Lupica: "I don't do that" and other great outtakes from The National story

that right about when loopy made the turn into what he has become, guess it's hard to keep your head straight when your services are bid for seemingly no cap in an industry renowned for not paying diddly. in between his two stints at the daily snooze 'mikey the beast' was not only overfed by frank deford but also n.y. newsday, which was a marriage made in hell once the 'new york' was dropped and the tabloid in a tutu went back to long island exclusively.

 

I'm not a journalist, but I have two very fond memories about The National (I've probably posted them before):

1. I was living at my parents' house about 45 minutes from NYC during the summer of 1990 before moving away to start my post-college job. I loved The National, but it really pissed me off that there was a one day lag in getting it where we lived, so I wrote a complaint letter to Frank Deford. And he wrote back! In his letter, he acknowledged the distribution issues and apologized. I still have it and I still can't believe he took the time to write a letter back to whiny ass little old me.

2. Months later, I was on the set for a cover shoot for one of The National's new city launches. It was the first time I was on a photo shoot and it was very exciting to me. As I was leaving, I picked up one of the discarded Polaroid test shots. For years, I kept it in a frame on my desk at work, but now it's at home. Hard to believe it was 20 years ago.

RIP The National.

 

One thing this story does is prove Simmons isn't superstitious. If I were starting a big new sports writing operation, a story on the National is not what I'd publish on the second day of business.

 

Actually, you'd have hoped he would have been worse then and mellowed with age.

 

Couple of points, mostly for Michael:

My take on the timing was it was EXACTLY the kind of story Grantland would run early -- almost a cliche in an odd sense. And the implication is obvious: they're comparing themselves to the National.

I agree that some of the nostalgic haze might be a little thick -- but isn't nostalgic haze always? -- but I don't know that you could have dug up two or three more American sports writing staffs that would have been their equals. That was a pretty good team they assembled.

Finally, I do understand the camaraderie, for reasons described by 21: A group of people took a flier on a grand experiment all at once and failed but failed in spectacular fashion. I can see why people who were part of it feel a bond.

 

My memory is a little fuzzy, and I only read it on occasion, so can someone enlighten me.

Did The National ever break any big stories? And if so, what was its most noteworthy one or two?

I remember huge box scores, a silly gossip-style notebook by some woman in the middle of the paper, and a "local" columnist at the end.

 

All your points are fair ones, SFE. But understandable or not, the mutual congratulation and memoryfests of National personnel always rubbed me the wrong way. It's just how I felt, not a right or wrong thing.

 

I actually had a subscription to The National. When I got it, I didn't know that all that meant was that they would hold a copy for me at the local 7-11.

I still have the first issue, or 1/3 of the first issue. I have the one with Magic on the cover. I have the last issue. I have the one when Douglas beat Tyson, when Penn State beat Notre Dame and a handful of others...

 

Don't take this the wrong way, but you seem bitter about it. I point this out primarily because you don't usually seem that way. Did you have a co-worker who you hated who was hired there or something like that?

 

No offense, but I doubt anyone will be talking about FanHouse 20 years from now.

 

For this alone, I shall pledge my everlasting devotion to Grantland:


Pierce: It was an extraordinary liquid event. This is when I was hooked up with Van McKenzie and things were getting very liquid, and they put up, on one of the big screens in the bar, the original promotional film they sent to advertisers before we launched. Frank was on it. And Peter Price. And then Mike Lupica came on and I vividly remember getting up on a stool and shouting, "Give us Barabbas!" I'll never forget it. McKenzie put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Ya know, there are a lot of nutty people in this business. But you're crazy."

Buckley: Lupica pops up and everybody's throwing beer cans at it. It was like that scene in Animal House when Flounder's picture goes up on the screen in the frat house.