Frightening Grant Wahl news

The COVID vaccine posts are fun.

 

Rare for a journo to be respected as much within the sport and within the profession. Such a loss. Seemed like someone who was never afraid to stand up for the right thing, regardless of the risk.

 

I think lot of us are shocked, sad and angry all at the same time over this and we're venting like we always do here. But we know the process has to play out. Personally, hoping there are not any shenanigans. And like @UNCGrad and others have said, thank goodness we have POTUS who will put American interests, not his ego.

 

Someone at the local pub tonight cued up “Mr. Blue Sky,” which is my go-to “mood repair” song. Could not be feeling it less. I never met Grant Wahl. But I grieve him and I grieve that I never met him. You see the stories people are telling about his kindness and his humanity and you see the stories he told us and the loss feels exponential.

It’s a tremendously tempting belief that only assholes get ahead in this business, or in life. Any time you lose someone who defies that stereotype, whether an expert literally seated at the top of his field or just a friendly TV reporter in town at the end of a contract, it takes a toll.

I'm old enough now that I've thought about what might happen if I died at my desk or on deadline. It's a nasty and kind of ridiculous line to go down. If it were to happen, the state of the prep report would probably be none of my concern. But going "with your boots on," as it appeared Grant Wahl did (during extra time of a World Cup quarterfinal, no less) seems a hell of a lot less heroic than it used to be.

I remain skeptical but not conspiratorial about the circumstances of Grant Wahl’s death. But the fact that it seems even remotely plausible is so intensely damning as to induce rage.

We march on, I guess, but tonight was tough, and not just because the UMD men's game went in to overtime.

 

Listen to the instrumental outdo of "Mr. Blue Sky" if you can. It's beautiful and sad, a fitting tribute - however unintended - while thinking of Grant Wahl.

Thinking of an old friend, who I know has read a lot of Grant's work. RIP, good sir and Thank You.

 

Holy shit. I was listening to his podcast between the 2 matches yesterday while running an errand and he said that he went to the medical center for journalists twice because he was sick and not sleeping well.

Literally the gold standard for soccer writers in the US.

 

Is this QJ.com now?

RIP to one of the 4 on America's Soccer Scribe Rushmore.

 

Crazy.

Hopefully his body can be back here ASAP, and the journalists there are pooling their resources to find out if more people who took a stance had this medical condition happen to them, as well.

 

Don't follow sports at all really since I quit the business and thus haven't kept up with Grant's career, but loved his Beckham book. Also had no idea he was married to Dr. Gounder.

Damn. RIP.