Wright Thompson knocks one deep

That's what I thought.

 

Good Lord I find it hard to believe any sports topic on a website is worth that many words.

 

Wright has a unique style that is enjoyable for me in a change-of-pace sort of way. I do often get the feeling he's rambling, but that's something I just accept when I decide to read one of his stories. Sort of like accepting Bill Simmons' pop culture references or Joe Posnanski's swerves into nerd numbers.

 

Which is one reason why print journalism is dying. No one has time or the inclination to read epic stories.

 

yeah. That's it. We're dying because no one wants to read 6,500 words in print.

 

Its not the only reason but it is a areason.

 

I'm kind of in the middle on this. I think readers these days really, really, REALLY need a reason to read 6,500 words ... but they'll do it.

And yes, Playthrough is right about the assumptions made by our overlords.

 

I think the story, with regard to the Net, is way too long.
It is, nonetheless, fascinating and intriguing.
I love reading stuff like that.

 

I was listening to ESPN Radio yesterday and as a part of their year-in-review programming they replayed the E:60 piece that Wright did on noodling (catching catfish by hand, something I've actually done before). Audio only, but top-notch.

 

I chuckle every time a thread comes up about something Wright has written, and people bitch that the story is too long.

Wright is a long-form writer. There are very few people out there who do it as well. No, that style is obviously not for everyone, but neither is French cooking. To read Wright and bitch that the story is too long is the equivalent of going into a four star French restaurant and bitching that the food is too French or too rich.

Could it be shorter? Of course it could be shorter. Stories can always be shorter. But the folks who think shorter is always better should realize that they're expressing an opinion, not a commandment. Sometimes it seems like they've forgotten that.

 

Good call, Jersey. It should pretty much be established by now that when you enter a Wright Thompson story, you're going to be reading a longer piece. Myself, I think it's refreshing to see ESPN putting some of its resources into long-form journalism.