Welcome to the stadium! May I please see your ticket?
…Section 48, that’s right over there. Enjoy the game!
Stepping into a stadium, an arena, a ballpark—what have you—is one of the coolest feelings I get inside. I get tingly, knowing I am inside a building filled with history—both good and bad—and about to watch a sporting event. I get to watch the same athletes that many consider “God-like” perform in ways that only they can. You never know what you are going to get at a sporting event. Inside the lines, anything can happen. Every day or every night, you might be a part of history.
Sports is a passion of mine. I come from a sports family. My dad played professionally. My brothers played at the college level. I passed up an opportunity to play at smaller D1 schools to advance my desire to make it in this world as a sports broadcaster. I am still a fixture in the intramural world and still practice with the baseball team. I am constantly talking about sports, playing sports, thinking about sports, or watching sports. While I am not an ‘ESPN’ expert, I have worked in and around sports since the age of 13, and at the age of seven had a weekly radio segment at Dallas’ #1 Sports Radio Station, KTCK Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket, in which I was interviewed about my sports knowledge. I don’t have official credidation yet, but it’s coming.
Sports fascinate me in so many ways. I could go toe-to-toe all day long talking about strategy, free agent signings, who’s hot and who’s not, among other points of interest. But there is more to sports than just what goes on inside the offices and within the boundaries of their respective athletic venues.
However, in this blog I am going to bring up the cultural impact of sports—the athletes and their actions.
Reporter: Did you visit the Parthenon while in Greece?
Shaquille O’Neal: I can’t really remember the names of all the clubs we went to.
Athletes are incredibly interesting—among other descriptive labels—inside the lines, but more so, outside the lines. They do some of the most caring, intelligent, incredible things, and other times some of the stupidest, cruelest, darndest things. These actions stir all sorts of emotions and impact all sorts of people, including those who don’t know what a touchdown, slam dunk, or home run even is. Whether people want to acknowledge their presence and power or not, sports play an incredibly significant part of our society and have a tremendous impact.
For instance, the Michael Vick fiasco had such a tremendous effect on people that have never even seen a football game. Steroids is a polarizing issue that eats away at every baseball fan, but has an external impact that many people don’t consider, or that parents don’t realize until it is too late. However, for every story with a negative undertone, there are a variety of stories involving athletes that are uplifting inspirational, and put athletes in a good light. How about Hurricane Katrina? Want a list of all the work—not just money donated—put in by various athletes in the effected parts of New Orleans and beyond? Or what about the superstar athlete who stands up for a cause and boycotts an opportunity to make money in support of what he believes in as it pertains to global issues. These are the types of stories and issues that will be covered in this blog. Stay in your seats. You never know when you will come across something special.
Malaria is an infectious disease caused by parasites, killing between one to three million people every year. The disease is especially prevalent in Africa, taking the lives of many youth before they ever get the chance to shine as human beings. Scary, huh?
Rick Reilly—not scary—is an award-winning sportswriter recognized as among the best in his industry. He typically incorporates a hysterical level of humor, poking fun at athletes for their annoying intricacies and their disrespect towards “us lesser beings.” However, he does sometimes illustrate his serious side, writing articles focusing on themes of family, heroism, and human spirit. Recently, Reilly wrote about a young group of kids battling a serious illness, getting to carry out a dream at Yankee Stadium, getting to hang out with the New York Yankees, including star-pitcher A.J. Burnett.
On May 1, 2006—my birthday—Reilly requested donations for these nets. This request—this seed, a simple 815-word article—has bloomed into over $25 million of support. The Nothing But Nets Foundation was created in 2006 to try and combat malaria by providing nets to children in Africa to help give protection.
The influence of this simple column—the effect Rick Reilly has had on a fight for humanity and safety—is truly remarkable and inspiring.
Formerly with Sports Illustrated, Reilly currently writes for ESPN. His columns are linked to a blog that archives all of his work. His contributions can always been seen on the front page of ESPN.com as well as ESPN’s bi-monthly publication, ESPN The Magazine. His columns/blog-posts come out around once a week and always have either a profound impact or provide a great laugh.
His academic work relates specifically to my blog topic and my passion of sports. I am among a whole slew of sports fans who are avid followers of his work, even though his writing extends to an audience that goes beyond just the simple, big-time, or hardcore sports fan, especially with his human-interest stories that reach out to anyone that has a beating heart.
With my blog, I would like to take a similar approach as Reilly. Through his blog and his work, Reilly acts as an anonymous mentor to me and other writers. I admire his work and the way he go abouts business. I do not plan to shadow his writing or copy his ideas. I plan to learn from him and use his work to help mold my style and to make my blog something worth reading.
Eight-hundred and fifteen words led to over $25 million dollars, money going towards an honorable, life-saving cause, Money inspired by one idea…one column…one man. I don’t know if I will ever write anything, say anything, or do anything that will save lives or help out a cause to such a strong degree. However, I do know that I will always write what I believe and not write what I think people want to hear. I will stand up for causes and people and hope that one day I can impact a single life with my actions the way Rick Reilly impacted thousands upon thousands of lives helping the fight of malaria in Africa.
Hear Me Out
When was the last time you ever heard someone talk like this?
The devastating effect of the Tim Donaghy scandal will send a ripple through professional basketball that will be felt for ages based on how baseball dealt with a similar occurrence, The Black Sox Scandal.
Never.
At least, not when I talk to my friends. Maybe you do, I don’t know. I can only speak for myself and those I have come in contact with. Writing papers and writing a blog feature two totally different styles of writing. A paper is supposed to be formal, structured, and very academically influenced, either through word choice, formatting, or both. A blog can choose to adopt similar writing, but they usually our written in a conversational voice. This doesn’t mean they have no credibility or their messages are not valid, but they rebel in all that they learned in high school and college.
One of the most controversial bloggers is Will Leitch. Some wake up every morning and add a little humor to their lives on his successful blogsite, Deadspin.com. Others know him for his fight on Bob Costas’ sports show with acclaimed author, Buzz Bissinger, when debating the credibility of blogs. Bissinger, who has made a very successful living off of writing “the right way,” condemned Leitch, and other bloggers, for the casual approach they took to writing.
Leitch, who typically touches on controversial issues and adds fuel to the fire, blogged on the Erin Andrews video scandal just over a month ago. In his blog, Leitch uses his traditionally casual style but it is through this voice that he successfully reaches out to his audience.
Voice is developed through word choice, structure, and phrasing. Leitch conveys a conversational approach by using phrases such as, “As far as I’m concerned,” “I mean,” “You know,” and words like, “C’mon,” and “Umm,”—strategically placed, of course, effectively relaying the idea of though. And that’s another thing…Leitch adds a conversational aspect by frequently going off on tangents mid-thought. His writing isn’t organized to perfection. He does this in his opening sentence:
In the wake of the awful video that hit the Web over the weekend—actually, it had been hanging around for months, apparently, but no one had seen it—everyone is pointing fingers. It's blogs' fault for objectifying her.
By going off on tangents and simply writing what is on his mind, Leitch develops a conversational voice. Think about how many times in conversation you will go off the linear structure and make an off-topic comment because it suddenly pops into your head? I do it a ton. It is normal. It is natural.
Leitch also has uncensored writing in this blog, and others. He describes the guy who filmed Andrews as an “Assbag,” a comical, ‘boys will be boys,’ description. He engages me because he makes me want to talk back to the article, as if it is some kind of a conversation. Leitch develops an edge in his writing with his use of vulgar language. At the same time, this style is still inviting of response and makes me feel like I am having a conversation with him.
Another style Leitch employs is his usage of the first person. He has no qualms about using “I” or, when appropriate, using “we,” allowing him to connect with his audience. Additionally, Leitch uses italics to emphasize points and to add emotion to his writing. When restating that the nude video featured Erin Andrews, a “sex icon,” he re-emphasized by writing, “It’s Erin Andrews!”
Writing sometimes comes across as monotonous but with his creative use of italics, Leitch creates emotion in his writing. I can almost hear his pitch raise or drop with certain comments based on the way they are formatted within the context of the blog.
In a blog about Michael Jordan, Leitch touched on the death of Michael Jackson for whatever random reason--see? Tangents!--and talked about how shocked he was at the worldwide period of mourning for the legend. "That weirdo? C'mon!" The italics help the reader feel and understand the emotion of his writing and the sense of his personality.
In another of his articles, chronicling the first decade of this millennium, Leitch employs many of what we have already discussed, including ellipses and hyphen-notated tangents that increases the level of conversation.
Through his voice, Will Leitch creates a persona that is edgy and emotional, while maintaining an inviting conversational tone throughout.
Regardless of your stance of blogs, it is almost undeniable that blogs bring out a writer’s personality and unique styles more so than most forms of writing. It allows a writer—or a blogger, to develop his or her voice. It allows us to say fuck, shit, and I’m out, bitch!
Blog Titles: Boy, That Decade Just Flew By, Didn’t It? & Erin Andrews and Guilt, Imagined and Otherwise
