Long-form sports writing by a true master of the art
LONG-FORM SPORTS journalism is a neglected side of the craft that rarely gets a chance to flourish in this country. Given the concentration on match reports, previews and often-times meaningless space-filling quotes from managers, it’s a rare occurrence to see an in-depth piece that one can sit back to fully dissect and enjoy.
There’s one particular journalist with a Sunday newspaper who does try it from time to time, but his writing isn’t sharp enough to pull it off, and his ego ensures that his own views are constantly front and centre which defeats the purpose of the exercise.
It’s probably the most difficult aspect of writing to master, so when it’s done to near-perfection it’s an achievement well worth celebrating.
And that’s why I have an early candidate for sports book of the year to share with you this week: ‘The Cost Of These Dreams - Sports Stories and Other Serious Business’ by Mississippi native Wright Thompson.
If there’s one country where long-form journalism is allowed to thrive, it’s the United States, and this author is a true master of his craft.
The fact that he is writing about sport is merely incidental, because he’s simply gifted with the pen regardless of the subject matter.
That comes across in a number of the essays in this book, notably in his study of life in New Orleans in the decade after
Hurricane Katrina.
His pieces may have sport as the general theme, but he has a way of providing insights into the characters he is portraying like nobody else.
His writing is descriptive, sharp, revealing and compelling, and this is a book that readers with an appreciation for quality prose will devour.
As the title might suggest, there’s a general theme focusing on the reality that sport isn’t always a bed of roses, and there’s a lot to be unearthed when one starts to scratch beneath the surface.
Thompson is a master of this particular art as, once an idea takes hold, he is relentless in his pursuit of the full story.
One example surfaced when an autograph collector sought to gather the signatures of all of Muhammad Ali’s opponents.
One fighter from the early 1960s, Jim Robinson, proved elusive, and this set Thompson off on a fascinating journey through some of America’s meanest streets in a bid to find him, lasting several years.
He was never located, but the story that unfolded through the eyes of an array of shady characters will have you hooked.
Likewise, there’s the tale of the last days of Tony Harris, a former college basketball star who was convinced somebody was out to get him before he was found dead in the Brazilian jungle.
Harris is one of many subjects in Thompson’s stories that I had never heard of before, but the writing is so sharp that I was immediately drawn towards his stranger-than-fiction tale.
From a historical point of view, the race-motivated riots at a Mississippi college campus in the early 1960s as a result of integration are recalled in a truly brilliant piece of journalism, given a sporting context by looking at how the American football team provided a more productive focus for students at the time.
And given the weekend that has just passed, the author’s ruminations on Tiger Woods, written in 2016, will be well worth some of the reader’s attention.
This is a superb book, the best I have come across for quite some time, and it is highly recommended.
ALAN AHERNE
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