Media Relations: Tadhg Byrne

[teknonym 61]

Another day, another shot at Tadhg Byrne.

 

That had been Jameson O’Connor’s mentality for the last 3 weeks. Now, he knew that Tadhg was home, in Dublin. The off-season had rolled around as quickly as Byrne’s first contract had and, with San Diego missing the playoffs by mere millimetres, the young upstart goaltender had been expected home any day now. With the return of Tadhg Byrne, not many news outlets were too interested. Hockey still wasn’t a sport that the Irish public cared about, but Jameson knew that  Byrne would change that mentality. He wanted to be the one to have the exclusive rights to the ‘Tadhg Byrne Story’ and it seemed that he was the only horse in the race. Fine by him.

 

Tadhg Byrne had no interest in talking to Jameson O’Connor again, having hoped that his arrogance and aloofness in the last interview would off-put the paparazzo, but no such luck it seemed. He was sitting across from the strangely young sports journalist. It was right about now that Tadhg missed the comfort of being behind a screen.

 

‘Welcome back, Tadhg.’ A smile drew its way across Jameson’s face.

 

‘Happy to be here, Jim.’ The tone of voice was contradictory.

 

Jameson scribbled across his notepad before asking his first question, ‘How are you feeling about the Marlins’ performance this season? Underwhelming, overwhelming?’

 

‘The Marlins’ performance? All things considered, I think we did pretty well. I signed late into the season, so I couldn’t expect a cup contender, could I?’ Animosity settled its way into Tadhg’s voice.

 

‘What do you mean by ‘all things considered’?’

 

Tadhg shrugged a little. ‘When I signed, we didn’t have a back-up goaltender and half of our d-men were bots. I played 40-sum games straight with no break. I played back-to-back games multiple times. I’ve never been more thankful to see another goaltender than when I met Dusty at the end of the season. Shame we’ll be separated at the draft, most likely.’

 

Jameson noticed a tinge of genuine upset on the young goalie’s face. The thought of the draft clearly was not one that Tadhg liked to think about. Jameson hated to prod, but what kind of journalist would he be if he didn’t?

 

‘We’ve already spoken a little bit about the draft, but has anything changed?’

 

Tadhg went quiet for a beat. The draft, no matter how much he tried to brush it off as a part of hockey, was something that he couldn’t quite shake. It did make him nervous and it did make him worry. That was nothing that he’d tell a journalist, however.

 

‘Not in particular. It’s the same old, same old. Get drafted, play for that team until I retire, they trade me, or they leave me to free agency. That’s the business I’m in, and I intend to do just that. Play.’

 

Jameson nodded along, scratching more words and shorthand into his notepad before asking the next question.

 

‘Are teams talking to you? I have to assume they would be, you’re likely one of, if not the, top goaltenders in this draft. When looking at the depth charts for a lot of the teams, they have some aging goaltenders with a lack of prospects. Teams must be antsy to grab you.’

 

Colour Tadhg surprised when Jameson started spitting out words that, for a rookie hockey reporter, were far above his pay grade. Coming into this interview, Tadhg had expected nothing more than a shallow attempt at finding a narrative to sell, but it seemed there was more to Jameson O’Connor than he had first thought. Tadhg softened slightly and met eyes with the reporter. Behind Jameson’s glasses, there was a genuine curiosity and thirst for knowledge. Maybe Tadhg would make this time worthwhile yet.

 

‘I can’t speak specifically to whether teams are asking, but I can say that you’re not wrong. Goalies are a sparse breed, and I’m even rarer.’ A flashy grin drew its way to Tadhg’s face as he raised his right hand. ‘I catch right, I’m basically 1 in 10’000. It’s not often that you find a VHL caliber prospect and a right catcher in one.’

 

Jameson laughed a little at the sheer amount of arrogance that floated in the air around Tadhg Byrne, but for once Jameson thought little of it. Rather than thinking it rude or uncouth, it seemed more like a joke than anything. In a good way. Strange.

 

The reporter threw a softball as his last question of the day.

 

‘How is San Diego? You mentioned last time that it felt a little strange, but has anything changed since then?’

 

What did Tadhg think of San Diego? It was hot, it was humid, and it was way too big of a city. The people? There’s a reason they call it The City in Motion, they just never. stop. moving. Ridiculous stuff, but Tadhg found himself drawn to the city in such a strange and unusual way.

 

‘San Diego is nice. I’d be a liar if I said that the city didn’t make me feel strange and miss home, but I think any city would have done that to me. I’m fortunate, in many ways, that San Diego sent me that contract. It’s a beautiful city.’ Tadhg glanced up at the roof and pictured the bright skyline that he saw more often than the grey clouds of what he thought was home.

 

‘San Diego is bright, and way warmer than home. I’m glad I went there.’

 

Jameson couldn’t help but give a good natured chuckle, listening to the man in front of him talk about a city like it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

 

‘I think that’s all I need for today. Thank you again for coming to talk with me, Tadhg.’

 

Tadhg Byrne and Jameson O’Connor are two sides of a coin that most people throw out when they need change. One, an athlete trying his hardest to get through the day and win himself a championship. The other, a reporter who is trying to find a story the whole way through. Tadhg Byrne hates media, that is an indisputable fact of life, but he’s beginning to wonder if maybe he’s wrong that all media are snake oil salesmen. Just maybe.

 

(1045 words, claiming for weeks 31/10 & 7/11)

[teknonym 61]

week two claim

[Tomat0 50]

REVIEW

Gonna start this off right - I loved this. I haven't seen many PTs in the style of traditional writing and I think you make it work really well. The formatting was great, the flow of your writing was great, I loved the concept the execution... just overall an amazing job. Congrats man! 10/10