser and Suzyn Waldman. Peter Gammons gave me great advice on covering baseball. When I first got the Knicks sideline gig I reached out to Jackie MacMullan. It never ends. But I don’t want to necessarily emulate anyone … Jerry Remy from NESN gave me that advice, “Be yourself.”

NJNR: You are doing more work with charities these days...what are the causes you enjoy working with most and why?

TC: It’s so fulfilling doing charity work and helping others that are less fortunate, or can’t have the same experiences you have in their life. Garden of Dreams Foundation works closely with all areas of Madison Square Garden, including the Knicks, Rangers, Liberty, MSG Networks, MSG Entertainment and Fuse “to make dreams come true for kids facing obstacles.” Since my first day at MSG I’ve been involved in some unforgettable events and activities – often involving unprecedented access to Madison Square Garden celebrities, events and venues – that have brightened the lives of thousands and thousands of special children and their families. I’ve run the New York City Marathon twice for Garden of Dreams, and debating on running it again. Recently I’ve gotten involved with the American Cancer Society and their Coaches versus Cancer division. My husband was diagnosed with colon cancer last October, and this organization is very near and dear to our hearts. He’s doing great, and will beat it, but now we have a purpose and want to spread the word about getting colonoscopies earlier and finding a support system while you battle cancer through treatments, and dark times.

NJNR: What's the biggest challenge you find in working in sports?

TC: I guess it does go back to the whole “being a woman” factor. While I see myself as a journalist, a reporter, there are still viewers even athletes that see you as a “woman” who never scored a touchdown or who never threw a 98 mph fast ball. So it’s a daily challenge to convey to the doubters, that I’m exactly that, a reporter, speaking the facts, the scores, the stats, what coaches or players tell me, or stories I discover that are important to tell. I can ask the exact same question as the male reporter on the next game … but I will at times get criticized for the SAME question, and his question will go unnoticed. Believe me, it’s happened. I record a lot of games, and even write down what other reporters ask on the courts and fields.

NJNR: Do you have any desire to do play by play or write more at some point?

TC: I am writing for MSG.com… it’s more of a blog page, but I tend to write my blogs in story form. Here is a sample of some of my work: http://www.msg.com/blogs/tina-cervasio/why-amar-e-is-our-all-star-and-is-picture-perfect-1.62459

And yes, I’m getting the bug to do some play by play. I did it years ago when I worked for Time Warner Cable in Staten Island. I called several Girls High School State Championship Basketball games and a few Wagner Women’s Basketball Games.

NJNR: Being from New Jersey, were there athletes or teams that you followed more growing up than others?

TC: The New York Football Giants! Big Blue was the main stay and sports topic in our house, but my dad was actually a huge college football fan. He played for Cornell in the late 60s and we would travel all over to see Big Red Football play, at Cornell or locally at Princeton or Columbia. My first favorite athlete was Nadia Comaneci, and I did do gymnastics for a while. But the big cheers came when Phil Simms would complete a touchdown pass or Mark Bavaro would bully himself into the end zone. However, I’d be just as excited to go to a local high school basketball game to see my local heroes too! I was about 8 years old when my dad took me to see his friend’s daughter Jennifer Apicella score her 1000th point for the Belleville High School Girls’ Basketball team. That left an impact. And the Higgins Brothers were big sports studs at Nutley High School when I was growing up, in football, basketball and baseball. I cheered for these athletes as much as I did for Joe Morris or Patrick Ewing!