Reilly, before.

This is so true, and such a shame. The SI bonus was the ultimate goal for me when I broke into this business. It doesn't seem that there are nearly as many writers who aspire to do that kind of piece anymore.

 

You know he works for SI now, right? Or are you pulling our legs again?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/writers/jeff_pearlman/archive/index.html

 

I honestly did not. Thought he was with ESPN or freelancing.

 

There was a thread earlier this year when he jumped over from ESPN.

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/66271/

 

Are you saying the beer-pong piece doesn't hold up as well in 2009?

 

Except for the story on The Citadel, all those pieces are in "The Life of Reilly."

 

People remember Namath as a Jet, not a Ram. They remember Montana as a 49er, not a Chief. Heck, people remember the LA Times days of Jim Murray and the NY Times days of Red Smith, even though they worked elsewhere. (Murray and Smith, I think, didn't present readers with the same issue of a widely alleged dropoff in quality or effort in mid-career.)

So maybe this question is more specific to the principal of this thread: Will people remember the early-SI days of Reilly or his late-SI days/ESPN era?

 

I'll always remember the Citadel piece, but I almost forgot who wrote it.

One forgets he could report.

What the hell happened?

 

Books.

 

Or the Tom Brady column with such brilliant turns of phrase as "coolest guy on the planet."

"Integrity, Check. Personal responsibility, Check. Humility, Check."

Dysentery, Check.

 

Unfortunately for Reilly, I'm not sure that many members of the general populace remember when he did this type of work. That may be part of the reason Deadspin pulled this stuff out, to remind people, or let a younger generation know.

His fame, as famous as a sportswriter can be, has grown as his career has gone on, instead of shining brightly early before fading.