Jess Atkinson was waiting outside Redskins Park to do his newscast when he was unexpectedly given just one minute for the nightly roundup. “Why bother?” Atkinson yelled back on his cell phone.
Atkinson jumped the shark that night in 2002. He soon left WUSA-9 with co-workers expecting a career freefall for the former Maryland and Washington Redskins kicker. Instead, Atkinson has been in the forefront of Internet and cable reality sports programs.
“Under the Shell”, which chronicles the Terrapins women’s basketball team, is finishing its third season on Comcast while “FridgeTV.com” on Terps football became the first weekly Internet-based show in 2003 to offer an inside look. Along with other Internet clients, a series on the George Goodman Basketball League and a University of Virginia football Internet program, Atkinson has quickly adapted traditional TV programming to the new information age.
“Nobody figured out how to make money on the Internet,” Atkinson said. “I bet on myself. There will always be people who slap something together, but there’s also a place for editors who take what’s there and increase it through the value of storytelling. I tell great stories that otherwise might not be told.”
Atkinson, 45, is a longtime local sports staple. A solid soccer player at Crossland High, Atkinson became the Terps kicker from 1981-84. He spent parts of 1985-88 in the NFL, including 1986-87 with the Redskins when he converted all seven field goal attempts, including five during two 1986 playoff victories. However, Atkinson dislocated his ankle in the 1987 opener and only kicked off in one game for Indianapolis in 1988 afterwards.
Atkinson became another of George Michael’s disciples, starting with WRC-4 before gaining a full-time stint as a Providence sports anchor. He returned to Washington for three yearsbefore leaving in 2002. The lack of access inside teams left Atkinson as frustrated as his own on-air time constraints.
“The longer I was in TV, the more I saw how far removed it was from reporting on the athletic experience,” Atkinson said. “Teams have become more savvy. You only get what they give you.”
Convincing coaches to permit a reality-based program proved visionary. The Terps saw how it would attract recruits through unique Internet and cable programming.
“It has been instrumental in connecting with our community, being able to showcase all the players in our team and in recruiting,” said Maryland women’s basketball coach Brenda Frese. “Student athletes can see and feel the chemistry on our team.”
For someone whose professional career was supposed to implode, Atkinson has never been happier.
“I was a kicker, a broadcaster and now an entrepreneur,” Atkinson said. “I’ve enjoyed all of the different lives. It has made it a better life. I can’t imagine being 45 and the only experience being a pro athlete. How limited would that view of life be?
“I hope to spend the rest of my career choosing great stories. If you do great stories, you’ll be able to keep telling them.”
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
