Maybe sitting in a cracker box of a high school stadium press box… while two teams battle it out amid the din of a few hundred fans from towns with names like Tom Bean or Bells… typing on a computer that is missing its "L"… maybe then you really don’t care.

While sitting in the Summit before game time, watching wide-eyed, Class A farm boys shoot air ball after air ball as they zero in on depth perception… and maybe as someone tells you to go out and write a feature on a Little League pitcher whose parents call the sports desk incessantly… then maybe you don’t care.

Maybe when you cash your first professional paycheck, and the amount is less than your $350 apartment rent… then maybe you don’t care.

CBS Sports producer Bryan Lilley and wife Olivia, Class of ‘99, root for the Aggies in New York any chance they get.

But most of the time – probably closer to all of the time – being a sports journalist is all about being passionate. You have to love sports, love buffets, love taking track results on the phone and love the Mendoza line as much as the poverty line.

So when someone claims that he or she is an objective sports journalist, they’ve spent one too many nights at the hospitality suite. Maybe if your beat is gardening or widgets, there could be a lack of spark in your writing. But for sportswriters, they have to show bias… they have to root for one team or the other. Otherwise, they’re dead men waffling.

Just ask Denne Freeman, the venerable and highly-respected former Associated Press sports editor, who on top of being an Aggie graduate, made 12^th Man Magazine’s list of the Most Influential Aggies in sports, specifically in the sports media.

Freeman took great pride in watching the Aggies beat Nebraska in 1998 in one of the last games he covered from Kyle Field. And why shouldn’t he? He has fond memories of Aggieland, as most Aggies do.

Sure, newspapers can’t have the slant of a "homer" magazine written by a Homer, but don’t let them fool you: When A&M and Texas meet on the football field, the press box sways with alternating emotions on each drive.

The writers who lean toward maroon are feeling the goose bumps of another packed Kyle Field house, another time when the Aggie Band steps off in perfect unison. The writers of the orange persuasion are gleaming with pride about their football juggernaut rising again, just as they remembered long ago.

The writers who live in a more gray area probably wish they had been maroon or orange, anyway.

Former Associated Press sports editor Denne Freeman is now enjoying the retired life in Salado.

And back at the newspaper offices and copy desks, the passion is playing out, as well. A Texas Ex is having to decide between placing a story about the Longhorns or the Aggies above the centerfold of the paper. Most likely, orange gets the nod more often than not.

The lesson is this: There is bias against A&M, because the numbers in journalism dictate there should be.

The University of Texas, and even Sam Houston State University, have put out great numbers of sports journalists over the years. A&M, unfortunately, has not.

Oh sure, there have been some outstanding writers, broadcasters and producers graduate from A&M. Our list of five – which includes Houston Chronicle columnist John P. Lopez, San Antonio Express-News sports editor Richard Oliver, New York Times deputy sports editor Kathleen McElroy, CBS sports producer Bryan Lilley and Freeman – shows there are some Aggies holding glamour positions in the sports media. There are just not nearly enough of them.

And even fewer Aggies are in top leadership positions at the state’s major newspapers and television stations.

So who’s to blame for the lack of Aggie media types? The mirror is all maroon.

It’s as if the College of Liberal Arts treats the A&M journalism department like an ugly stepchild, a three-legged dog that barks too much.

As a 1987 graduate of the department, I can attest that it was understaffed and under-appreciated 15 years ago. The school tried to weed out prospective journalism students with preliminary English tests and silly typing tests – both of which I failed at the onset.

Today, close to 700 students are in the department, with a teacher-student ratio among the highest at the university. The problems with the journalism department became so pronounced that an independent consulting firm was brought in to monitor the program. A&M probably has thought about closing out the journalism field, but was advised to revamp it altogether.

The Battalion, believe it or not, isn’t the problem, either. It’s a pretty good newspaper that  – aside from allowing ridiculous cartoons and editorials to run at sensitive times – is as good a laboratory for real-world work as there is among the college scene. It doesn’t have the staff size of the Daily Texan, but there have been plenty of talented people work at that paper for years.

Kathleen McElroy has risen up the ranks at the New York Times, the nation's largest daily newspaper.

And there are no separate sportswriting classes in the journalism department, as there are some universities like Sam Houston State. As for the broadcast field, the Aggie graduates who have made their mark are few and far between, as well.

Fortunately, there is one heavy hitter on the scene at Fox Sports Net.

In our special, eight-page look at Influential Aggies in Sports, our No. 1 mover and shaker in sports and is Jon Heidtke, a diehard Aggie from the Class of 1981. Ironically, Heidtke is perhaps more well-known among powerbrokers from all sorts of schools than he is among the maroon faithful.

But Heidtke’s presence on the sports front, especially in terms of helping Texas A&M, is obvious. His orchestration of the popular state 7-on-7 passing tournament, which has been held in College Station since its inception, is a perfect example of wielding a little maroon and white power.

Heidtke’s respect, however, has been predicated on his sound business sense and marketing mind. People could care less that he’s an Aggie because his track record is so good.

Jon is talented and special, as are the other Aggies we list in our latest issue.

Heidtke is in a top position, making big decisions that affect A&M, Texas and a host of other colleges. He is a lone maroon star among the higher-ups of a major television network.

Aggie fans have complained for years that the decision-makers at the state’s top newspapers have it out for A&M. Some of them probably do, but the journalism middle men in the editing trenches can affect a newspaper’s coverage as much as anyone.

That’s where the Aggies need to infiltrate – behind the scenes where the decisions are being made on whom to cover and with how much copy.

Let’s hope there are more Denne Freemans out there, and that Texas A&M doesn’t allow its journalism department to disappear. It can have a big effect on all of us, from Joe Fan who reads his Sunday sports section to those of us who are paid to write about the chills and thrills of a college football afternoon.

Sports copy is always skewed. Aggies can only hope the balance of power shifts their way one day, when more guys like Jon Heidtke and Richard Oliver are handing out the assignments on gameday.