Awful Halloween leads

Gross.

 

I think any sportswriter who is covering an event on a holiday should reserve any mention of the holiday for a notebook, if a notebook is written in addition to the game story. Otherwise, unless a pro athlete or coach is furious about having played on Thanksgiving or Christmas and criticizes the league commissioner or the league itself, resist any and all temptations to write a holiday lede. In the notebook, if there is one, it would be tough to ignore the holiday completely and there'd be no harm no foul in using a dumb holiday reference. If you are doing a notebook you are probably overcovering such team, anyway.

 

I think you're absolutely right here. Perfect for a notebook, as that's where you put dumb, hokey, fluffy crap. But my question is why do you believe writing a notebook qualifies as over-covering a team? I do lots of notebooks, usually 1-2 a week, much of which readers tell me they enjoy.

 

We stopped using limerick leads every St Patrick's Day after what we in the newsroom later referred to as the "Nantucket Soccer Game Disaster".

 

Thank you Doc. People don't usually agree with anything Fredrick says. And I'm probably giving a wrong take about notebooks. I guess they are OK and don't classify as overcoverage.

 

I still think you're right about where this type of story belongs. Definitely not in the lead of a gamer. Notes packages can be overcoverage. I've seen writers do them daily along with their other stuff. That's just too fucking much. But once or twice a week usually allows me to get some interesting tidbits in that don't warrant a full-blown story.

 

I used a holiday lede only once. I began a December 26 notebook on the Pats training in Vero Beach for a Monday nighter in Miami with "Merry Christmas," because that's how I greeted coach Raymond Berry on December 25. Berry, a devout Christian, was startled when I did so. He had forgotten the date. As an overly focused NFL coach, he had merely thought of it as "Thursday's practice routine." I thought that was a good item, and still do. But it was hardly a gamer.

 

Because of the context and humor/shock value, I'd say that was a rare holiday lead that worked. And I'm not surprised it involved an NFL coach. Reminds me of what Vince Lombardi supposedly said to an assistant coach who asked to leave work early so he could go Christmas shopping during the week before an NFL championship game: "Do you wanna be Santa Claus or a football coach? You can't be both!"

 

That is a good lead, because was a good example to the point you were trying to make with your notebook. It wasn't trying to get "trick" and "treat" into a lead at all costs.

 

This actually works. Very rare that such a lead can work but you found the right time and place.

 

Considering today's date and the number of high school football playoff games we're covering tonight, I expect to see at least one "Friday the 13th" lead.

 

You go to the game praying someone named Jason has a big game.

"Like his namesake Jason Vorhees, Podunk's Jason Smith ran roughshod over Opponent's defense like they were terrified campers to lead to a cutting-edge 28-7 victory on Friday the 13th."