The vast world of sports has countless people that depend on it for their livelihood. To the common viewer at home, they might assume I am referring to sports betting or the players with multi-million dollar contracts, but I am not. With no sports to be televised, there is no need for the people who produce live sports for the viewers at home. At any sporting event, there can be anywhere from ten to one hundred crew members that are hard at work documenting the game for those not in attendance. These videographers arrive at games long before the first whistle, and stay long after the last fan exits the building. They are dependent on the players suiting up and competing, while the audience might not even realize they are there. But what do these crew-members do when there are no sports to be filmed?

When the pandemic of COVID-19 hit, sports were cancelled indefinitely. For the safety of the players and fans, this was the correct decision while we sought to understand the risks of the coronavirus. What many people did not realize however, was that thousands of videographers were left without work. They rely on basketball season ending, and baseball season immediately beginning. Instead, they were left in limbo.

The majority of live sports productions are freelance jobs and therefore work is never guaranteed. Six months without the majority of sports playing, and these freelancers have no income to depend on. “When COVID-19 arrived, I went from working four games a week to nothing. I had to find a part time job to compensate for lost income” says Peyton Craven, a lead replay operator for sports in Knoxville.

This is an issue for freelance videographers. And while sports are beginning to make a comeback, every crew member has had to make changes within their lives during these uncertain times. So the next time you watch a game on television or an app, think about the people that are making it possible for you to be a part of the game. You may not see them, but they are there.