Meet BERTH A BELL
H EADLINES
Marc Zumoff to Take Young
Sports Journalists to 2022
Maccabiah Games
LO C AL
Human Computer
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4 OCTOBER 21, 2021
JARRAD SAFFREN | JE STAFF
AFTER 27 SEASONS, more
than 2,100 games and a
childhood dream realized,
Marc Zumoff retired in June
as the television voice of the
Philadelphia 76ers.

Now, just months later, the
beloved announcer is trying
to help train the next Marc
Zumoff for his big break.

Next summer, the broad-
caster will take a team of young,
aspiring sports journalists
to Israel for the quadrennial
Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-
style, multisport competition for
Jewish athletes the world over.

Th e program, called Maccabi
Media, will focus on providing
multimedia coverage of the
Maccabi USA team. Students
can get opportunities to call
games, record interviews and
write stories, among other tasks.

Th e Maccabi Media team
plans on hosting livestreams
of games, as well as posting
content to the Maccabi USA
website and YouTube.

According to Zumoff , 14
spots are open to Jewish appli-
cants from across the United
States. Th e goal is to build four
coverage teams of three journal-
ists each, with two alternates in
case someone drops out.

Rising high school seniors,
college students and postgrad-
uates up to the age of 25 can
apply at maccabiusa.com/
maccabimedia/. Zumoff and
his team are looking for young
people with at least some media
experience. Th e deadline to apply is Jan.

1, and successful applicants will
be notifi ed later that month.

“If you’re a young, aspiring
sports media professional and
you participate in this, you will
go back to school the following
JEWISH EXPONENT
Marc Zumoff
fall a much diff erent person,
not just a sports broadcaster,”
Zumoff said. “You’ll get to say,
‘I participated in an Olympic-
style event.’ How many young
people can say that?”
Zumoff believes
the program’s mission is two-fold:
to help young people and to
actually cover a major Jewish
sporting event. He wants appli-
cants to have media experience
because this content will be real.

Every livestream, article
and interview, on the website
and YouTube, will adhere to
the standards of professional
media outlets.

“I’ve always wanted Maccabi
USA to have some sort of
coverage,” he said. “It’s been
woefully lacking in years past.”
For the retired broadcaster,
chairing Maccabi Media is “a
legacy project,” as he called
it — but not just in terms of
helping the next generation
and providing coverage of an
important event.

Th e announcer said that
seeing Israel is as important as
the games.

Before the competition
even starts, participants will
join the athletes on Maccabi
USA’s Israel Connect Program,
a weeklong tour of the Jewish
state’s landmarks and cultural
Courtesy of the Philadelphia 76ers
Marc Zumoff , second from right,
with other Maccabi USA supporters
at the 2017 Maccabiah Games in
Jerusalem. Courtesy of Mark Susson
touchpoints. Th e state of Israel is
facilitating the tour, Zumoff said.

As a Jew, Zumoff feels it’s
essential to educate the next
generation on “Israel and its
true meaning,” he said.

According to the broadcaster,
American Jews must understand
that Israel is the home of the
Jewish people. He believes that if
older Jews don’t imbue younger
Jews with this understanding,
then it’s going to be an issue for
Israel down the road.

“Th is is an existential thing,”
he said. “If I can only support
Israel during my life, the question
is, who will do so aft er?”
Zumoff got involved with
Maccabi USA a decade ago
See Zumoff, Page 22
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM