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The World Cup is the largest global athletic spectacle — every four years, billions of viewers tune in to watch the world’s elite soccer players represent their nations in fierce and emotional competition. This summer, my work primarily focused on FOX’s cross-platform coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Experiencing FOX’s production of the World Cup was one of the most thrilling endeavors of my life. During the tournament, I assisted producers in the digital media hub by clipping live broadcasts and reporting on social engagement data. My most important responsibility was to assemble a highlight package of the best Instagram and Twitter fan reaction videos from the day’s action. To perform this task, I used social analysis services, like Spredfast, to geo-fence cities all over the world and find the best reaction videos in response to important moments of a match.

Finding the most appealing content for a World Cup highlight requires a nuanced familiarity with FIFA broadcast law and firm knowledge of what reactions will be the most fascinating for soccer fanatics and novices alike. My job was to be a digital “hype man” for fans seeking to live vicariously through the buzz of cities like Zagreb, London, and Paris.

Collaborating with some of the industry’s brightest minds has given me wisdom I’ll cherish for years to come, especially as sports information becomes an increasingly digital enterprise. There is a new paradigm in the sports media landscape — one predicated on the emotions of the fans, conveyed through the limitless possibilities of social media. I hope to continue to develop this affinity for sports media and push the envelope with my next opportunity.