Courtside with MSG’s Tina Cervasio: The Knicks are back…

Everyone has a “person”. It’s the best friend, coach, loved one, who looks out for you when you need it most –no matter what. Well, for New York sports fans, through the good seasons and the not so good, that person is Emmy nominated Tina Cervasio. She is your go-to girl for New York Knicks information and can be found on the MSG Network, the nation’s longest running sports regional network based out of Madison Square Garden. But Tina does more than just report from the sidelines and do pre-game interviews with players. She captures those special narratives that sports fans thrive upon; the underdog, the player on the bench with a heart of gold and the special side to a superstar.

Currently entering her 3rd season in this cherished role, Cervasio relays her continued enthusiasm stating, “The Garden is such a famous arena that even pro athletes are in awe of it …and it’s my office!” But in such a competitive industry, what makes Tina special is that she not only understands the impact of her on-air presence, but the accountability of being part of such a platform. “My responsibility is to give New York sports fans the stories they want to hear about their team”, Cervasio says. She does this while giving back to her local sports community as well through her work with charitable organizations. So who influenced her to become the savvy reporter she is today? Who will she inspire to follow in her footsteps? As we learn more about Tina, maybe take a minute to think about who has touched your life. Now we meet some of Tina’s “people”…

#1: Her life growing up was based around athletics. Tina reflects that her dad played football at Cornell and so their Saturdays were immersed in football culture and his team. But it was at about 10 years old when everything changed for Tina and she saw the really big picture. She shares that “we went as a family to the Rose Bowl. I remember it like yesterday; it was Iowa v. UCLA and it was my first big college game day experience. That was the first time I realized that sports reporting is something I would love to do for the rest of my life”. She continues lamenting about her father’s influence stating “my dad told me to find something I love to do and get paid for it”; and so she did follow his advice and her dream of journalism.

#2:A few years ago, Cervasio was pushing ahead in the biz. While at the former NFL Season Ticket, Spencer Tillman gave her some words of wisdom that would stick with her. He shared that sometimes you have to go through a crucible experience, telling Tina: “You burn and get uncomfortable only to come out better on the other end.” This advice helped her to not only accept challenges but seek them out, as she would take on jobs and overcome obstacles that may be outside of her comfort zone, but would make her better.

After successfully meeting a series of professional opportunities within various outlets (most recently a stint up north with the Red Sox), this city girl and her husband finally got to come back to Gotham. Originally from the area, Tina is now in proximity to her loved ones and of course one of the best sports cities around. Tina laments that “it’s important to be there for family and friends’ big events…to be there for life”. Even with 82 games on her schedule this season (and hopefully postseason games to come), Tina is thrilled to get started and says that “New York has amazing fans. Around here, fans are year round. But our Knicks fans need a big win”…and for some fans, that win is a life alerting battle.

#3: Tina ran the ING New York City Marathon twice (2008 & 2009) to raise money for Madison Square Garden’s non-profit charity, the Garden of Dreams Foundation. The foundation makes dreams come true for “kids in crisis” in the tri-state area. They partner with many amazing children’s related organizations to give these kids who are going through some of life’s hardest challenges, joy.But Tina didn’t just gather some donations and run her miles. She continually works with Garden of Dreams at MSG events, she captured special moments of her first marathon for her network, stating “I took the viewers along with me, from training to race day”. What’s even more memorable for her is that some of the kids even got to be present on race day to cheer her and the other MSG runners on, giving them a boost to cross that finish line.

Tina comments on how she had always dreamt of running the New York marathon but some very special people became her purpose to finish. She explains that “The Garden of Dreams gets the children tickets to go to a game, a concert, or arranges for them to meet a player. It’s amazing to be able to see them laugh and how healing these life experiences are for the kids.” But what Tina is most touched by is the healing power of the foundation’s work-sharing that “being at center court gives these kids superhuman powers- for the child and their family.”

As Tina sees these smallest sports fans as little superheroes, she cant believes that for many in her city, she is a hero of sorts-a sports celebrity in New York where people rely on her coverage and let her into their homes every season. She is a mentor to up-and-coming sports journalists, an inspiration to kiddos around the city and the source of Knicks news for die-hard fans. But now the Knicks are the first in the NBA to start training camp; Saturday starts double sessions then later this month it’s off to Europe to play their first preseason game. With all of this excitement and such a hectic schedule, this TomGlamorous reporter still says she “just loves having so many stories to tell”. She happily shares that “I jump out of bed in the morning to go to work every day”; so it seems that her father, her first “person” was right about finding something she loved after all.

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