Storyline: The sports media often elevates what’s essentially “bar room chatter” into their own gospel, sometimes without the pretense of accountability.
Written by Ft. Worth Fred
Courtesy: yankeeexposure.blogspot.com
You may think the pictures don’t match the title of this post. And, it’s certainly true, I’m not about to opine on Sir Thomas More. But I will opine on my never-ending irritation with the risible arrogance of sports writers who think they’re qualified to second-guess any coach in any sport.
As a point of reference, two very high profile coaches, Jurgen Klinsmann and Pete Carroll, are close friends and former neighbors in Southern California. Have you ever heard Klinsmann offer an opinion on any of the technical aspects of American football? Or Carroll on soccer?
Did you ever hear Jon Gruden from MNF second-guess Gregg Popovich or Mike Krzyzewski? Would any of these men pretend to be an expert in any sport except the one they coach?
So where does the media get off doing it?
Courtesy: twitter.com
The demands of print journalism to generate “copy”/meet deadlines and the temptations of instant coverage via social media may explain some of their miscues, but it doesn’t appear to discourage sports writers from “shooting from the lip” the next time around. For example (and, in the interest of full disclosure, I have NO patience for the talking heads format of any of the news shows that abound these days, sports or otherwise) I make it a point not to watch ESPN’s First Take. For the life of me I don’t know why that show is as popular as it is. Consider how many times Skip Bayless has been WAY off base. Why does anyone take him seriously?
Besides being arrogant, there’s a subtle dishonesty in the way commentary is commonly dispensed by sports media. Opinions expressed a day or two after the event are frequently the result of a sportswriter having picked the brain of a real expert … and, then, passing off the opinion as his or her own. If you want to catch them in the act of being themselves, just read their tweets while a game is in progress.
Courtesy: www.dailytimes.com.pk
But even the “pick the brain of a real expert” ruse has its own limitations … or at least it should have. I could consult with Urban Meyer for an hour, a day, or six months, and still wouldn’t feel fit to second-guess Nick Saban. For that matter, I doubt seriously if Nick Saban has any interest in critiquing other coaches. More likely he’ll tell you he has all he can do to coach his own team.
What the media has done successfully is elevate what’s essentially “bar room chatter” into their own gospel –without the pretense of accountability.
Or maybe they’re just smarter than the rest of us.
Any guesses what they think?
