Hobby to Career: The Cost of Passion

By: Kate Norum

Working around sports was never the first move for Joe Patrick.
 
But, things as they say, "Happen for a reason."
 
Joe currently is the Managing Editor for Dirty South Soccer (a blog website for Atlanta United under SB Nation), along with also contributing to MLS - specifically Atlanta United and is a reporter for the Atlanta Braves at 92.9 The Game.
 
So, it's safe to say that he is pretty busy, and even more active when MLS and MLB are in season.
 
Although he might have been born in California, Atlanta (GA) has become home (since he was about eight years old) with sports writing becoming an interest of his from high school, where he began kick-starting his blogging in college at Middle Tennessee State, where he studied Mass Communications, precisely journalism. ...(and of course, growing up in Georgia, sports are considered as a rite of passage)
 
I asked Joe a few questions on his quite unconventional journey to sports reporting from working in a corporate setting:
 
Kate: What would you say is one of your favorite memories covering either the Braves or United?

"It's straightforward for me. Hands down when Atlanta United won the MLS Cup in 2018. It was an extraordinary moment for me personally because I had covered them from the beginning, well pretty much the beginning. I was part-time blogging and writing a lot when the team was getting up and going in the first season. Midway through [the first season], I acquired a press credential. This win was just everything. It felt like a culmination of a huge project, a cool feeling. The atmosphere that night was very loose, I walked out on the pitch afterwards, and it was the best."
 
K: So, how did you start working for 92.9 The Game and Dirty South Soccer?

"In college at Middle Tennessee State, I studied Journalism. I always knew I liked sports writing, but I had no idea what my career path was going to be at that point [while still in college], something I probably should've thought about a little more. I was fortunate to get a call from an editor, who I dropped an application with, a local newspaper south of Atlanta, called the Jackson Progress-Argus.
 
I spent a little over a year there working on that paper, where my beat covered the high school football teams. It was a great experience, and I was fortunate to have a great editor who taught me a lot, giving me thorough feedback. I left after a year because it felt like the same thing and decided it was time to move on.
 
After that, I found an opportunity in Roswell (GA) with a corporate communications company, a much different experience, much better paying, which was a big plus. But, it was a different arena for writing. It had its perks. I ended up working there for a few years. I then started writing for Dirty South Soccer after Rob Usry posted that he was looking for writers, so I sent in an application and was immediately staff writer, granted it was no pay, but I enjoyed doing it. From a volunteer gig to a small paid stipend, I created content that wasn't there before, and now I manage the website.
 
Through working for Dirty South Soccer, I obtained a Press Credential and met Mike Conti (92.9 The Game) who happens to be the play by play voice for United. When you're at the games, and you start talking to people and meet with them, eating pre-game meals, I had known him through that. I was writing for Dirty South Soccer. While still working the corporate job, and finally quit that job [corporate], I wasn't planning on working in sports writing but possibly another corporate thing. I saw a post on 92.9 and ended up talking about it with Conti, and it worked out for me to do their Braves coverage."
 
Thank you to Joe Patrick for sharing his story and focusing on finding what you like to do, rather than what you have to do.
 
Life is meant to be enjoyed, and having a career that excites you is half the battle.
 
You can reach out to Joe on:

​Twitter: @japatrick200
LinkedIn: Joe Patrick
Feel free to check out Dirty South Soccer.