As I begin this blog centered around the NFL I suppose I should state my case for why I am qualified to speak about the subject.
What makes one qualified to write about a subject? I suppose if you have a degree or have done research in a particular field that makes you qualified to write about it. If you are skilled in a specific craft such as pottery making or car engine repair then I guess that makes you qualified to speak about the topic.
When it comes to writing about sports I always found it humorous that the writers were being referred to as journalists. Don't get me wrong, some sports writers are journalists...at least they play the part. They have degrees from the best "J" schools in the country. Their job is to report objectively and to be ethical with their reporting.
I will admit that I am not a journalist, at least not in the traditional sense. I don't have access to teams, players, or scouts. I won't be at practice or in team locker rooms. By virtue of working at one of the big four media networks, I may be able to have a conversation about a player or team at the water cooler with a so called "expert".
What I can offer is opinion. I think this is the dominant trait of a blogger. Without concrete sources all I can do is create an opinion from what I see or hear. Luckily for me the NFL plays perfectly to the camera. Seventeen sundays in the fall are treated like seventeen holidays for me. From 8am until the end of the sunday night game i'm glued to the television. During the week I stay up to date with the league following fellow blogs, visiting NFL websites and individual team websites, watching the NFL network, and listen to NFL analysis on the radio. I've been following this routine for over seven years now. The offseason is no different. Free agency, the draft, and mini-camps keep me hooked to the league throughout the entire year. This time of the year is particularly exciting for me since teams are starting to take shape. I'll be spending most of the summer analyzing team rosters, schedules, and injuries.
I'm excited to get started with this project. I'm labeling this a project because I have always dreamed of writing this blog, just never been disciplined enough to follow through with it. The NFL has become a year round follow. I promise to provide you with an interesting read at least twice a week (hopefully more than that).
I guess to answer my original question of what makes me qualified to speak about the NFL? My answer is that i'm a fan. In the free world of interactive media I see no better prerequisite for writing a blog on a sport.
I can agree with you completely on the part of opinion being the backbone of any sports blogger! My blog so far consists mostly of my opinions on the sport and I always feel that those are the best. Yes it's fun to read things from the behind-the-scenes people, but if you can get an outsider's opinion on a subject, it can often change your opinion on something altogether. To see it from someone else's eyes is quite the experience!
ReplyDeleteJust one note, though. There are a few times you missed some capitalizations. I'm being super nit-picky, I know, but it's something to work on. I absolutely love your writing style, though! You're excited about your topic and that makes me excited to read it. I'm excited to follow your blog this summer and learn a little more about football!
I love words, especially their double meanings. The first thing your blog brought up was why is a draft called a draft? I encourage writing in drafts. But why is conscripting someone into an army or team called a draft? Is it because we are drafting a roster? Drafting a muster roll?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, hello Paul.
We are deep enough into class and the readings that you know my feelings on excess writing. Your initial sample is good, an intriguing argument, but why not just say, at the top, “The infrastructure of Long Island encourages drunk driving”?
I’m big on words, drafts, and also interesting theses and arguments. We will get to arguments this week. Your mashup of urban planning and DWIs is my kind of piece. Granted, you do get to a thesis, similar to mine, towards the end of your second paragraph, but then the whole piece has that kind of feel – too late.
On the web, if I don’t follow your link, I’m never getting to the second paragraph. “The design of Long Island encourages drunk driving” is provocative, unique, and to the point. It invites me to click. Make it your headline and treat it like a thesis. Everything should proceed from it, organized to prove it.
You do a decent job of organizing too, but you could do better. I don’t need the whole paragraph on the semantics of what is a Main Street before I know why Main Streets are important. I don’t know if I ever need it.
Your instinct to think of ways that people will argue against your thesis and then writing counterarguments is essential, but pick better arguments to counter. Someone who tries to trip you up with what is a Main Street is not worthy of your time.
Again, I bring up drafts. This is a great first draft. You’ve made your argument and written it down. Now you can go back and rebuild it. Put the thesis up top, organize the important research, counter arguments, and points, bring in a few new ones, and make it as short as possible.
Writing is looking for your best sentences. Your last sentence makes a good subtitle. “The Infrastructure of Long Island Encourages Drunk Driving: We Need More Main Streets.” That’s not giving away your secret ingredient. It’s gathering an audience with a good rallying cry. It’s the reason we will come read your piece for the analysis.
The bio and beat assignments prove my same point in a different way. These two assignments are drafts of your About You page. Typically, student’s credibility defenses are better biographies than the biographies. They focus. They are automatically shorter. Yours is, again, too long. I’m not against long form, just what’s unnecessary.
The credibility assignment usually focuses the student’s bio on his or her subject. It asks you to mashup you and the NFL. In your case, your bio does this best. Even if it’s long, it at least focuses around sports. Your cred assignment protests too much. Don’t apologize for why you shouldn’t write about football. Just tell me confidently why you should. Even if you are a novice, as long as you are passionate to learn too, I will read on.
Don’t apologize for your writing.
So try an About You now. Take the focus of the bio and pare it down. Maybe just tell me your memories of that 1997 Giants playoff run, the one that inspired you. Write a few more bylines that are unique.
Make your point and get out. You can still write pieces as long as a New Yorker feature with that attitude. You just have to earn it.
Good work. Welcome to 506.