Yo! Press Box Writers: We Need to Talk Teamwork
Coach Bark preaching three R’s to enhance TPB viewership
Gather round Press Box writers.
Drop the peanuts and crackerjacks, Yankee superfan Michael Perrault. I do care if you ever get back, but you can miss one Anthony Rizzo at-bat.
I think you’ve ironed that №23 Bulls jersey enough, KL Simmons. Hop in the huddle.
Quit eating those nachos, Keyshawn Shaahid, and sneak away from Ja Morant and those rising stars in that heart-pumping Grizzlies-Timberwolves game.
Hey blood-thirsty football savages
Wade Allen, Gavin Odell, Christian Aviles, and Daniel Eliezer let’s pull you blood-thirsty, off-season football-reporting savages away from the gruesome gridiron.
Ning Choi, you’ve dabbed enough Addidas cologne on your soccer love letter.
Charlie van Houten, the strawberry and Cream and Pimm’s No. One cup and Wimbledon is going to have to wait. Game! Set! And match, chum!
Sturgill! Grab the first-base glove. Get ready to live the dream, Blue Jay boy.
Hammer time
It’s meeting time!
Coach Bark style! Besides an English teacher, I coach basketball, volleyball, and soccer at my middle school.
Coach What? (Hey! I was a Fresno State Bulldog and my Daily Collegian sports column was called Bulldog Bark. Sue me, I never grew up).
First, Magic Mike, er, Moped Mike needs some sports-pumping music to set the mood. Cue up Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family.”
Party like it’s 1984
The Suite 1984 head boss Kiki Walter and editor-in-chief Gaurav Jain are doing cartwheels and kissing people like they are back in the 80s due to the quick growth in writers (I almost had to rent on the Rose Bowl for this meeting), and the top quality of writing.
But something is missing.
Does the quarterback just take the ball and run every play? Does a basketball player grab the rebound, dribble, and shot every time? Does a cricket guy try to smack the squishy ball for 5,345 points every time he tries to protect those wacky wicket thingamajigs?
Those “hot” rugby boys have to share that oversized football, right Susan?
My point?
Writing ain’t all there is, folks.
Passing the ball to your teammates
To get The Press Box and your own personal viewership and readership numbers to capacity-crowd numbers we need teamwork.
Like a Phoenix Suns’ Chris Paul assist is needed for Devon Booker to score, we need each other.
We all need to instill the three R’s of Medium: Reading, wRiting, and Reacting (aka interacting or commenting). Yeah, it sounded better when I said it. It’s not like I’m a sixth-grade English teacher?
We need to build a community at The Press Box. A community of sportswriters and sports readers. An interactive community. We have the players, yes, but we also need to be the fans. Of each other.
Go read KL Simmons’ beautiful piece “Watching Sports Isn’t My Jam, but I Get Sucked In — This is Why.” She talks about how she grew up not very enthused about sports, and then one day a boyfriend invited her to watch Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the NBA Finals. A game where he was suffering from flu-like symptoms and still exceled. Boom! She was an instant fan.
Magic, Laker and KL fan
It reminded me of when I watched Magic Johnson as a rookie play all three positions in the 1980 NBA finals to beat the Philadelphia 76ers.
That night I became a Magic Johnson and Los Angeles Laker fan. Reading KL’s piece, I became a fan of hers.
And made this comment:
What a beautiful piece, KL. I remember that game so vividly. I can see how it roped you in. That was Michael Jordan at his finest. This made me remember my first game I saw of each of the major sports as a young kid.
She wrote about things we can all relate to which made it easy to comment on.
‘If you’re comfortable…you’re probably doing it wrong’
Let’s hear some advice from a certain American football turn soccer coach:
“Taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse, isn’t it? If you’re comfortable while doing it, you’re probably doing it wrong.” — Ted Lasso.
I know we all get busy. We all have lives outside of Medium, but here is your homework assignment, team. I want everyone to read and comment on three Press Box stories, and not just the cliche “I really enjoyed your story” stuff. Tell them what you liked about it and why, and how you can relate — build relationships.
Build teamwork.
Several people did exactly this on KL’s memorable piece.
Said Susan Wheelock:
I didn’t really like sports until my son started playing basketball and volleyball. I’m not a regular watcher and don’t have a favorite team, but watching a good game can be mesmerizing.
Added The Sober Vegan Yogi:
After I watched Concussion, I never understood why anyone would want to play football! haha. Such a good story and I loved the pics of you!
Shout, shout, let it all out
I also have to give a shout-out to both Gerald Sturgill and Steve Reese.
I like how both of these Press Box writers took another piece, and — I think — generated an idea for their own story.
Gerald read “My Bullying Coach Dared Me to Hit Him,” commented, and then came up with his less than fond memories of having a horrible, uncaring coach in Little League that ruined his season and love of baseball.
And maybe, I struck a chord with Steve Reese when I mentioned in my “LA Times Bill Plaschke’s Writing Tips from a Deadly Fire” how I thought that Dodger manager Dave Roberts removing Clayton Kershaw from a perfect game was the wrong move.
A few days later in a Press Box story, Steve gave his opinion on why the Dodgers did the right thing in his story, “It Was the Right Thing to Do.”
I may have disagreed with his opinion, but I loved that he reacted and voiced his opinion. We should all do more of this.
So, let’s bring it in everyone. Let’s go Team Press Box.
“I do love a locker room. It smells like potential.” — Ted Lasso
All together now, The Press Box on three. Ready? No, wait. Let’s grab a hand and sing ‘We Are the World.” I’ll talk to the big mama Kiki about a team-building Press Box camping retreat with S’mores and ghost stories. Just no shitting in the woods.
Now, let’s go out there read, react, and comment.
And, of course, let’s kick some writing ass!
Thank you for reading my story.
Tagging The Press Box sportswriting team: Alan Simpson, Christopher Robin, Scot Butwell, David Todd McCarty, Napoleon, brian g gilmore (bumpyjonas), Neel Patel, Christian Aviles, Charles BlouinGascon, Keyshawn Shaahid, Scott Younkin, Richard Barrett, Manavpal, Sally Prag, Paul Walker, Dom DeFonso, Sreese, Susan McCorkindale, Nathan Middleton, Chris Meglio, Gerald Sturgill, Kevin Shay, Gavin Odell, Julian Terenzio, Paula Fontes, Michael L Butler, Malky McEwan, KiKi Walter, Jim Nightingale, Jordan Pagkalinawan, Deolu Akingbade, Ning Choi, Danielle DiPre, Patrick Hollis, Belcairn, Phoenix Mōsher, Jamie Fu, John Egelkrout, Michael Perreault, Dan Kadlec, Scott-Ryan Abt, BichoDoMato, Darryl Ventura, Charlie van Houten, Reinaldo Caraballo, Daniel Eliezer, KL Simmons, Wade Allen, Craig Tyson Adams, Ginger Cook, Amber Jain, Stephanie Wilson, Carl-Henry Cadet, Eric Forseth, Kristine Laco
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