Being grateful for opportunities
By Derek Tahara | He/him/his | Mountain View Buddhist Temple
Practicing gratitude is an important skill, especially as it is a key theme in Buddhism. I’ve been sitting back and reflecting, appreciating all of the opportunities I’ve received for my job. Over the past few weeks, I had the opportunity to write a couple of articles for Nichi Bei pertaining to the Golden State Warriors and Oakland A’s.
Recently, my boss asked me if I was available to interview a Japanese Warriors dancer at a Warriors game. In a previous life, my goal was to be an NBA journalist, but I gave up on that dream for various reasons. Now, the opportunity to interview a Warriors dancer of Japanese descent was very neat, but I was more focused on the postgame press conferences after the game, where the coaches and some of the players talked to the media.
The interview with the dancer went well and the game ended. I was in the photographer workroom with our Nichi Bei photographer, which is near the visitors’ tunnel, and I got to see up close how big Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves were. They were huge!
One of the best parts about this assignment was going into the press conference room and hearing the questions the beat reporters like Marcus Thompson II and Anthony Slater of The Athletic asked Steve Kerr, Gary Payton II and Klay Thompson. I did not ask any questions because I wasn’t technically covering the game, but the experience as a whole was gratifying.
Next, I covered a recent Oakland A’s game for our “Nichi Bei Day with the A’s” event. I interviewed several attendees, who bought tickets through the Nichi Bei website, along with Donald K. Tamaki, a senior counsel for Minami Tamaki LLP. However, the person I was most excited about interviewing was the new Japanese A’s pitcher, Shintaro Fujinami (through his translator, Issei Kamada). I only asked him a few questions about his next start, and how he’s adjusted to pitching for the A’s, but it was an unforgettable experience.
I’m grateful to have these opportunities. Although I may be past my dream of being a sports journalist, the opportunity to experience what it’s like to be a journalist covering the Warriors and A’s is something I will never forget.
