Vintage Reilly here

Would have been more impressed if it didn't involve something Reilly set up between a member of his family and someone Reilly knows pretty well.
Sounds like Reilly set up the column himself instead of just reported something that happened on its own. The writing is good though.

 

I hated it.

 

Agree on all counts.

The other thing that needs to be noted here is Reilly and Elway are friends. Not just friendly professionally, they're friends.

 

Would we?

 

Stupid Elway.

 

Wow, what a bunch of cynical bastards some of you are. That's a great piece of writing, game over.

The gods reference is perfect, 13-year-olds think of the John Elways of the world as gods; it doesn't have to be a ripoff of Updike. And so what if the underprivileged-sick-kid angle has been done to death, this is an excellent read. And so what if Reilly egos it up a bit and reminds us Elway is his buddy, he did a great thing for this kid and turned it into an tremendous narrative.

But the best one--and it's done to death on this board--is the "if I got tips like that, I'd write kick-ass columns too." Would you? I think Reilly and guys like him have a gift. Sure they mail it in on occasion, some more than others. But that doesn't minimize what they bring to the table. Comments like that are just snarky bullshit and really cheapen what YOU bring to the table.

Flame away.

 

Reilly does have a gift. When he tries, no one is better. When he barely tries, he's still one of the best. Lately, it seems he phones in just about eight of every 10 columns.

 

I would. Wouldn't you?

 

Yes, damn you all for making perfectly valid observations. Haters.

I'll give you the one about how anyone could do what Reilly does if they had his tips, though. That doesn't give him enough credit.

 

So in order for you to be a good writer, you have to be handed stories? I'm guessing you're not a beat writer.

And no. I have no problem admitting I don't have 1/1,000th of Reilly's writing ability. Few do.

 

This might come off harsh...

When we hear players say they could be an All-American if their coach would play them, and we think that being the first person off the bench for Penn State is a good spot for them. Don't you think the argument of "I could do that with those resources or those tips" sounds a bit the same?

I'm sure there are posters on this board who are better writers than Reilly and sure there are posters on this board who could not "ride in his elevator" as well.

I am also pretty sure the latter as more members than the former.

This guy wrote for SI and now for ESPN for very good reasons.

This praise does not extend to TV, though.

 

I agree but I can't remember a Reilly column that I thought was particularly good in the last five years, probably more. I don't think he has anything left to say. Happens to the best of them (Lupica and Deford come to mind), though. Once they leave the day-to-day mainstream and become sort of celebrity columnists they gradually lose touch. Their work becomes irrelevant. Then they go on TV and try to be funny.