Matching SI & ESPN Covers

Has this been discussed? How does this happen? No one says to either magazine, 'hey, we just did this for the other guys'...??

 

Step away from the journalism and look at the reality.

There is a clear top story as the NBA season begins. They both addressed it.

 

Maybe I'm just dense, but the top story in the NBA is a team that will finally likely contend for an East title in a positively dog-ass conference. A title that would lead to little more than becoming the green thing on the bottom of the shoe of whoever wins the West?

 

There've been several times that Newsweek and Tim have had almost identical covers when there's been a big news week. The Celtics are the story this preseason, so I can see how it happened.

 

The top story is three superstars coming together on the same team, regardless of the conference. That, plus the promise of a Celtics renaissance, given their storied history.

 

I'd take it another step, even. Not only can I see how it happened, but I can also see editors saying, "Hey, it's the big story in the NBA heading into the season, and just because the other guys did it doesn't mean that's going to stop us from doing it ourselves, so screw it."

I've worked at papers that kind of had a similar attitude about things, basically: "Until we do it, it hasn't been done."

 

Disagree, although deadlines precluded working Kobe onto the front of either.

 

I get that this is the NBA story. Someone knew this was being done twice. Same basic shot, and not a particularly creative one either. Why wouldn't one of the mags do it different? Or why wouldn't someone at the Celts say, 'you know, the other guys just did the same shot.'

 

Hell no. From the Celtics' point of view, there's two significant sports magazines and they're on the cover of both of them with damn good publicity. What do they care if the magazines end up looking stupid? Win-win for the franchise.

 

I just want to know if someone is pissed, or if this was a conscious decision. My guess is the former.