What Lies Behind Every Great Sports Team is an Even Great Storyteller
November 3, 2019
Working seven days a week for three months straight. Days starting at 9 am and finishing at 4 am, with only two days off within that whole three-month time span. That was the life Marshall Kramsky committed to as he ventured to Odessa, Texas - the football hub of the United States - to start his career as a sports journalist with CBS7. “That's how you have to be in this industry,” recounts Kramsky as he looks back at his time there. “I’m a hustler and hard worker.”
Completing his undergrad at New York University and now two years post-grad, Kramsky challenges the stigma that to make it in this line of work you have to be part of the older generation. His tenacity and perseverance help him make it in this, what he denotes as Catch-22 business, but more so than that is his love for sports.
From the beginning, Kramsky always knew that he wanted to be a sports journalist. Born and raised in Marlboro, New Jersey Kramsky grew up playing baseball and watching and listening to some of the greatest sports commentators; Stuart Scott, Scott Van Pelt, and Kenny Albert. What Kramsky would later find out is that it wasn’t so much the sport aspect that drew him to this career path but rather the stories behind it all.
“It's not always about the sport. It's about the stories, the people, what you're connecting and the messages you're getting across. I am a storyteller first and foremost,” Kramsky declares. Back in Odessa, Texas Kramsky covered a story featuring a young high school football player whose sister had Cystic Fibrosis and his girlfriend Leukemia. Kramsky’s story reached hundreds of people who ultimately wanted to contribute to the cause. They were able to raise $10,000 in funding to help both the young boy’s sister and girlfriend. “That’s what I’m super passionate about, I love telling these local stories that change people's immediate being. Seeing how you can just talk about sports and make a difference in people's lives.”
Although working at CBS7 started as something he was doing because he wanted to and because he liked it, it was the long hours and endless days that made it turn into something he was doing because he had to. And yet, it was also the place he fell in love with sports for a whole different reason.
Sure, being named the 2018 Texas Associated Press “Best Sports Anchor” may have been his greatest career moment, thus far, and he would love the possibility of sitting down to interview people like Chris Thompson and Tom Brady, but he claims, “Those stories interests me almost less. I like to tell the ones that you don’t know about, that you couldn't predict. With Tom Brady you know what he’s going to say, you know, he's coached.”
After making the difficult decision to leave Texas, Kramsky returns to his old stomping grounds of the Big Apple. He humbly acknowledges that had it not been for the grueling experiences, such as at CBS7, and the local story coverages he undertook, he would have never progressed to the journalist he is today, bringing a new dimension to the already tough industry of sports journalism.
Looking to the future, Kramsky wants to sign an upcoming story with Fox Sports and eventually host the Olympic games - all proving very likely for this determined 23-year-old. “Marshall doesn't just "talk the talk" -- he "walks the walk." No matter the drive, the flight, or how many phone calls it may take, Marshall is there, eager to learn and always with a smile. I have never met someone who is not only constantly seeking and building connections, but who also genuinely nurtures those relationships to a level far superior than 99% of his contemporaries. Marshall wants to be your friend, learn from you, and, in turn, help you be a better you,” raves Mia O’Brien, sports anchor for First Coast News.