August 30, 2006 9:24 AM

What's it like to be a professional sports writer?
Posted by Douglas Eisenhartat 9:24 AM

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a sports writer, following your favorite team, like the Red Sox, Celtics, or Patriots, throughout the entire season? Sounds pretty glamorous, doesn't it?

Well, maybe. Now we can give you a real feel for that job as Boston.com correspondent David Ropeik's Fenway Park Insider goes behind the scenes at the home of the Red Sox to show us any number of different places and positions, including being a member of the Red Sox press corps:

Imagine attending every Red Sox game, home and away, for free. You have a front-row seat, and it's free. The airfare to the away games, and the nice hotels when you get there ... all paid for by your newspaper or television station. You get to be around the players, talk with manager Terry Francona every day, hang out in the dugout and the clubhouse. Sounds pretty good, huh?

Now imagine that starting with spring training in February, and running into October if the Sox make the postseason, you are rarely home. You don't get to see your friends, your spouse, your kids, or sleep in your own bed very much. You work 12-hour days, sometimes 18- and 20-hour days, with no overtime. Some of the people you work with are friendly, but a lot of them are competitive and constantly looking to outdo you. Oh, and the players? Yeah, you get to be around them a lot. But many of them are kind of wary of being around you.

Welcome to the life of a reporter covering the Boston Red Sox.

In addition to reading Ropeik's piece, you can check out his companion "Meet the Press" photo gallery on the same subject.