using name of plays in stories..

[YoungGun7]

how do you guys feel about using the name of plays like "oh we ran omaha 21 and got the touchdown." I've often wondered if it was an ethical issue.

 

[Chi City 81]

Why don't you ask the player what Omaha 21 is, and then use the description of the play, not the play name?

 

[HeinekenMan]

Unless there's a truly compelling reason to use a quote, just describe what happened in your own words.

 

[mike311gd]

I don't think it's an ethical issue. But does the average fan know what "Omaha 21" is? If not, you're probably going to want to describe it for them.

 

[Jeremy Goodwin]

I don't think it's an ethical issue. But does the average fan know what "Omaha 21" is? If not, you're probably going to want to describe it for them.

Agreed. The next opponent isn't going to read your story and say "we need to watch out for Omaha 21 team ____ scored using it last week." I've been told this too many times with my stories and still need to remind myself: Show, don't tell.

I think plays that most fans know, such as Statue of Liberty, reverse, flee flicker, screen are OK, but specific names don't tell the reader anything unless they have a playbook and can see what City/state/color + number means.

 

[fishwrapper]

"65 toss power trap!"
"65 toss power trap, it ought to bust wide open, boys!"
"65 toss power trap, ha ha ha, yeah!"

 

[HejiraHenry]

We've all read plenty of features that did this, by way of giving you insight into the inner world of football.

In a gamer? Nah.

 

[Bob Slydell]

"65 toss power trap!"
"65 toss power trap, it ought to bust wide open, boys!"
"65 toss power trap, ha ha ha, yeah!"

And then he said something racist!

Nope, don't use the play name. That's just useless jargon for the reader. Describe the play, then if the player or coach says the name ina quote, then that may be okay.

 

[HejiraHenry]

Last year, we got every high school coach in our readership area to send us the sketch of a "favorite play" and we used them in our football tab, along with the name of each. Did anybody really send us a play they'd actually use? I have no idea. But it was still cool.

 

[earlyentry]

how about style of offense, like the West Coast?

 

[Mayfly]

I used a play name in a gamer recently. The typical "go-route", but it fit the story correctly. The WR was a burner and he completely left the CB in the dust. The coach said it hasn't worked in a game before since the opposition expects it so much, but that time it worked. Figured I should use it.

 

[Write-brained]

I run the names of plays all the time. Nothing bad ever happens. Not even when I wrote about The Glass Menagerie.

 

[luckyducky]

Last year, we got every high school coach in our readership area to send us the sketch of a "favorite play" and we used them in our football tab, along with the name of each. Did anybody really send us a play they'd actually use? I have no idea. But it was still cool.

How many teams was that? It sounds very cool.

 

[Mayfly]

I run the names of plays all the time. Nothing bad ever happens. Not even when I wrote about The Glass Menagerie.

Oh...I love that trick play when you smash the glass unicorn! Gets them every time. You could do that or just yell "STELLA!" when you get the ball and go from there.

 

[Some Guy]

There's nothing unethical about it. It's not your job to keep other teams from learning names of plays.

However, I agree that there's really no need to use that kind of detailed jargon unless there's a very compelling reason.

In 1996, for example, Texas essentially beat Nebraska in the Big 12 title game on a 4th-and-one pass play named "Steeler Roll Left." That play call has more or less become a part of school lore, because some reporter(s) thought to name the play in copy.

 

[novelist_wannabe]

I think to use the play name adds color to the story, but you need to explain what it is.

"The play was called P-44 Haynes, a term that will likely forever be burned into the lexicon of Georgia football fans. It involved Georgia fullback Verron Haynes taking a fake from quarterback David Green, diving into the line, then sneaking to the end zone where he was wide open to take the game-winning pass from Green, who led the Bulldogs to the game-winning store in the final minute at Neyland Stadium ..."

Something like that.

 

[Jeremy Goodwin]

I say use the name when it makes the difference in a game or it makes people go "that was odd, I wonder what that is called?"

An example from game stories I read today was in the Mizzou vs W. Michigan game:

...But in addition to alternately lining up tight end Martin Rucker and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin at the quarterback position in the shotgun, there was a new one Saturday.

“We call it The Monster,” quarterback Chase Daniel said.

And it redefined the spread. Outside receivers literally were only 2 or 3 yards from the sidelines. The gaps between offensive linemen were 5 yards or more. No one was close enough to touch fingertips with another player. IMO, this was a good use of when you use a play / formation name.

The Monster, used on first and 10 at the Western Michigan 29, produced a pass completion to Tommy Saunders for no gain.

http://www.kansascity.com/167/story/277151.html

OR

....Or the time in the third quarter when the whole concept of line splits was stretched to its breaking point, with linemen spread across the field at 8-yard intervals.

Somewhere, Woody Hayes wept.

Christensen’s oeuvre is so extensive that Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel couldn’t even remember what that last formation was called - its name is Monster....

http://showmenews.com/2007/Sep/20070916Spor001.asp

I didn't see the game or highlights of it, but i bet the majority of fans who did had never seen a formation with O-linemen spread out that much. They probably though "that was an odd play, I wonder what it's called."

 

[BillyT]

We had a coach (he's in his 40+th year) who was famous for running "hook-pass special," which is an almost lateral pass to the tight end who pitches it to the wingback going around the end, usually up the sidelines for a touchdown.

Other coaches would be yelling it to their kids on the last play of the half, but at least 50 percent of the time, it worked.

My other favorite was the coach who would yell, "Draw! Screen! Reverse!" at his defense every time it was third-and-six or longer.

 

[HejiraHenry]

Last year, we got every high school coach in our readership area to send us the sketch of a "favorite play" and we used them in our football tab, along with the name of each. Did anybody really send us a play they'd actually use? I have no idea. But it was still cool.

How many teams was that? It sounds very cool.

45. The last one finally came in on the day we were sending pages.

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

Those who cover MMA/UFC and XGames already make it a habit to use the unique terminology from those sports in their gamers. For someone who is not a follower of any of those competitions, I find those terms leave me unimpressed, though the fans of such things likely know exactly what is being said.

But we're not writing for the niche markets. It would be a better idea to paraphrase if the play were absolutely essential (though it often comes across as showing off), but if you must use it in a quote, provide a short explanation either before or after the quote.