As part of the course I am currently studying, we have been asked to write a profile about a journalist who we feel has made an important contribution to the world of journalism.
Despite sport journalism having been full of many wonderful and interesting characters, I have been strongly drawn to the work of George Plimpton.
After all, who hasn’t dreamed of being able to play top-level professional sport at some point in their life? My childhood was a mixture of football and cricket. The two seasons could merge together very happily.
But after a while, I realised I wasn’t going to be good enough to play either sport to a professional level (although I would still argue that I am a relatively decent cricketer!).
So that was it, I started looking into other areas of my life. However, George continued to persue this dream.
And as a result, he’s pitched against some of the world’s greatest baseball players, he’s played quarterback for the Detroit Lions, he’s kept net for the Boston Bruins, under the legendary coach Don Cherry, and if that wasn’t enough, he joined the PGA Tour. And that’s just his sporting prowess.
His books are insightly and delightful, filled with stories from the road. They don’t merely describe what it’s like to face those challenges, he delves into the stories of the men who put themselves into the battle.
You laugh with the teams and you cry with the teams, much like you or I would do every game with our respective sports teams.
The books show the camarderie that these professionals have with one another, and they interact. They are not a million miles away from how I interact with any time that I play on.
But I’ve begun to question Plimpton recently? And whether I consider him to be a ’sports journalist’?
Please don’t get me wrong, a sports journalist is not merely someone who reports on the latest football match, or someone who covers the boxing.
Much of what Plimpton finds out about how a team is put together, can be found out by reading a variety of autobiographies (personal favourites being Ed Smith, Steve James and Brian Clough), or books covering being part of a team (Marcus Bergman’s hilarious books of ‘Rain Men’ and ‘Zimmer Men’ are true example).
And what about more recent versions of Plimpton’s work? Ian Stafford, a respected journalist, covers this in his books.
Reading Stafford, they seemed no more than a lost person seeking to be good enough at one thing, that he might get a professional deal, to be told he is good at what he does.
That’s not journalism, that’s ‘look at me, ain’t I wonder guv!’ level of kissing one’s own backside.
The essay we’re having to write on this subject is proving very thought-provoking for me. I’m loving spending time delving into three of my favourite things (Sport, Reading, and being opinionated).
The trouble is, whether I’m happy at what I may decide!
