By Annika Pallasch
Sports connect us. The passion and atmosphere are a language anyone can understand no matter where they are in the world. Unfortunately, during the Covid-19 pandemic stadiums were empty and games were played in silence. As fans like myself had to cheer on our favorite teams from home, those of us who are students also had to cheer ourselves on as we attended our classes far away from campus. Yet, this past March, my classmates and I in the International Business Seminar were lucky enough to virtually travel to the world of London sports and immersed us in every aspect of it.
Literally beyond the pitch, we explored everything from the business models of the Premier League and Liverpool FC, to the KIA Oval (home of the Surrey County Cricket Club), and the history of Wimbledon. During a thrilling match pitting Arsenal against West Ham that we watched together on Zoom – fully dressed in personalized Arsenal gear – we came as close as most people could during the pandemic to experiencing the joys of live sports. Experts from the most popular sports in England guided us through the week and did a tremendous job of creating a live seminar atmosphere for us.
Of course, the week had more to offer than a sense of London’s rich (sports) history and traditions. Every day was filled with knowledge and advice shared by some of sports’ most successful people, all of whom work behind the scenes to ensure the success of their organization or client. We listened to Jimmy Worrall whose company LEADERS hosts networking events for the biggest names in sports provide invaluable career insights. Trevor Watkins and his colleagues at the leading London law firm Pinsent Masons sports division shared legal expertise with us. And Neil Wood MBE, the CFO of the 2012 Olympic Games, walked us through the full process of how an Olympic event is organized and executed start to finish. Each one of them and every other speaker we had the privilege to meet went above and beyond to share valuable information with us that we will be able to apply in our careers and beyond.
Memories were made as a class when we worked in teams to pitch workforce diversity and inclusion plans to Alex Eckhout at the Premier League office. The weeklong project allowed us to work on a real initiative within the organization and gave everyone a chance to get creative and bring their own ideas and strengths to the table. Our second project of the week was a “hackathon” with students at Loughborough University. Together we collaborated with the West Ham Foundation and were challenged to brainstorm and present an idea for charity programs within less than an hour. Both projects were as much fun, as they were a great opportunity for us to test our business skills for the future.
There was just so much to learn during our digital trip to London, from the rules of cricket, to the marketing strategies of the London offices of the NBA and MLB, to the many insights we had not anticipated to gain going in. The week was an absolute win despite us being benched by Covid-19.
Personally, I was most inspired by every guest speaker’s story about how they got to where they are, why they love working in sports, and what they enjoy most about living in London. It made a dream job in sports feel like a real possibility and reminded me of why I love sports so much. Yet, it also became clearer that sports are a business above all. What most of us experience is the joy of the game, the victories and losses, and the unforgettable moments, but what we do not see is the people who are working hard to ensure that each team and each player are as successful as we want them to be.
The International Business Seminar taught my peers and me what it takes to work in sports, and that the people who do are ultimately driven by their passion for it. It was impressive to see how many people are involved in running a league, team, or event, and my admiration for them has grown exponentially. This deep dive into the world of sports has also helped me to think about where my place in it might be after my time at DePaul. And, of course, my desire to visit London again is even greater now than it was before. So, the next time I fly into Heathrow it will hopefully be to actually set foot into London. I cannot wait to fondly retrace the steps through its sites of sports and business that I was able to take virtually this past March.
THE SOJOURNAL 