23 Reasons Why J.R. Moehringer can't write a profile about Pete Carroll

Um. Have a disagreement here. (And, the Pulitzer Board too).

"Resurrecting the Champ." Los Angeles Times Magazine (May 4, 1997)

"Crossing Over." (The Gee's Bend Story) Los Angeles Times (August, 1999)

 

Seconded. "Resurrecting the Champ" is still the story I turn to when looking for inspiration. IMHO, it has the best ending line by far of any story I've ever read.

 

OK...I said in another thread that I didn't know if it was just me, but there weren't a lot of writers and columns/stories that really impressed me as spectacularly good anymore.

This here is an exception. Just a great, engaging piece.

 

Crap.
I read the first four or so reasons at work today. Decided this was a great story and that I should read the rest of it when I got home.
Now I'm home, and for some reason it won't load. Damn you, Charter Communications!

 

indeed, after a day of searching in vain for parcells, i was looking forward to reading this piece tonight. but it won't come up for me. any tips, friends? ??? ??? ???

 

Yep, son of a bitch is down. Someone type it up for us!

I'll second the Tender Bar. A great recommendation I received from someone here. It's basically my life story minus the Pulitzer so far

 

The link is working again, for those who missed it yesterday.


Wondering if there are any of you who felt the piece was a bit too fawning. Is there no darkness to be explored in Carroll? Should the Reggie Bush stuff have been so quickly glossed over?

 

i can say by my own experiences with pete that he is worth fawning over, from a personal standpoint. is he or anyone perfect, i.e. the bush treatment? no. but he's a fine, fine, real person.

 

Let me ask this, just for the sake of discussion: Do you think we're more interested in the "How does one write a profile about Pete Carroll?" device than the reader who is not a writer would be? I'll admit, that thought crossed my mind somewhat during the story. A lot of the posters on Every Day Must Be Saturday weren't quite as enamored with this story as we are.

Also, we talked a little bit about this on the "Happy Endings for narratives" thread, but when you get total access from someone in this era of almost zero access, how much harder is it to be critical of them? Certainly, as shockey points out, Carroll is worth fawning over. But does the overall tone of the piece have a bit too much homerism in it? The writing is beautiful, but are there no voices out there who thinks Carroll is anything other than wonderful?

 

45 minutes after beginning to read the piece -- with a couple of interruptions -- i'm done.

beautifully done.

 

Wow.

That's another subject that he's ruined for all of us...

Just like Gary Smith forever ruined Tiger Woods and tribal athletics. Just like Gay Talese forever ruined Joe DiMaggio. Just like Moehringer has now ruined Carroll and the homeless boxer.

I guess it's our jobs to find stories to take and make our own, so that no future generations can come close to mastering the subject.

Damn, what a read.

And with that, he's shot ahead of Smith in my book.