Stories That Define Success

When Tina Cervasio visited Morris County recently to speak at a business luncheon, she was unsure of what to say. The lead sports anchor and reporter for Good Day New York on WNYW-Fox 5 and host of the weekly show “Sports Extra” felt a bit ill-suited to address a business audience.  So she told stories – and those stories defined success. Cervasio served as the keynote speaker at a luncheon of the Women in Business Program of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, held at the Westin Governor Morris in Morristown. ​

She is a seven-time New York Emmy winner as the past New York Knicks sideline reporter for MSG Network. She also has worked for CBS Sports Network, SiriusXM NBA Radio and on New York Red Bulls television broadcasts, as well on TNT and the New England Sports Network. The stories of her experiences as a sports broadcast journalist helped paint the picture of who Cervasio is, how she has achieved success and, perhaps most importantly, what matters most to her. “How we can all learn from them and what I took from them,” she explained.

Cervasio said she learned early in her career how failure can be the starting point for something new. She was starting out in broadcasting and was struggling to find a full-time television job when she came across a quote from Michael Jordan. “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career,” Jordan said. “I failed again and again. That’s why I succeeded.” Cervasio explained to the audience how that quote resonated with her and helped shape her outlook on her career and life. “MJ failed but he took each of them and built on them,” she said. Cervasio spoke about the impact former quarterback and current minor league baseball player Tim Tebow has on people through his positive attitude.

​“Every time you go into his press conference, even the most grizzled sports writer feels better,” Cervasio said. “That’s what he does.” She told how Tebow was asked if he were never called up to the Major Leagues would he consider that a failure and replied he would not let missing that goal define his life. “His success is that he kept trying and keeps on trying,” Cervasio said. “That’s how I’ve looked at my career.” Cervasio shared how, at his press conference held after being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Derek Jeter lamented not following his parents’ advice of sitting back and enjoying his career, instead always focusing on what was next.

“It almost seemed like he regretted it,” she said. “That resonated with me. I’ll do a show and my next interview had to be better…I had to stop doing that and sit back and enjoy it.” A powerful life-changing moment came for Cervasio when she, herself, failed the day she was let go as the Knicks sideline reporter. “I said, ‘Now, who am I?’” she told the audience. “I had to sit back and think about who I am and I realized I’m a really good friend and really good aunt. I was able to focus more on family when I lost the job. And it made me more successful because I wasn’t attaching myself to that label…That makes life so much better every day.” Cervasio was moved by the reaction she received from the audience. “They wanted to hear what I said and that touched me,” she said. “I felt I could really tell my life story.”