Hockey/Soccer Writers

Yes, of course, they do. But as much as the NBA or the NFL?

It's pretty difficult to take anyone seriously when "it sucks" is their primary analysis of a sport or to claim that hockey "glorifies failure".

 

What a bunch of horseshit. Game 2 of the World Series was three and a half hours of failure. Just three runs scored -- one on a groundout (failure!) and another on a sac fly (failure!). I still thought it was a pretty entertaining game. Maybe I'm just addicted to failure.

 

But baseball doesn't "suck" the way hockey does.

 

The easiest thing in the world -- for a good writer -- is to fill up 10-15 inches on a 1-0 soccer game because you can throw away that play-by-play crutch you rely on in football and basketball, recapping scores to set the scene, all the basket-trading and possession by possession stuff we rail about having to include but do anyway. Talk to players and coaches and get their reactions. Believe me, soccer and hockey players can be great breaking down the game and a particular play.

One of the best stories I ever wrote was about a 1-0 soccer game, between two highly ranked college teams. I won't name them because I don't feel like outing myself. But the game was played in a driving rainstorm on a muddy natural grass field. By rights it should have been a 0-0 tie. But with less than five minutes left, the winning team's All-American forward, who had been making runs all day to no avail, finally shook free from a defender, collected a perfectly served ball and drilled it into the net.

My whole story was how this player refused to give in to the elements, kept working hard and it paid off. FWIW, I won an award for the story. You just can't miss with great material.