Walter Wright Thompson Father's Day Article

That was excellent. You've got to have a heart made of bricks if that doesn't choke you up....

 

I'm absolutely speechless...

 

One of the best parts of SportsJournalists.com is every now and then someone will post a link to a story that otherwise I might have missed. Usually said stories turn into some of the best work I've ever read. Wright Thompson piece is a stunningly beautiful work of art straight from the heart.

 

Here's hoping folks don't celebrate Mother's and Father's Days on just the two designated days each year. It should be every day.

Damn fine article.

Just had to get some tissues. Eyes are swollen.

 

God, that was really beautiful.

 

Wow.

 

For various reasons, I was ready to be pretty damn cynical regarding this story.

I lost, big time, right around the time he got off the plane in Memphis.

Spectacular work. And a window into why the Legend of Wright Thompson exists.

 

Absolutely terrific.

I was doing fine until the part about putting the Masters credentials in his father's jacket pocket in case there's an Augusta National in heaven.

 

Well done. I agree that it's great when someone brings us reasons why journalism can never go away. That could have been anyone's father and the story would still move the reader. Hell, I actually like Jim Gray a little more now, too.

 

I'm a 23-year old journalist with a father-son relationship that most can only envy. Sitting at my desk in Casper, I'm bawling like a 4 year old who's lost his blankie.

Read the story, put it down. Went online to the Denver Broncos web site, found the schedule, went to expedia.com, bought a plane ticket for my dad to come watch our first Broncos game together after 15 years of fandom. We're from Southern California; now I'm close enough to be able to watch myself.

Now I'm trying to find tickets to the game.

Now that's what a story should do.

BTW - anyone have any tissues?

 

I think the point of a story like this one, Junkie, is not to suggest that the writer's story is any more moving or any more important than anyone else's. It's to act as a window -- or really, a mirror, so that you might see yourself (and in this case, your father) in it.

I mean, I don't see this as a story about Wright's dad. It's a universal story about fatherhood and sonhood -- if there is such a word.

 

I think that's okay, Junkie. I think it's probably more moving for people who've lost their dads or who didn't really know them... But for those of us with good relationships with our fathers -- like you, like me; I love my dad and he loves me -- I think the story still serves as a reminder to make everything count.

I'm taking my dad and my son to a minor-league ballgame this weekend because of the story, the way Snuka is taking his dad to Denver, the way I imagine a lot of folks are making plans for trips and phone calls and hugs after reading it.

For that, tonight, Wright wins.