Childhood Dreams
Posted: December 19th, 2008 | Filed under: Media | 76 Comments »
My rule for writing this blog has always been pretty simple: Write whatever stupid thing comes to mind. And, I don’t think I need to mention again, that I can write a lot of words about a lot of stupid things. That’s the fun of it. One day, it’s a 5,000 word post on Woody Hayes’ last game. The next day it’s WAY more than anyone wants to read about Jim Rice, Jack Morris and the Hall of Fame.* The next day it’s a very personal piece about the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.** The next day it’s a whole lot about Aquaman or Cocoa Pebbles or poker.
*And there’s a doozy coming up on the whole ballot — with an idea inspired, as most are, by a brilliant reader.
**And I want to thank all the people who wrote into response to that Negro Leagues Museum post … No, I don’t know what can be done. And I don’t know what else can be said. But I do want to make it clear that I was not in any way asking anyone to boycott the Museum. I love the place and if you have never been there, or if you have never taken your child there, or if you have done both of those things and want to do them again, I would ask you to go. You will love it. No, my own decision to break from the museum is very personal, and it’s my best attempt (ill-fated, I’m sure) to raise a little awareness there and maybe spark some change. I know a lot more than I wrote, of course, and I feel like the right thing for me to do at this time is walk away.
But, every so often, I can’t really think of what to say. Sure, I like to make half-kidding references to my book (The Soul of Baseball! No longer $5.99 but still makes a great holiday present!) or my upcoming book (09/09/09) but in all honesty I’m never really comfortable with big moments or great honors or self-promotion. I can do it in jest. That’s about it.
So I don’t know exactly what to say about this week except this: I grew up reading Sports Illustrated. It was the inspiration for me to become a sportswriter. More than that, it was then the inspiration to become a certain kind of sportswriter. Sports Illustrated, through the years, has been Frank Deford and George Plimpton and Gary Smith and Scott Price. It is Hunter Thompson on the Kentucky Derby getting sent to Las Vegas*, it is Bill Nack on Secretariat, it is Mark Kram on the Thrilla, it is Dr. Z on Howie Long, it is Rick Reilly on Jim Murray, it is Dan Jenkins riffing on the Open at Cherry HIll, it is Alex Wolff on Wooden, it is Steve Rushin on how we got here.
*The Hunter Thompson story on the Derby, as a brilliant reader pointed out, did not appear in Sports Illustrated but in “Scanlan’s Monthly.” However, it WAS SI that gave Hunter Thompson the assignment that led to “Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas.”
And sure, I romanticize it. How can I not? Sports Illustrated has represented the pinnacle to me — it is Carnegie Hall, it is Fenway Park, it is the Sears Tower, it is the Kodak Theater, it is still, to me, the biggest stage going.
And this is the cover of Sports Illustrated this week:
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Childhood Dreams…
Bookmarked your post over at Blog Bookmarker.com!…
You’re tha bomb, Joe!!
Now, if only you would have written about football during the actual football season, and not written 100 articles on baseball all fall long… I know you’re a baseball expert, obviously, but I’ve lived in KC and have read your football stuff and it hurts to not ever see it on here
Awesome, Joe.
There really is nothing quite like seeing your name in “lights”, is there?
Congrats.
No one else is drawn to the hilarity of the picture?
what a great accomplishment, joe. writing is a big part of what i do for a living, and i was always told if i wanted to be a great writer, to read the work of great writers. you’re a great example to follow.
I don’t get it. Are you #56 or #5?
It’s a great read! And if Joe hasn’t satisfied some of us by writing about the cocktail waitresses, there is at least one photograph. . . .
Congrats Joe — you deserve it.
That is so cool Joe.
COCKTAIL WAITRESSES!! VEGAS COCKTAIL WAITRESSES!!!
You da best, Joe.
Congrats, Joe, Merry Christmas!!!
Congratulation, Joaldo! And thanks for sharing this with us. I’ll get a copy today.
Congratulations, Joe — I know that dream as my own, and only wish I could have been surprised by finding it in my mailbox later today than to have it spoiled here
But that’s so freaking awesome.
Congrats! And thanks for so many great posts here.
I think I said it on Facebook already, but congratulations!
Sports Illustrated is what made you want to write about sports, and YOU are what made me want to write about sports.
And the mailman chose *this* of all weeks to bring my SI late. Now I won’t get it in time for Christmas break, so thanks for posting the cover so I can at least see it that way. (But, I’m old-school enough to want to see it on paper and hold it in my hands. It’s way cool.)
Before I noticed the familiar name atop, I assumed (actually forgetting for a moment that he wrote for SI, since I’m sure he would never do such a thing re. his employer) he was really just pointing out the cover picture, which looks like the movie poster of a very sappy but groundbreaking tale of forbidden love.
Congrats Joe!
Too bad there wasn’t much “dealing” this year. I’ll be reading it anyway.
But don’t you feel just a LITTLE upstaged by Elvis Midget? I mean, that is a DAMNED good lookin’ pompadour…
Can’t wait to read it!! CONGRATS, JOE!!!
That’s awesome, man.
I read it at lunch yesterday. It was like a blog post but with ink stains. That’s a good thing.
Big congratulations. Can’t wait for your next SI cover.
(Aside: Not that anybody does or should give a sh*t, but HST never wrote about the Derby for SI)
Woo, congrats Joe!
I didn’t realize you disliked Joe Flacco that much.
Congrats Joe
Congratulations, I guess that is like getting the game winning hit in the World Series that some of us dreamed about.
The least favorite task gave me a chuckle. My license has expired and I’ve yet to renew, haven’t been to the dentist in three years, have never had an annual checkup, and I’m always getting the tax extension. Given I’m 50 years old, I’ll find myself in jail with no teeth, the beginning of prostate cancer, and the government will take all my money. And yet I sit on my ass reading good blogs.
Congrats Joe. The end of your article had me on the verge of tears. Extremely happy for you.
It’s sitting in my bathroom right now. I’ll definitely be reading it when I feel the need.
Congrats!
Wow. Congratulations, Joe. You deserve it.
I haven’t reae Sports Illustrated in years, save for the times I was waiting for blood to be drawn or my teeth to be cleaned, and there was nary a National Geographic to be found.
I will go right out and buy this one, though.
I haven’t read SI in years (I was a long-time subscriber at one time in my life), but I will definitely pick up this issue.
Congrats, Joe. I can’t wait to read the piece.
havent read it yet but look forward to it. congratulations…and good luck making sports illustrated a better mag than its been in recent years.
Congrats Joe – you deserve it. Even though I rarely read the print edition of SI, it still holds the same place in my mind as it did 15 years ago, when I would anxiously await its arrival at my mailbox.
Many many Congrats Joe,
I second the motion: Please make SI suck less.
Well done and very well deserved. Be assured, that some kid out there is reading you and dreaming of a day when writes for SI.
Hey Cograts Joe!
I’m the same age as you (born 1967) and also grew up reading SI. Can’t say I liked it as much as you though…it always seemed to me that the coverage was more about what the guy had for breakfast than about the actual game, I preferred Baseball Digest and Sport.
Nate
That’s awesome Joe.
They should have brought you in long ago.
Congratulations, Joe! I can’t imagine what it must have felt like to hold that copy in your hands!
Congratulations Joe! I remember reading you in the Augusta Chronicle before I moved to KC and found you were here. I’ve enjoyed your writing for many, many years. I’m glad you’re receiving the due recognition on a national stage now. And SI is a great place to be in lights. Way to go!
Joe,
Hi, i have read your columns since I was in middle school and am 29 now. I have always enjoyed reading your columns, especially the one you wrote about Will Shields playing his guts out in a game that didn’t matter. The Sinatra column was another favorite of mine. I also miss the list column. You should be proud of your career and all that you have accomplished. My one question for you, though, is why does The Star allow you to write for SI? I would think that you would be the newspaper’s biggest commodity, and was just curious from your perspective how that worked? Again, I am not being critical, just curious.
WOOHOO! I’ve said it before here, I think it’s only a matter of time until you’re writing that column on the last page, especially considering what is being currently published there.
Absolutely amazing, Joe. You deserve this.
I know and love that you do not write for the accolades or recognition, but something occurred to me as I was reading your latest “Kids in the Hall” post. It will make you uncomfortable and for that, I apologize.
Joe Posnanski, you are a Hall of Famer.
Congrats, Joe.
On the “Would Rather Live IN:” poll, my personal preference would be Melbourne in Oz, if not for my grandkids living here in Omaha (which is greta – for a big small town). However, I can’t see how you could leave out San Francisco, or … (other cities that would be less favored by me).
Also want to say that in addition to Joe’s piece, this was a strong issue of SI front to back.
Good Peter King stuff, decent year in sports media roundup, good Dan Patrick page (and I did not know he was now contributing to SI), and no Rick Reilly.
Always nice to see a good issue of SI. I’d love to see them make a big comeback.
I assume as a Clevelander you are rejoicing in the sight of one of the hated Ravens being laid low? Or was there something else?
As someone who long ago had my childhood dream slip away, I can only imagine how tremendous it must feel for you Joe to have made your’s come true. Welcome to the big time, though all of the “brilliant readers” here already knew you were big time.
A great professional achievement. Joe, the carpet you stand on is a magic one.
Your name above the title! Does that mean the same thing in magazines as in showbiz?
(It’s a tasteless picture,* but congrats on your part of the cover)
* First, it’s on plastic, not on read grass. I’m not against modern playing surfaces, but they lack the drama that footbal deserves. And that contributes to the second problem, namely that they are clean. Where’s the dirt and mud and grass stains? White shirt. White pants. Pristine and clean. What would Mean Joe Green think of that? Third, it doesn’t show a tackle or a clean hit. I don’t know if that was a clean hit, or an attempt to hurt someone. I live the physicality of football, but shots like make it look like it is as antiquated as boxing — except for the problems #1 & 2. Fourth, I see more gloating that skill or effort in that picture. Gloating is not something I like about football. Fifth, where’s the ball? Was this a late hit? Is Woodley all proud of himself after Flacco already threw the touchdown pass? It certainly doesn’t look like sack, or even a tackle.
But more importantly, congrats, Joe. You’re the best thing SI has going, these days.
BRAVO!
Wow, childhood dream indeed!! Congrats on getting a byline on the cover of SI. Too bad you had to share it a bit with your beloved Baltimore Ravens…
If there was an OPS+ for sports writers, you would be 150 or better. SI has really improved with this move. I won’t cast aspersions on those who have moved on . . . .
And as a lifelong Browns fan, I have to say that I have some difficulties with Steelers-Ravens. Sure, the Ravens, Modell, stealing the team . . . yadda yadda yadda. That wound will never heal. But ef the Steelers. Ef-em, ef-em, ef-em. If it takes the Ravens to do it (not recently, but) . . . I can live with that.
IOW, the Steelers aren’t a wound that will never heal. They are something worse. They are an affront to Truth, Justice, and the American Way, and something must be done. (Of course, if you grew up in western Penna., I respect your Steeler fandom, grudgingly. But still, ef you.)
If only Joe could do something about SI’s incredibly shrinking page count.
My Ravens-loving brother’s non-ironic reaction to this edition of SI: “Hey, Joe Flacco is on the cover of Sports Illustrated!”
Congrats Joe, I (as always) look forward to reading your article. And I think I’m getting a certain Buck-centric book by a certain sportswriter for Christmas, so there’s another bit of royalty cash in your pocket.
Thanks Joe, always great to see a Bee Bee Richard reference. And congratulations. More of that and I might have to pick up my lapsed SI subscription.
Congrats Joe, you more than deserve all the acclaim that comes your way.
As an aside, how is San Francisco not an option for your ‘Would Rather Live In’ poll? It certainly trumps all other cities; except for perhaps Hong Kong.
Congrats, Joe.
One of the great blessings in my life has been reading Joe in the KC Star over the years. I’m so thrilled that so many others now are getting to share that blessing. Thank you, Joe, You are a mensch, and one with great talent. And that is a great combination.
Hey Joe- I started reading you in the star back in high school and still look forward to reading your thoughts on the day. Congratulations on SI and I hope you many personal and professional successes in the upcoming year. Cheers
Congrats Joe! Your blog has recently become a daily read for me, and has (believe it or not) lead to at least one guy in North Dakota buying your book and very much looking forward to all of your future literary endeavors. What a great honor for you, but keep in mind that SI also should feel exceptionally fortunate to have YOU associated with it.
Congrats Joe. You deserve it.
How is it that Kansas City and Toledo aren’t in the poll of favorite places in which to live? (Everything here is covered with ice and the temp isn’t going to reach thawing for at least a week.)
Good for you Joe, what took them so long?
As a fellow Blue Hen, I truly appreciate all the love being given to Joe Flacco for his 1st Sports Illustrated cover. Let me add to the chorus: Congrats Joe! (Although the picture isn’t very flattering).
Mr. Posnanski, well done sir! You should be very proud.
“I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours”. Thoreau.
Read it last night while I was a little buzzed and recovering from a sickness. Very nice piece…and I’m pleased that the Posterisk has been introduced to mainstream humanity. Posnanski 2012!
Congrats Joe, you’ve got a lot more ahead of you in the writing field, I haven’t come across a writer as engaging as you since Bill Simmons in early 00’s. But I think you’ve got a lot more staying power than he does because he’s gone Hollywood.
Keep it going and thanks very much for all your fantastic columns.
Joe,
VERY NICE SI IS THE BOSS. PLEASE DO A BLOG ON DOC ELLIS.
THX
Congrats, Joe!
Congratulations Joe. Enjoy this like you’ve never enjoyed anything.
Everyone gets lucky sometimes, but when you play Carnegie Hall it’s because of two things: talent & hard, hard, hard work.
Someday when we have to discuss the ballot for the Sportswriter’s Hall of Fame, let’s put it this way — you’ll have to recuse yourself from the discussion.
Well done.
Congrats, Joe! Looking forward to reading it.
Congratulations. As I’m sure has already been said, you’re doing your part to inspire a new generation of sportswriters. May you still be writing when I can show your columns in SI to my kids, one day, and say, “You wanna be a writer? That’s how you do it.”
Joe,
Don’t celebrate too early. Beware of the SI Cover Curse.
congratulations!
So Joe, where are you going to be next Sunday … in Cincinnati for the Chiefs-Bengals epic (and to work on the book) or at Lambeau to watch the Lions become history?
Congrats Joe!
I’m too young to know this firsthand, of course, but I have one of the compilations of SI’s articles from their first however many years. As I recall it was none other than William Faulkner who wrote a Derby piece for Sports Illustrated, way back in ‘56.
Congrats. It was an awesome article. It is nice to read a story in SI with quotes from Art Stewart and Allard Baird. That perspective is often lacking in the national media.
Congratulations, Joaldo! That’s the best.
Mad props Joe. You truly deserve it. I hope the 15 minutes of fame lasts 50 years.
merry christmas.
Congratulations, Joe! And I *really* appreciate your writing; it has helped keep me sane during some trying times.
I was thinking about writing and baseball. In baseball, most players spend a year in rookie ball, some time at A, then AA, then AAA (or college replacing most if not all of that), and finally getting a sniff at the majors, and maybe sticking. They need to bat against or throw 5,000+ pitches against constantly decent competition to learn the mental toughness to be a big leaguer. Sure, some guys can come up at 18 with the super fast ball, or occasionally somebody like Robin Yount comes up extra young because of his great glove, but a lot of it is just learning to be focused on every pitch, every game, because aside from Vlad Guerrero you do much better swinging at the mistakes, and you have to never throw or take one that’s too fat.
And then I’ve also read that writers should just throw away their first million words. In other words, you need to self edit, and save time by writing cleaner, and need the feedback from editors and, in this case, your adoring readers to improve. So in my imagination, this blog was your AAA, and getting onto SI.com was your MLB call up, and now you’re in the starting lineup, earning ten thousand dollars a show*. But it’s just my imagination, because you’ve been writing professionally for a lot of years. So that makes this blog your andro, I guess. Good things they don’t test writers for that stuff!
From Shel Silverstein’s classic song, “On The Cover of the Rolling Stone”. You cite Hunter S., I cite Uncle Shelby. (join in if you wanna) “Rolling Stone, wanna see my picture on the cover, Stone, wanna buy five copies for my mother, Stone, wanna see my smilin’ face, on the cover of the Rolling Stone.”
And yeah, any city that has a classic song written about it like San Francisco deserves to be in your poll. The only cities I’ve ever wanted to live in are Los Angeles (Dodger Blue!), San Francisco, and London, and that was before our daughter moved to “the city”. I settled for LA, knowing full well the wife would much prefer London. But she’s too busy reading lolcatz to notice.
Okay, Joe, this filk’s for you:
I’m a big sports writer
And I try to inspire
The folks that read my stuff.
I write about Royals and I write about Chiefs
And sometimes Cocoa Puffs.
I’ve had all the thrills that writing can bring.
‘Cept the thrill you cannot buy.
It’s the thrill that you’ll capture when you get your caption
On the cover of the old S. I.
refrain
(Old S.I.) Wanna get my caption on the cover.
(SI) Wanna send five copies to my mother.
(SI) Wanna see it spelled correctly
On the cover of the old S.I.
On the cover of the old S.I.
Oh I write about Ruth and I write about Bruce
And it all got into my blogs.
I write about Feller and I write about Stan
I’ve been known to mention Boggs.
I’ve met my boyhood heroes and yes, some were zeroes
But I looked ‘em all in the eye.
And it’s sure been great but yet I still wait
To see my caption on the old SI
(refrain)
Oh I write about all the bad teams I’ve seen.
The next good one will be my first.
Did I mention I’ve got a Reds book coming out
For which I’m sure you all will thirst.
I saw the big Olympics and the gold medal swimmers
But it only made me sigh.
But now I can smile after all this while
I’m on the cover of the old SI.
(Old S.I.) There’s a Joe! It makes me feel so whacko!
(SI) Yes a Joe! And I’m not talking about Flacco!
(SI) I see Joe Posnanski there, on the cover of the old SI.
On the cover of the old SI (man, it’s beautiful, baby).