By | Ben Bartenstein ’16

“Professor Sinker’s class helped the most. He really taught us how a journalist thinks and prepares a story.”
— Daniel Ricci ’14

When Daniel Ricci ’14 started applying for jobs, he sent his resume and a cover letter to every team in the NFL. A running back on Macalester’s football team and a former communications intern with the Milwaukee Brewers, Ricci made it his goal to land a job in the sports industry.

In April, Ricci got callbacks from the San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams, and a Skype interview with the Kansas City Chiefs. But as graduation approached, he had yet to receive a definitive offer. After finishing his final college exam, Ricci flopped down on his couch to nap before watching the NFL draft that evening. Just then, his phone buzzed. It was the Chiefs’ vice president of Communications. “He called me just when I was about to fall asleep,” Ricci says. “Not really ideal timing. It was kind of an interview on the spot. I was trying to stay calm, and I thought it went well.”

Two days after graduation, Ricci drove to Kansas City to tour the Chiefs’ facilities. He got a rush of adrenaline as he walked through an empty Arrowhead Stadium. Before he left that afternoon, the communications staff had offered him the job.

As a communications seasonal assistant, Ricci performs the same tasks as full-time staff members do. During the season, it’s not uncommon for Ricci to work 80-hour weeks as he helps arrange press conferences, publish news releases, and organize statistics. His position lasts for a year, with the possibility of then being hired permanently by the Chiefs or another team.

Although Ricci graduated with a degree in economics, he found his true calling working on The Mac Weekly as a reporter and sports editor, and in his News Reporting and Writing class with Star Tribune sportswriter Howard Sinker. “I’m not a journalist in this job, but it’s really helpful for me to know how a journalist works,” Ricci says. “Howard’s class helped the most. He really taught us how a journalist thinks and prepares a story.”

A Wisconsin native and Green Bay Packers fan, Ricci at first found it challenging to work for a different football team. But a month in, something clicked for him. “You’re working for the team,” he says. “I’m a huge Chiefs fan now.”

Still a Green Bay fan too, Ricci has bonded with Chiefs General Manager John Dorsey, who previously worked for the Packers. Every morning Ricci gives Dorsey a “fun fact of the day” related to football.

A highlight of his job is interacting with players, says Ricci, although it’s not always easy. When Ricci told Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman that he had an interview with a reporter, Sherman responded: “Listen, you don’t tell me, you ask me.” It turned out that Sherman’s response was an inside joke with another member of the communications staff. While Ricci laughs about it, he admits that some players do need to be coaxed to agree to interviews.

Should the Chiefs come down with injuries in their backfield, Ricci joked that he’s ready to step in. “I know the GM pretty well, so I could pitch myself,” he says.

November 3 2014

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