Welcome to my Sports Journal for COMM 562 – Sport Communication. Below you will see my blog entries for each assignment!
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Social Media Persona Assignment – FEB 22
The Insider Athlete-Photographer – https://www.instagram.com/ryanharveyphotos/?hl=en
Playing sports has shaped almost every aspect of who I am, but for most of my life, I experienced them from inside the lines as a player. Growing up playing football year-round made it difficult to capture the game the way I saw it because I was still competing. I wasn’t documenting moments in front of me since I was still chasing what I saw in front of me.
In 2020, I created my Instagram account, @ryanharveyphotos, after I started noticing small opportunities to shoot during my off-days. What began as taking photos of my teammates during offseason workouts quickly expanded into portrait sessions, concert photography, and especially sports photography for those springtime sports. Anytime I had time away from football and saw something worth capturing, I went for it.
If you scroll through my Instagram now, it doesn’t show nearly as much as I’ve actually shot. This past season came with a lot of responsibility. Between being a full-time graduate student, balancing my role as a graduate assistant, and working behind the scenes for over 60 hours a week, posting consistently wasn’t realistic for me. Most days were staff meetings, filming lifts and practice, editing hype videos, traveling, completing schoolwork, managing content for @odufootball, and delivering media to players after games. By the time I had a second to breathe, posting on my personal page wasn’t the priority.
Some of my favorite photographs, graphics, and post-victory celebration videos are still sitting on my desktop as I write this. That’s the reality of working in sports and being fully committed to your role.
This semester feels different. As I move closer to finishing my GA position (End of next Fall), I finally have the mental and physical space to intentionally showcase my work. For this assignment, I’ll be consistently posting content I’ve been sitting on while continuing to build the persona I’ve slowly been shaping over time. This isn’t just a class requirement for me, it’s for my career.
Below are three of my favorite posts from my Instagram over the years. If you’re curious to see more, check the ODU highlights on my profile or the link in my bio to my Gondola. While I may not have posted consistently on my personal page this season, I documented and tracked every piece of content I created or contributed to for the 2025 season for ODU Football.
Due to Instagram’s policy, I cannot embed my Instagram on my WordPress.
Favorite photograph of the 2025 season: https://www.instagram.com/p/DSdUkHBEQ5A/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== This is a picture I took of Coach Rahne getting water dumped on him after we won the Cure Bowl against USF.
Favorite set of photos during my time competing on the football team: https://www.instagram.com/p/C67NSkdgLRw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== This is a collection of pictures I shot on my point and shoot camera that my grandma gifted to me. I did not want to be a distraction to anyone, so instead of hauling around my professional camera, I used the point-and-shoot I was able to keep on me. This was a special year after making it to the Famous Toastery Bowl.
Favorite uniform shoot I’ve taken to date: https://www.instagram.com/p/CxdbVIZgZ8v/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== This is a set of photos I was able to take during my time on the team as a player. This was special because this was the first time the ODU ‘retro racecar’ logo was being revealed to the public.
Looking forward to posting more of my work and keeping you along for the ride!
– @ryanharveyphotos
Making the Connection (Introduction and Connection) – FEB 22
Growing up in Ashburn, Virginia, has its perks. Right down the street from my house is the practice facility of the Washington Commanders. I grew up rooting for the Commanders every Sunday and dreamed about making it to the NFL.
Although I have retired from playing football, I still haven’t lost sight of my NFL dreams. For this assignment, I decided to shoot my shot at contacting Kourtney Carroll, the Washington Commanders team photographer.
One of my clients, Jalyn Holmes, who plays for the Commanders as a Defensive End, was able to connect the two of us in a groupchat via Instagram DM’s. I am still waiting to hear back from Kourtney, but I am very confident she would be willing to help and become my pen pal.
Kourtney has been the Team Photographer for the Commanders since the Fall of 2022. She graduated from Louisiana State University (LSU) in Photography and Graphic Design and a minor in Entrepreneurship. She worked for four years as a full-time photographer for the LSU Athletic Department before joining the Washington Commanders as a Photography Intern.
Below is a list of her social media accounts:
Website: https://www.kourtneycarroll.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kourtneycarrolll/?hl=en
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Media Diet – FEB 22
Growing up, I used to have a LARGE diet when it came to NFL news and shows. Every morning before elementary school, I would wake up early to watch one full news cycle of NFL Live before leaving home to go on the bus. This was how I got my football news. I also watched SportsCenter, but NFL Live was my go-to. They always played the highlights of the games, showed inside scenes of practices for several NFL teams, broke breaking news stories regarding free agency, and listened to the morning cast as they would talk about what was going on around the NFL.
Fast forward to high school, and I was able to access more of my news from the NFL app on my phone. I would also get alerts about the NFL from ESPN’s Fantasy Football app, where I would be notified about players who were on my fantasy lineup.
Now, the majority of my Twitter algorithm is all about NFL football. This is where I get my sports news from, due to the number of people reporting for the NFL being on Twitter. I used to have a big appetite for NFL content, but as I’ve gotten older and played the game for as long as I’ve had… my diet is pretty small. I’ll still try to tune into the Commanders when they play live, but I rarely will watch the highlights of the games if I don’t stream the game live. As long as I’ve been here at ODU, we have always had football responsibilities the entire day, making it impossible to follow anything NFL-related. Whenever I get time to myself, I will always go on Twitter to see what is happening in the NFL space.
I think VR will become an easier way to consume live sports. I would like to believe that we all would be able to put on a VR headset and watch the game from the sideline instead of watching the game on TV. Being able to experience an NFL game from the sideline, while still being in your living room, would be an awesome way to watch live sports.
If I were to change one thing about the sports communication landscape, it would be making all sports broadcasts available to watch in 4K. It’s 2026, and for whatever reason, we are still being broadcast 1080p football games. This needs to be changed as soon as possible!
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