Why is this a story? (napping)

This might be the biggest non-story I've ever seen in the NYT sports section: napping on game day. And it's on the front page of the section. Is there some shred of news here that I'm missing?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/sports/basketball/07naps.html?src=me&ref=sports

I can already see Part 2 of the series: Athletes Eat Light Meals on Game Day

 

if this was a new fad, maybe i'd get it. but nba players -- and coaches, beat writers, etc. -- have napped in the afternoon before games probably forever, i'd imagine.

i know the knicks and nets often did when i covered them in '82-'83. heck, i was just 25 and i had to catch naps, too.

why is it a story? most likely a young beat writer mentioned it in passing to an eager, sheltered, inexperienced assistant editor who reacted like this: 'WOW! I HAD NO IDEA! WHAT A GREAT STORY!'

 

"It's a trend a small but growing number of professional athletes..."


Was it on this site that someone posted a link to the blog of some guy who had been counting the times the NYT trend pieces used the same ambiguous phrases over and over? I thought I bookmarked it but can't find it.

 

Maybe someone else does it, but Jack Shafer at Slate rips the NYT and other places each time they do a stupid trend story. Normally it's on fake drug hysteria like robotrippin' or pharm parties.

 

I think you're right, it was Shafer on Slate. I remember having an Onion-quality laugh reading the long list of examples he culled and then picked apart in one of his links.

 

Tom Brady napped before beating the Rams in the Super Bowl. Worked out well for him.

 

Breaking News: A lot of NBA players have tattoos.

 

Veronica and I trying this new fad called uh, jogging. I believe it's jogging or yogging. it might be a soft j. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's supposed to be wild.

 

Heck, before the second Max Schmeling fight, Joe Louis fell asleep in the dressing room and his trainers had a problem waking him up.

 

To call it a trend is silly. I know Gawker takes great pride in poking fun at the NYT's preponderance of trend stories.

On the other hand I find stories about gameday routines kind of interesting. I guess stories of odd daily routines just appeal to me.

/realizes he may be the most boring person on earth