John Fanta, Fox Sports’ feisty up-and-coming talent in college basketball, spent the summer between his junior and senior years at Seton Hall rooming in a Los Angeles hostel with a 60-year-old African immigrant. We spent time sharing.
The Cleveland native has been a sports fan ever since listening to and imitating broadcasters such as the late Cavaliers voice Joe Tate, Browns announcer Jimmy Donovan and Guardians play-by-play man Tom Hamilton. I dreamed of it being on the soundtrack.
“I would watch the Indians (at the time) inning, turn down the volume, and then call the game from the family room for the next inning, which would probably be a nuisance to other family members,” Fanta told the Post. told. While laughing.
His strange life situation during his college days began with a big opportunity to break into the sports media industry: an internship at Fox Sports.
Renowned Fox Sports producer Bardia Shah Rice, a Seton Hall graduate, asked then-director of athletics Pat Lyons if anyone was interested in an internship.
Fanta, now 28, jumped at the opportunity to “make it work” even though the internship stipend wouldn’t cover all of her travel and living expenses.
He lived in a hostel in downtown Los Angeles for three months with an African roommate named George, who, according to Fanta, was a “better man.” “I came to America at the age of 60 to try to make a living.”
During his internship, Fanta helped behind the scenes on MLB Whiparound with Kevin Burkhardt, Chris Myers, Frank Thomas and Dontrell Willis, and worked with Rob Stone, Alexi Lalas and Fernando Lalas on Fox’s Copa America soccer coverage. Served as Fiore’s production assistant.
“The first thing Baldia said to me, and I think this is how Fox works, is, ‘Nobody wants to work with someone they don’t like,'” Fanta said.
“I’ve learned two things: Who you are off the air is just as important as who you are on the air. Don’t be silly! Make it easy! People are nice people Second, I want to be able to control how hard I work. And I also credit my parents. These two visions are what I carry every day in my career. It was the gospel.”
He first became interested in college basketball when he and his grandfather, also named John, went to an NCAA tournament game at Cleveland’s Wolstein Center, where Kevin Pittsnogle’s West Virginia team was playing for Chris. – Upset Paul’s Wake Forest team in double overtime.
“I decided March Madness was the biggest event in sports that night when I was 10 years old and there were no dogs at the game,” Fanta said.
Fanta was encouraged by his father, Jerry, He died in January at the age of 56.is going to college in the New York metropolitan area because that’s where he has the most opportunities to pursue his sports media dreams.
“He said, ‘John, it’s time for you to step out of your box in Cleveland. That’s where the opportunity will come,'” Fanta said.
“He said to me, ‘I think there’s something more in you, and it’s time to take that passion to the next level.'”
He toured Syracuse, Fordham, St. John’s and Seton Hall, and when Seton Hall AD Lions told Fanta there was an “open door” for him to fly in and cover the schools’ teams, he came to New Jersey. Arrived.
“My dad and I looked at each other and said, ‘Is the door open for me to cover Big East men’s basketball?’ We have to do it! … We’re going to wait two or three years for a game to be played at Syracuse. As opposed to. No offense against Syracuse, but we just saw a little pond that we were going to jump into,” Fanta said.
“We knew we could walk down the hill and take a 35- to 40-minute train ride to Madison Square Garden, and that the biggest games in college basketball would be held in that building.”
Toward the end of his senior year at Seton Hall, Fanta was about to accept a job with a local affiliate in Midland, Texas, that paid about $35,000 a year.
But he got a call from Rick Gentile, the legendary former producer of CBS’ “NFL Today” and the Olympics. He was working with the Big East at this point.
The two had lunch, and at the end of the meal, Gentile told Fanta that then-Villanova head coach Jay Wright had been pushing the conference to increase basketball coverage during the offseason.
Therefore, at the Spring 2017 Basketball Annual Conference, it was resolved to create a digital media position at Fanta.
He became the host of “Big East Shootaround,” which was his first foray into on-air talent.
A year after taking the job, FOX producers asked if the Big East had an idea for a women’s basketball play-by-play station, and Fanta’s name came up.
He went from having one chance in 2018 to “six or seven” the following year, and about 15 in 2020 and 2021.
Last season, he played in 35 games.
About two years ago, he was asked by Fox Sports Digital if he knew anyone who might be interested in writing two or three college basketball articles a week and making videos.
Fanta volunteered the job to bosses Michael Bucklin and Kevin Jackson, and his role there recently progressed to being named a 2024 Rising Star by the Basketball Writers Association of America.
The Post has you covered with a printable NCAA bracket featuring the entire 68-team field for March Madness 2024.
“I have a love for a little bit of everything, and I believe that versatility adds value in today’s content world,” Fanta said of his role at Omniplatform.
Fanta married the love of his life, Victoria, in a ceremony on September 1, 2023.
“She’s my biggest fan and she comes to my games,” Fanta said, adding that college basketball requires logging literally thousands of games, so marriage is a balancing act. Ta.
The two met in November 2020, when COVID-19 was still severely restricting social activities.
Fanta’s neighbors in her New Jersey building invited her to go Christmas tree shopping with a larger group.
“I looked at this girl who is now my wife and said to my neighbors, ‘She’s cute.’ Is she single?’ Within five minutes, we had a date scheduled. ” Fanta recalled.
“We went on our first date three weeks later, and we haven’t stopped talking since.”
Fanta’s media fame has brought some interesting opportunities.
At last week’s Big East Tournament, Madison Square Garden invited Fanta to be the bowl thrower for the red panda, a generational talent who flips heaping bowls over his head while riding a unicycle.
He was clearly eager to take revenge for his poor performance.
“Last year we had a tough time. It was a tough day. She was a little under the weather,” Fanta said.
“So this year, she said, ‘Can we talk?’” She said, “I want you to do the bowl toss from a different angle.” Last year, you were kind of on my periphery. So if there’s anyone to blame for Red Panda hitting a wall in his career, it’s me. But last week she was perfect, hitting every bowl. It’s an honor for me to be able to throw her a bowl and deliver it to her. ”
