Pearlman on sportsjournalist.com: "long-faded turf"

[Double Down]

When I wrote my post above, I nearly mentioned all the threads you started regarding journalism writing, etc., and how good they were, but that even they sometimes didn't get the amount of response you/we probably always hoped for, even back then.

But the reasons were different, I think. Back, reporters often came here for release and relief, not to, essentially, do more "work" in writing well, or thinking about writing well, etc., and that sometimes impacted the response. The journalists were here, but the will wasn't.

There was probably some naiveté on my part too in the way I ran/framed some of those discussions. I'm sure some of it came across as talking down to the audience, even if what I hoped for was education or inspiration. I was in the middle of a unicorn run in journalism and so that's how I thought we should talk about journalism, about what cool shirt was possible. To people in places where 5o hours weeks were turning into 60 hour weeks for the same pay, I'm not sure talking about J.R. Moehringer stories or Gary Smith stories or Wright Thompson stories felt particularly uplifting. If I were to rethink any of that, I probably would have done Q & As like Pearlman does, even if it was with anonymous posters here, because a lot of people could have shared a lot of wisdom about different levels of the business. I always said that one of my favorite posts here was something shockey wrote about how he managed to get Brett Favre in a one-on-one at the Super Bowl by mentioning he'd talked to one of Favre's old friends as he was being whisked away after his podium time. There was a great lesson in event coverage there, how to stand out in a pack, that people could have learned from.

I think this place was always engaged in a tug-of-war over what we wanted it to be. Some people wanted journalism, some wanted community, some wanted gossip, some wanted jokes, some wanted to troll, some wanted politics, some wanted romance, some wanted to vent about a dying industry. It was great when it was all those things -- except maybe the trolling, although some people loved that too -- but it probably wasn't sustainable being all those things.

It needed to settle into something different, which it has.

I'm a member of a golf message board now that I love and I had a frequent troll there who kept coming at me and every now and then he'd annoy me enough that I'd crack my knuckles and put him in his place and it would make me chuckle at little because I'd think "Buddy, do you think this is my first rodeo? I've tussled with way better trolls than you. I'm a veteran of the message board wars."

 

[Double Down]

My list of story ideas for DD is getting longer.

1, roadie across Montana with Musburger

2, go find the running back, again

3, caddie for Theegala in India

All these are good ones, although I wonder if Musburger has even been to Montana in years. To write that story, you'd almost have to let Musberger hoist himself by his own petard because he'd undoubtably say a lot of stupid shirt. It makes me feel a little sad that he excoriated John Carlos and Tommie Smith as a young columnist, calling them "immature" and "black-skinned stormtroppers" who made a "childish" statement and never seemed to realize how messed up that was.

As for Muema, I do think about him sometimes. I'm as proud of that story as any I've ever written and have been asked a few times at ESPN to consider revisiting him, but I think it's hard to write a second story about someone who is almost certainly psychologically unstable. I've seen a little of what he's been up to through his social media channels, but I don't know how I'd feel about flying to, say, Mexico to meet up with him. I got an email shortly after the story ran (from a friend of his girlfriend) telling me that he was a lot more dangerous than I understood.

Theegala in India would be a great story, but to be honest he'd have to see the value in it and not feel like he was being exploited. It's a bit of a tricky pitch, right? I think you'd have to be open about it in the writing of the story. Hey, I pitched this to him, he agreed, here is what it was like.

 

[Songbird]

I got an email shortly after the story ran (from a friend of his girlfriend) telling me that he was a lot more dangerous than I understood.

That's why it was a great story. At one point in the story I thought Jesus forking Christ, he's married with kids and he's agreeing to meet this cuckoo bird somewhere in the Diego, at night, under street lamps? You put your life on the line for that story even if you didn't realize it at the time or maybe you didn't think Muema was all that dangerous, but exciting. I wondered if you discussed it with your wife before going to meet Adam -- because again, you have kids -- or if ESPN bosses had any real concerns. Story of the Year in 2014. Can't believe it's been 8 years.

Theegala in India would be a great story, but to be honest he'd have to see the value in it and not feel like he was being exploited.

There are, what, 200 golf courses in all of India with a population of 1.38 billion? I think that's what the tweet said. Just did a quick google:

India currently has 196 registered golf courses and around 50% of those registered courses are situated on military bases, which are only accessible to military. 35 additional courses are un-affiliated (approx 17 Pitch and Putt Courses). This leaves roughly 135 courses to cater for a civilian golf demand.​

India has 52 international cricket venues, the most in any country - 29 more than the next most: England with 23. International cricket was held in India for the first time in December 1933 when the Gymkhana Ground in Bombay played host to the India-England Test match.​

Just remember that thing you wanted to do 5 years ago with DeChambeau ... but life got in the way ... stupid life! ... and you didn't get to do it.

As for a road trip across Montana with Musburger. I've seen Wright's Mississippi. I want to see your Montana with the Man from Billings.

I think there's a there there. But I also used to think Devean George could've become one of the greatest Lakers ever. David Rivers too.

 

[JC]

That's why it was a great story. At one point in the story I thought Jesus forking Christ, he's married with kids and he's agreeing to meet this cuckoo bird somewhere in the Diego, at night, under street lamps? You put your life on the line for that story even if you didn't realize it at the time or maybe you didn't think Muema was all that dangerous, but exciting. I wondered if you discussed it with your wife before going to meet Adam -- because again, you have kids -- or if ESPN bosses had any real concerns. Story of the Year in 2014. Can't believe it's been 8 years.



There are, what, 200 golf courses in all of India with a population of 1.38 billion? I think that's what the tweet said. Just did a quick google:

India currently has 196 registered golf courses and around 50% of those registered courses are situated on military bases, which are only accessible to military. 35 additional courses are un-affiliated (approx 17 Pitch and Putt Courses). This leaves roughly 135 courses to cater for a civilian golf demand.​

India has 52 international cricket venues, the most in any country - 29 more than the next most: England with 23. International cricket was held in India for the first time in December 1933 when the Gymkhana Ground in Bombay played host to the India-England Test match.​

Just remember that thing you wanted to do 5 years ago with DeChambeau ... but life got in the way ... stupid life! ... and you didn't get to do it.

As for a road trip across Montana with Musburger. I've seen Wright's Mississippi. I want to see your Montana with the Man from Billings.

I think there's a there there. But I also used to think Devean George could've become one of the greatest Lakers ever. David Rivers too.

And then there's Divac.

 

[Songbird]

And then there's Divac.

He WAS one of the best Lakers ever.

And, was in the best #30for30

 

[playthrough]

I think this place was always engaged in a tug-of-war over what we wanted it to be. Some people wanted journalism, some wanted community, some wanted gossip, some wanted jokes, some wanted to troll, some wanted politics, some wanted romance, some wanted to vent about a dying industry. It was great when it was all those things -- except maybe the trolling, although some people loved that too -- but it probably wasn't sustainable being all those things.

Truth! A DM exchange here led to me and an old board regular setting up mutual friends on a blind date and they've been married a good long time now.

For me, this is the closest thing I have to an old newsroom. I work in a place right now where no one talks sports, the old movie references would be met with blank stares and I don't dare make an even close-to-borderline wisecrack. I spend more time here than I probably should but it's therapeutic as much as anything.

 

[Songbird]

SJ really is the Internet's first (and lasting) newsroom.

This beautiful carnival of folks is every newsroom I ever worked in combined.

 

[dixiehack]

SJ really is the Internet's first (and lasting) newsroom.

This beautiful carnival of folks is every newsroom I ever worked in combined.

Minus the odors.

 

[Cosmo]

When I was still in the business and had aspirations of moving up, I got a great deal of support from people through PMs. One prominent writer took the time to honestly critique my copy and point out specific ways I could improve. Always appreciated that. And as noted, I've met a bunch of cool people here. It's the same anymore, no, but this place allows me a tangential connection to what's left of the sports writing industry. And I still do write, it's just narrowly focused on golf/golf adjunct material, and not at the same frequency.

 

[Huggy]

I've been around since the Sportspages days and even though I have never been in the business - I was a team guy then (who produced a ton of content for our website) and I am a league guy now - I have made some great friends through this place (I was at the 2005 outing in Toronto which was a blast) and others I correspond with online. I have picked up some great book and music recommendations (and hope I have left a few, too), been in many fantasy leagues organized through here and had lots of laughs on various threads. It's still one of the first places I check in the morning and if a major story breaks in the sports world.

And while it may have lost a step from its halcyon days it's a step few message boards ever had in the first place.

Somebody mentioned the epic night crew days. Logging on in the morning was like coming downstairs after an all-night party: What the fork happened here last night?

 

[Small Town Guy]

Haven't posted much in the last few years. Can't entirely say why. This place once meant a great deal to me. Now it seems like a town where I grew up, and still have fond (if complicated) memories about, but no longer wish to live in. Only occasionally pass through for a cup of coffee. And I mean no offense to anyone who does live here. I lived here for 17 years, made some life-long friends who feel like family. When I got married a few months ago, the officiant was someone I met here, someone who has become my literal best friend.

It meant a lot, once. But it changed and I changed. And that's okay.

I think it sharpened the writer that I was trying to be. I once got a job interview at Sports Illustrated because of this place. An editor liked the writing in my posts. I didn't get a job there, but it was quite the rush to have inexplicably message-board-posted my way into an interview at the place I dreamed, as a kid, of working. Even now it seems like an absurd sentence to type.

Journalism is hard. It's hard for people at every level, people who do work that is read by millions and people who do work read by small town communities. It was often fun to debate and share and discuss that stuff with people at every level. I mostly liked being here because there was a baseline assumption that most everyone could write well and was smart. I do think social media offered some other outlets for that, but a lot of people just got tired of having the same fights — or even the same jokes — most of which felt weighed down by 10 years of baggage.

I really do like message boards, despite their flaws. I like going back with the search function here, reading old posts I made in my 30s. Man I was earnest! And self righteous! It's almost like reading a diary of who you were, which is interesting, even when it's embarrassing. I was working on a big story this fall about an athlete and I knew a poster (who is no longer in journalism) had covered him years ago, so I messaged him on Facebook. We hopped on the phone and talked for an hour. We'd never spoken, but because of SJ we felt like we'd known each other for 20 years. This place never came up, but it was an unspoken wink between us. We'd clashed here over politics, we'd motherforked each other over various alliances, we'd called an eventual truce, we'd grown to be Internet friends, and we both knew we were some of the OGs of this joint, having being frequent posters in its infancy and, as Pearlman wrote, it really meant something. We talked about our kids and families and life in and out of journalism. It was great. It was a nice reminder that the years spent here had value, not just for the IRL friends we made, but because we would always be part of a shared, weird, wonderful internet family.

DD's kids watching Dad type up this lovely post.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

DD's kids watching Dad type up this lovely post.

Holy shirt that's spectacular.

I never had message board friends like I did in 2005. Jesus, does anyone?