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

I really don't know why editors are so reluctant to try different things (at least in my case they have been.) My guess is they dont want to have to answer to their bosses if they fail. For whatever reason, the exchange of ideas in the newspaper business (of all things) isn't as free-flowing as it should be. But maybe that's the bitter reporter in me talking. It's been known to surface.

 

Via Romenesko, J.R.'s piece is up for a CRMA Award:

http://poynter.org/forum/view_post.asp?id=13172

Good for him. But I'm curious, where are the award landscape to these fit? Important, not at all? What say you, magazine writers?

 

That was Tom Wolfe's best piece.

 

It beats the shit out of what I usually read about Carroll when he was coaching the New England Patriots which was the writer saying he was too soft, then finding some ex-lineman who drank his way out of the NFL talk about how important it is to have a coach who treats the players like shit.

 

I sure don't begrudge writers dissecting this story. It's what makes bigger and better writers.

For me, I'm just plain glad I read it. It left me wishing I'd EVER had a fraction of this man's talent.

Thanks for posting, DD.

And now, on to Satterfield ...

 

A good read for sure but halfway through felt hit over the head -- Pete Carroll's a great guy, rinse, repeat. The first person doesn't bother me in the least, Roy Blount Jr. worked the first person to perfection in 1973's "About Three Bricks Shy of a Load" -- my benchmark for this kind of writing about sports.

Also, I'll be glad when the worm turns and it's again acceptable to be a good guy and coach a Super Bowl winner. Bill Walsh, we miss you.

 

All I can say about the piece is I read it all the way through in one sitting. To me, it felt sincere, and not overly manipulative, whereas (the beloved) Gary Smith sometimes seems to mercilessly manipulate his story to fit the feeling he's trying to achieve. And Smith's great, don't get me wrong.
With JR, I was carried along with him instead of feeling hit over the head with a point.
Amazing story. I could write one exactly like it, but only if I cut and paste his.