It ended up being the second-best professional decision he ever made, coming after joining ESPN yet the latter may not have been as feasible without the former. Since his sister was a better student than he, the State University of New York Oswego was where he would earn his degree in communications, concentrated in broadcasting. However, his parents only had enough money to send one of their two children to a private college. When he was applying for college, he desired to attend Syracuse University, as it was known for its excellence in media studies and vast alumni network. Kennedy High School in Bellmore, N.Y., Levy aimed to position himself to attain a sustainable career in sports media. I know my parents can’t believe it.”įrom the time he was 17 years old and approaching his graduation from John F. “Honestly, I still sort of can’t believe it. “I had a chance for a long career without getting beaten up on a regular basis and it’s really worked out,” Levy said. By instead pursuing a career in sports media, he could remain around the games with which he was enamored while significantly diminishing the risk of suffering formidable physical injuries. Just as many aspiring athletes eventually discover, Levy recognized he was “remarkably average” at everything, and while he was enamored with playing the game, knew it was not a viable career path for him. From the time he was young, he was conscious of the sports landscape of the area, closely following the NFL and NHL with hopes of one day playing professionally. is just a short train ride away from “The Big Apple,” the number one media market in the world, and is where Levy was raised. Instead, an employee of the theater knocked on the projection glass behind Levy and asked him if he was ready for the movie, to which Levy replied ‘“Yeah, alright, game on.’” Although he cannot remember the title of the movie he saw, that kind gesture began his assimilation to covering sports nationally, a role that has substantially expanded since his debut on Saturday, Aug. Much to his surprise, he was the only one in the entire theater and thought the show would be canceled because of the meager turnout. On that particular Tuesday night, Levy was feeling apprehensive and lonely and decided to go out to see a movie at 9 p.m. Feeling an attachment to the New York marketplace, Levy pleaded with television executives at WCBS-TV to promote him to the lead sports anchor however, he was told that having a 27-year-old in that role would never work in the marketplace.Īs he weighed his future and what would be a prudential decision for his career, Levy decided to officially put pen to paper and became a national broadcaster with ESPN, ending his time in New York, N.Y.ĭuring his first week in Bristol, Levy was living in long-term housing provided by the network as he sought to become acclimated with the area and adopt a new lifestyle. The second time around, ESPN had significantly increased their offer to Levy, and he was told by his agent that the network would not likely give him a third opportunity to join. Today, Levy is on the verge of celebrating his third decade working at ESPN. While the network had made Levy a substantial offer, he declined, opting to remain at home working with WCBS-TV as a sports reporter and WFAN doing updates on Mike and the Mad Dog and hosting its Sunday NFL whiparound coverage. Six months earlier, Levy’s agent Steve Lefkowitz received a call from the “Kingmaker” and then-soon to be ESPN Vice President of Talent Al Jaffe looking to recruit Levy to join ESPN, located nearly two-and-a-half hours north. He had recently left New York, something unimaginable for many young 27-year-old broadcasters looking to move up in the business, and relocated to Bristol, Conn. It was a Tuesday night and Levy had just been honored with a goodbye party held by his family, friends and colleagues. Native New Yorkers, while they are characterized by some outsiders as insolent, combative and egocentric, have their own unique ways of demonstrating the innate affability and tenderness. and grabbing a meal afterwards was not uncommon it was the distinct culture of the area, and still is today. In the “city that doesn’t sleep,” seeing a movie at 11 p.m. Over the preceding half a decade, Steve Levy lived in a high-rise apartment in New York, working in television and radio, launching his career in sports media. In the summer of 1993, the price of a movie ticket was a mere $6.
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