Jamie
Reynolds ’82
TV producer of classic tennis tournaments
Jamie Reynolds entered Bucknell intending to be a doctor. To fulfill a general requirement, the biology major took an English-lit class and “fell in love with storytelling,” he says. He made the switch to English major. Today, as vice president of event production for ESPN, he still uses what he learned in his English classes to let each televised tennis match he produces unfold like a story.
What is your favorite tennis movie?
a. Battle of the Sexes
b. Borg/McEnroe
c. Wimbledon
b. Borg/McEnroe
c. Wimbledon
For sheer storytelling, Borg/McEnroe truly lets us experience those moments in that rivalry we lived through in the 1980s.
Which event is the most fun to cover?
a. The U.S. Open
b. The Australian Open
c. Wimbledon
b. The Australian Open
c. Wimbledon
All four major opens have their own unique flavor. The Australian Open is fun in the sun. The French Open is Paris in the springtime; you can’t beat it. Wimbledon is the cathedral of the sport. And the U.S. Open is showtime on the red carpet in New York. But because it’s such a heritage event, I’ll have to go with the tradition of Wimbledon.
Who would make the most interesting dinner companion?
a. Serena Williams
b. John McEnroe
c. Billie Jean King
b. John McEnroe
c. Billie Jean King
McEnroe, because of his tenacity, his fearlessness when speaking his mind, and his commitment to his beliefs. He’s seen the full spectrum of what our country has gone through over the last 50 years in terms of music, sports, culture and world experiences.
4. What is the most exciting type of tennis match?
a. A game with lots of acess
b. A seesaw game with lots of match points
c. An unseeded newcomer defeating a top-ranked player
b. A seesaw game with lots of match points
c. An unseeded newcomer defeating a top-ranked player
With those slugfests, there’s a vulnerability on every point that may be lost on the casual viewer. It’s a strategic game of getting one more point and focusing your energy on what you’re doing to your opponent.
Which tennis cliché sounds most like nails on a chalkboard?
a. He/she gives 110 percent
b. Good eye, good eye
c. That’s the way the ball bounces
b. Good eye, good eye
c. That’s the way the ball bounces
How has being an English major at Bucknell helped you as a sports producer?
My interest in storytelling developed through early exposure to Shakespeare with Michael Payne and advanced seminars on Faulkner and Fitzgerald with Ralph Rees ’39. Those classes taught me the ability to access, deconstruct and understand the mechanics of storytelling. Today, I don’t produce a game but frame the game by letting the players and the action tell the story.
— Benjamin Gleisser
Photo: ESPN
“Those classes taught me the ability to access, deconstruct and understand the mechanics of storytelling.”