COMMENT | 75
Way of the World F
MICHAEL WHITMER, sports writer for the Boston Globe, takes a sideways look at life and leisure in our modern world.
or 20 years now, I’ve held a grudge against Professor Even, the person responsible for giving me a well-deserved F in the
economics class I took in college. The dream I entered school with, of becoming a smooth, smart, hair-slicked-back stockbroker? Up in smoke. Instead, and with apologies to the readers
who have been subjected to my daily drivel, that failing-mark F was in fact the first step on a new path. So far, it’s taken me to the World Series, Stanley Cup Final, Cameron Indoor Stadium, Fenway Park, the Masters, U.S. Open, and a host of other sporting contests and cathedrals, large and small. Life as a sports writer has sent me places
and introduced me to people I never could have imagined. Or, as my brothers like to say, hardly deserve. Free food in the press box never hurts, either. Like any profession, there are challenges and pressures, but being able to write with the clock bearing down on deadlines has never seemed to faze me. There’ve been highs: Covering championships
and no-hitters, buzzer-beaters and 12-under-par 60s. A few lows, too: Getting kicked out of locker rooms, lost in a downpour (no umbrella, pre-cell phones) trying to find my way back to a parking lot after a game, computer blow-ups when my story is due. Like the athletes we cover, sports writers learn quickly to assess any situation and react, always trying to keep the reader in mind. I was introduced to a professional locker room back in the mid-1990s. I walked in to speak with some St. Louis Cardinals and a coach, who was pushing 70 years old, walked by with nothing— absolutely nothing—on. Maintaining eye contact? Highly recommended. I recognize, based on others’ reactions when
“The dream I entered school with, of becoming a smooth, smart, hair-slicked-back stockbroker? Up in smoke.”
they hear what I do—“You get into the games for free? You get to talk to the players? Have you ever met Tiger Woods?”—that I have an interesting job. I’m reminded of that frequently, for a number of reasons: I like chronicling history. I enjoy stumbling upon great stories. I love being there for a playoff game, the venue so loud you can’t hear a thing, a well-sung national anthem leaving you with goosebumps. I’ve learned to deal with the few drawbacks.
My wife doesn’t like the work-travel that’s involved (at least she says she doesn’t), and the kids are now old enough to know what a week away from home means. Those parts aren’t easy. But in almost every other aspect, it’s been the perfect professional home for me. So if I ever run into Professor Even, I’ll tell him what I couldn’t have known 20 years ago when he failed me: Thank you. ■
TPC LIFE & LEISURE
© RUTH TAYLOR
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