Other people's accomplishments

I've always liked this quote by Danny Blanchflower, Irish soccer player, because it can easily apply to writing:

"The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning. It's nothing of the kind. The game is about glory. It's about doing things in style, with a flourish, and going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom."

I like sports just fine. I follow them to the extent that I have to for my job, but I don't like them that much.

I do like people though. I like writing about them and trying to understand them.

And I love writing. Reading it, analyzing it, talking about it, and attempting to do it myself, it in m own timid way.

Maybe try to look at it that way.

 

I am saddened by those who see our jobs as less consequential than a host of other industries that so many people work in. Cell phone salesmen, stocking shelves, food service, retail, plumbers, cable installation, hotel clerks -- none of them are jobs I would consider "consequential" in the grand scheme of things. But we all play a part in keeping society running, and we all have our roles.

There must be at least more consequence to recording history, however small it is. A high school football game has little relevance to the world at-large, but it is something that the people involved will remember. It is something that makes a community come together. It is a part of our lives, a part of our story. So in that way, it is important.

Chances are, most any job you took would make you feel "inconsequential." It's up to you to find meaning in what you do.

 

Another misinterpretation. Again - this is not one of those existential crises about how silly what we do is. Not exactly. I know there's a place for it. I know it serves an important role, if for no other reason, it helps move a product - the newspaper (or Web site or magazine or whatever you work for). I get all that. I do. But sometimes, I just grow a little fatigued writing about other people's black-and-white, measurable accomplishments. Sometimes it feels like I'm kissing jock ass.

 

Waylon,

I mean this in an absolutely sincere manner: What about focusing more on the unmeasurable accomplishments? I know we have to cover the games, get all the news, feed the beast, etc. But sports gives us plenty of opportunities to write about things that are not black and white.

Take, for instance, these two recent e-ticket stories that ESPN.com ran.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=conley

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=homuth

These stories -- both about high school quarterbacks who served in Iraq -- are about sports in a very loose sense. But I would very much argue that they are the kind of stories that are essential to understanding why men go to war, the consequences of their decisions, and the incredible toll it takes on their families when they come home injured or not at all. There are stories like this in so many cities and towns in this country, and sports are one one piece of the narrative. You can find stories like this. It's not easy, but they're out there.

 

I know they are. And I love stories like that. But know what happens when I write them? Crickets. Know what happens when I write about Johnny QB's 400-yard passing day? E-orgasms by the reading audience.

 

Well, now I'm just being argumentative. There have been a lot of good thoughts on here. Basically, you have to approach this like you're enduring the "Johnny Tailback is a stud" stories but the reward is some of the other things everyone has mentioned. That being said, it's getting harder and harder to find time to get to those stories. Especially these days, with management pushing for stories that garner "Web hits."

 

Tangible reinforcement is very, very hard to come by in this line of work. I suspect you know that by now.

If you crave more of it, I'm not sure what to tell you. Such is the life of a writer.

Like I said, you've got to find the meaning in what you do, for yourself.

 

I think you just try to do your best to do a balance of both. The stuff you hate to keep the vocal readership happy, and the more intellectual stuff to keep yourself sane. It's definitely hard to find the time. It's harder still to have the ambition to put in the time and effort those pieces require when you feel like the crickets are chirping. But if you do them well, people will read them. I really believe that. They may not speak up or click through them on the web, but they'll read them. More than a million people subscribe to the New Yorker, and it's a weekly. Those readers exist in your cirqulation too.

But in some respects, you write those stories for yourself. You do them to remind yourself that storytelling still matters, and if something your write REALLY matters to 10 people, that's just as important as the story that kind of matters to 100 people.

 

You don't have to tell me anything. I wasn't looking for someone to lead me to a revelation. Just some empathy from colleagues who might have experienced the same feelings, if not every day, then from time to time. To know I'm not completely crazy, I guess. Or ungrateful. I've definitely gotten that here.

A lot of days I really like what I do. A lot. I'm just now beginning to come to terms with the idea that leaving the business, which I'm going to do in about a year or so, isn't a betrayal.

 

If it matters to one person, then it's all that matters.

 

Buck - I do admire your dedication to this profession. I don't think it makes one ungrateful if they leave it, though, seek out different experiences. Shit, even some doctors stop being doctors because they want to try some other things.

 

I don't think it makes them ungrateful, either. And I don't think it's a betrayal if you, or I (because I might), leave the business in the future. Best of luck if you do.

I also don't think that one should get down about what we do because of feelings of irrelevance. (Not saying you are, but just in general.) It's not an easy life, but it's certainly not inconsequential. Whether you're covering the NCAA Tournament tonight or taking a half-dozen prep track calls.