Photo courtesy of rocor (Flickr)
Emmy-winning sportscaster Joe Buck came to the Yogi Berra Museum for a ‘Lucky Bastard’ on Nov. 17. He explained to the audience his book centers on sports, his career, and the lessons he’s learned along the way. To start off, he talked about his career on air at Fox Sports, his family life, and how he prepares to cover games. He also through in some of his most comical stories.
“I’ve been surrounded by sports my whole life,” Buck said in his introduction. “There were a lot of wonderful influences, sports figures and athletes around me from a young age that really motivated me into the field.” While he was educating the audience on his life, he was also informative about his interest in sports, his involvement and his passion that drove him to his success.
There were many fans in attendance excited to see the famed and well credentialed broadcaster. One of these was Craig Nordquist. “Joe Buck is the voice of the World Series and has significantly made an impact in the game,” Nordquist said. Many have been looking forward to meeting him, with questions in hand regarding sports and the television world.
In addition to the event WMSC’s Sean McChesney and Nick Flaherty interviewed Buck about an array of topics, from creating his book to his career and even his Super Bowl predictions. His job, in his own words, “is extremely fun, emotional and entertaining. This is the best way to start a career and I love what I do each and everyday.” Buck said, “It’s one of the reasons why I wrote the book because I wanted people to see the real me and not just the guy covering the games.”
After a night of stories, laughs and applause Buck took pictures with every single member of the audience. In addition he autographed books for those who purchased a copy and took some time to chat. He was able to connect with guests and even give some advice to aspiring reporters, journalists or those interested into entering the field. David Kaplan, Director of the Yogi Berra Museum planned the event and explained that, “having someone of his stature is always delight. He is someone you hear and see that covers every major game you can think of.”
‘Lucky Bastard’ took a little longer to be released than expected but is predicted to become a success. “I worked with Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated to perfect it and we wrote it because I wanted people to have a better understanding of who I am and get it all out there to entertain and teach others.”
The purpose of the book is to take a different approach and reach out to those following sports who are interested in learning more about broadcasters, especially Buck’s career and how he came to be today. Many people have already purchased his book and are enjoying that it covers Buck’s life, in addition to sports journalism. ‘Lucky Bastard’ can be purchased online on Amazon or at any bookstore.
