2008 Woodie Awards
The Daily OrangeClayton: Hack struggles to escape shadow of ESPN senior writer
By John Clayton
Posted: 12/4/08, 2:38 AM EST Section: Sports
Two summers ago, I interned with the Philadelphia Eagles, working as a writer for the team's official Web site. I was a neophyte reporter then, still in awe of the millionaires I was interviewing on a daily basis.
Two or three weeks into my internship, I met Donovan McNabb for the first time. The Syracuse legend was hosting an offseason media shindig at a Philadelphia-area country club. I was sitting at a table with some of the team's beat writers when McNabb walked in, big as life, clad in a brown sweater and khakis. He walked over to my table and sat down directly across from me.
He greeted the gray-haired writers at the table. I was the only face he didn't recognize. One of my bosses sitting there quickly introduced me.
"This is our new intern," he said. "He's from Syracuse. His name's John Clayton."
McNabb was taken aback momentarily. He looked at me. "What did you say your name was?"
I must have looked so sheepish sitting there, as I reached out to shake his outstretched hand. "Umm, John Clayton," I replied.
He shook his head and let out a chuckle. Everyone else at the table laughed, too.
I've gotten used to this sort of occurrence. All my life I've been the "other" John Clayton. The "real" John Clayton, in case you didn't know, is ESPN's renowned, NFL über-reporter.
John Clayton was a fixture for the people like me who grew up watching the same, one-hour loop of SportsCenter three times every weekend morning. He was the nerdy-looking, spectacle-wearing guy who seemed to break every big story. The guy who was elected into the writers' wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
To summarize, the real John Clayton is kind of a big deal. If you're an NFL fan, you know who he is.
Not surprisingly, the joking references have followed me ever since I can remember. When I was a freshman on my high school baseball team, my teammates called me "ESPN." Around that time, I perfected my impression of his ESPN signoff. I'm John Clayton (pause) E-S (pause) P-N. I was pretty good at it, too.
Two or three weeks into my internship, I met Donovan McNabb for the first time. The Syracuse legend was hosting an offseason media shindig at a Philadelphia-area country club. I was sitting at a table with some of the team's beat writers when McNabb walked in, big as life, clad in a brown sweater and khakis. He walked over to my table and sat down directly across from me.
He greeted the gray-haired writers at the table. I was the only face he didn't recognize. One of my bosses sitting there quickly introduced me.
"This is our new intern," he said. "He's from Syracuse. His name's John Clayton."
McNabb was taken aback momentarily. He looked at me. "What did you say your name was?"
I must have looked so sheepish sitting there, as I reached out to shake his outstretched hand. "Umm, John Clayton," I replied.
He shook his head and let out a chuckle. Everyone else at the table laughed, too.
I've gotten used to this sort of occurrence. All my life I've been the "other" John Clayton. The "real" John Clayton, in case you didn't know, is ESPN's renowned, NFL über-reporter.
John Clayton was a fixture for the people like me who grew up watching the same, one-hour loop of SportsCenter three times every weekend morning. He was the nerdy-looking, spectacle-wearing guy who seemed to break every big story. The guy who was elected into the writers' wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
To summarize, the real John Clayton is kind of a big deal. If you're an NFL fan, you know who he is.
Not surprisingly, the joking references have followed me ever since I can remember. When I was a freshman on my high school baseball team, my teammates called me "ESPN." Around that time, I perfected my impression of his ESPN signoff. I'm John Clayton (pause) E-S (pause) P-N. I was pretty good at it, too.
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