Rob Tate has been with the Daily American Republic in Poplar Bluff, Mo. since August 2008 and is currently the assistant sports editor. Rob was born and raised in Clawson, Mich., just 14 miles north of Detroit and is an avid Tigers, Lions, Pistons, Red Wings and University of Michigan fan. He has also adopted the Rams and Mizzou to his favorites since moving to Missouri. He is a 2008 graduate of Oakland (Mich.) University where he received his bachelor of arts in journalism. Rob and his wife Sara live in Poplar Bluff.

Let me introduce....myself

Posted Thursday, September 11, 2008, at 9:24 AM

Hello all and welcome to my blog.

I'm the new guy on the prep sports scene here in Poplar Bluff at the DAR. I graduated from Oakland University (in Michigan, not California) back in May. Some local people from the Bluff may remember who Oakland U. is just by the fact that they were the last team to be defeated in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament by North Carolina one year prior to the Tyler Hansbrough-era.

Some things I'm excited about living and working in PB:

1. Sonic. In Michigan, we get bombarded with commercials teasing us with delicious burgers, drinks and ice cream. We have one Sonic in the entire state. I have two now in one city. To my people back home -- I win!

2. St. Louis Rams football. Yes, they stink now. But at least they have a Super Bowl Championship. My Detroit Lions have won one playoff game in the Super Bowl era. And I was seven years old.

3. Seeing this town's reaction to snow. Last winter where I lived in Michigan, we had give or take 100 inches of snow. Ok so that's a little extreme, but I hear a dusting here shuts down the city. Should be interesting.

What you can expect from me at DAR:

1. I will work hard on finding interesting stories about the kids in the area that go beyond the diamond, field, track or gym. I also hope to bring you game stories that portray brightly on area athletes.

2. Thursday's this year will be "Prep Notebook Day" in the DAR. If you have stories about local athletes, drop me a line anytime at rtate@darnews.com

3. If you see me at a game, you can expect me to be wearing some sort of Detroit gear at 95% of the time. Yes the Lions stink, the Cards beat the Tigs in '06, the Red Wings won the Cup, but people don't really follow hockey here and you probably don't care about the Pistons unless Tyler happens to be drafted by them (Detroit does have a recent history of getting its hands on Tar Heels). Anyhow, feel free to say 'hi' when you see me and make sure you give me a hard time about my favorite teams. Especially the Lions. Oh yeah, I know Michigan lost to App. State. I don't need to be reminded daily.

I look forward to providing you sports news

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Welcome to Southeast Missouri, Rob.

-- Posted by Luke11 on Thu, Sep 11, 2008, at 11:34 AM
I like your style. I like your moves.

-- Posted by Chief 'Broom on Fri, Sep 12, 2008, at 12:21 PM
Jesus! What frozen lake in Michigan did you come from Rob? A dusting of snow here, shuts down the city? Not hardly! You must have us mistaken for Louisiana...

To what do we owe this great honor that you'll be at our athletic contests, donning the jersey's, hats, face paint etc..of teams that nobody in this area will give two hoots about?

We've had non local reporters giving accounts of our high school and junior college games for several years now, and FEW of them have managed to endear themselves to our fan base. I expect that if you look like an out-of-towner, and more importantly write like an out-of-towner, expect to be treated as such...

Rob, Poplar Bluff's high school sports teams have fallen on hard times. The passion to not only participate, but to excel in sports has been hiding somewhere for a while now. It could be the leadership, or the administration stressing other areas of the curriculum. Personaly, I think it's the lack of sports reporting that is 'home town' friendly. Meaning, that when it comes to writing about the local teams, writers have a tendency to stick to the guidelines of 'objective journalism'.

If a jounalist in small town America isn't willing to write in a positive light, even on a losing night on the field or court, he's just another out-of-town sports reporter. If he doesn't adopt these schools as his own and doesn't report on them in a first person text with the same fire and reverence as the towns own sports guru's, he'll only be another matter of fact, out-of-town, on his way somewhere else frog jumper who's writings in any publication will be quickly passed over! A 'home town' friendly type of reporter is the type that can draw a community together by seeing a team by it's individuals, and vice versa..Writings that are slanted towards the negative, tend to keep negative results flowing etc....

Endear yourself to these friendly, loveable, sports savy, hungry for any championship type folks Rob, and they'll go to bat for you in any situation you come up against. Besides, if you expect to continue in your career elsewhere some day, you'll have gained the knowledge of how to really write with passion about teams that matter to a broader fan base than you could have realized. You'll have managed to endear a town to it's sports teams and heros again in the process, and perhaps even managed to help bring a few championships our way too. Imagine what dividends that could pay for you down the road.....Oh, and buy some Three Rivers and Mules apparel NOW! That will pay dividends almost immediately....

We welcome you to our humble community my friend..

-- Posted by Ole Passer on Sat, Sep 13, 2008, at 12:45 AM
First of all, be thankful that you do not live in Michigan in the winter! I've heard that it is a mess!

In my opinion, a journalist is not someone who plays the favorite to one place over another. A journalist is objective and is there to cover the news, and in Rob's case, the game.

So although Rob will likely sport a Detroit-themed hat, that does not mean that he does not support the local teams. And remember, he is no longer an "out of towner".. he lives in your humble, lovely community now!

And don't forget... Rob is not the only DAR sports reporter from Michigan... thank you for reading, and remember, it's always easy to judge someone that you have not had the pleasure of meeting yet. I'm sure he's a nice guy who is just trying to make a living, like the rest of us.

-- Posted by aqua12185 on Tue, Sep 16, 2008, at 5:15 PM

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