Monday, October 1, 2012

“Is it wrong that I liked your writing before I liked you?”



One of my very good friends told me back in college that my writing style was very distinct. So distinct that one could take my name off the story and it’s still apparent I was the author.


At the time I didn’t believe him. I figured he said because both of us were known for thumbing our noses at conventional methods for sports journalism.


To this day I still do, albeit, with more pragmatism than my college years.


My style is intricately descriptive. I am bluntly honest and routinely write exactly what people are thinking, but won’t say in mixed company. Above all, I’m fair to those who take the time to speak with me.


I’m a sports writer, not a policy maker, or crafting diplomacy dictums.


People may not always like what I write, but, again, I’m a sports writer. I like to make people think about things beyond the realm of sports.


Today’s rapid-fire style of reporting usually prevents that. Context is washed away in the race to get the minutia first, fastest and factual.


The best piece of journalism I ever read was published by Wright Thompson back in 2009. It was about the whirlwind Fall of 1962 at the University of Mississippi.


The story was published on ESPN.com. It was more than 14,000 words explaining the cultural shift that was underfoot at a university that James Meredith later wrote was “the holiest temple of white supremacy in America, next to the U.S. Capitol and the White House, both of which were under the control of segregationists and their collaborators," just two years prior.


Until I read Thompson’s story I had no clue Mississippi’s football team were undefeated in 1962.


The forgotten Rebels finished No. 3 in the country that year. That year was the last time Mississippi rolled through the Southeastern Conference without a loss.


The best writing, sports or otherwise, the author invests something in every word they share. Words are tools to take you to the scene of the action, even if the action is fictional, takes you there. An empty soul produces hollow copy that lack passion, zest and credibility.


Great writing can be a teaching tool. It can expand vocabularies, horizons, and understanding. The best of us do it consistently.


Every Monday, I log onto ESPNFC.com to read Phil Ball’s column. It’s supposedly a column about Spanish soccer, but it intertwines politics, culture, current events and behind-the-scenes context about the game in the Iberian peninsula.


Of course there is more to the world than sports. And, we all prefer different styles of writing.


My style may not be the most popular, yet, but it certainly has its devotees. My fiancé might be the most committed, considering she once told me “…I liked your writing before I liked you?”


Laughs and liveliness,


-Wb