The "Homer" sports writer

Does he cheer for God?

 

I read something in this thread and wanted to address it from my own personal view.
About the reporters and writers who wish other writers and reporters well, I just don't have a problem with that. The way I see it, we all are covering a team of some sort and there is no question it is more fun to cover a team that does well and extends itself deep into the postseason. I would much rather cover a winning team than a team that consistently loses and finishes at the bottom of its conference, division or whatever. Just because someone says good luck to you guys the rest of the season does not mean I'm a part of the team. What it does mean is an acknowledgement that I do cover that team and the person is offering me a kind wish that I have fun at my job the rest of the season and that more often that not is by covering a good, winning team or one that provides me with plenty of fun.

I don't think there is anything wrong with that wish. And I've said it to several people myself. I told a friend of mine a couple of years ago who was covering a team that made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time that his experience would be great fun and "good luck" in the sense that maybe they would win a game or two and he would get to cover the Big Dance more than one round. It wasn't that I was saying he was a homer or wishing his team well, it was that as a friend I was wishing his work well and hoping he could enjoy the school's success as he got to cover it.

Covering postseason like bowl games and the NCAA Tournament is a lot of fun and offering someone a friendly "have a great time and good luck to your team, maybe they'll give you some good stuff to write about" doesn't make me a homer or mean that I associate my other journalists as part of the team. I know we are not part of the team. I also know that they cover the team and I know that more success a team has, typically, the more fun a writer's job can be. The coaches and players are in better moods and more accessible and the stories are more widely read and anticipated. It's a win-win for everybody.

I started this thread, and I'm by no means a "homer" but I will wish my journalist brethren well in their craft, and that usually means good seasons. On the flip side, sometimes losing stories can be great stories as well. Still, hoping a friend of yours has fun at his job does not mean you think he is part of the team and he is going to live and die with what the team does. Most of us can separate the professional side of our job from our personal wishes. At least I can, and I expect those around me to be able to do it as well.

 

thanks chazp.

 

... unless you're covering Scotland (County, N.C.) High School in a football game against its arch-rival, Richmond County. In that case, plaid would be suicidal.

 

... unless you're covering Scotland (County, N.C.) High School in a football game against its arch-rival, Richmond County. In that case, plaid would be suicidal.

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Funny.

When I was in Jamaica, I covered the Reggae Boyz during World Cup qualifying games. So Costa Rica comes to National Stadium, which is a sea of green and gold. I'm standing on the far side of the stadium taking shots when Deon Burton scored the winning goal. I got the sweetest celebration shot. But as I'm snapping as many photos as I can, Red Stripe and Heineken and Guinness beer bottles are crashing all around me. Scary as fuck. For whatever reason, I think the Ja fans thought I was a Costa Rican or something. Of course, it didn't help I was wearing blue jeans with a reddish shirt -- Costa Rica's colors. Good times.