8501310825
DETROIT FREE PRESS
850804
Sunday, August 04, 1985
METRO FINAL
1H
MITCH ALBOM
Today's is the first column by the Free Press' new ; lead sports columnist, Mitch Albom. His columns ; will appear each Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Copyright (c) 1985, Detroit Free Press
GIVE ME A SPORTING CHANCE, AND I'LL GIVE IT RIGHT BACK
Let's start with an old joke.
On a plane trip home after a football game, Buck Buchanan, a massive
lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs, was sitting next to a sports writer. Buck
had the aisle seat. The sports writer was by the window.
Dinner came, and they ate.
Soon Buck fell asleep.
The flight got very bumpy. The sports writer, who had a weak stomach,
began to feel queasy. He wanted to get out to the aisle, but he didn't dare
disturb Buck's sleep. So he stayed put.
Finally, it was too much. The sports writer leaned over to grab the
air-sickness bag. Instead -- to his shock -- he got sick all over Buck's lap.
The big football player stirred, opened his eyes, saw the mess and
mumbled, "Grmphuh?"
The sports writer looked up innocently.
"Feeling better, Buck?" he asked.
We have a lot in common
You need reflexes like that in this business. Challenging moments
always arise.
Like starting your column in a new newspaper, which is what I'm doing
today.
Writing for a new audience can strum your nerves a bit. But not for
long. I don't know you yet, but I do know sports. And so do you.
The way I figure it, with sports being as monstrously big as they are,
we already have a lot more in common than not.
Besides, sports have a way of bridging gaps between people. Like when
Casey Stengel caught a pitcher sneaking back at 4 a.m. from the tavern.
"Drunk again," Stengel scolded.
"Me, too," the pitcher said.
See? Togetherness.
We'll get along just fine.
As for my background, I figure too many details here would bore you.
Let's just say I've worked for a number of newspapers and magazines, some very
big, some very obscure.
I've lived in American League cities, National League cities, been on
assignment in Boise, Boston and Berlin, and I still find that just when you
figure you've seen everything in sports, along comes pro wrestling.
I once worked in a city where the baseball team came back from 14
games out to win the pennant and the World Series. Take heart, Tigers fans.
But most sports writers don't get too caught up in time or place.
It's the nature of the beast.
I knew of a New York writer who was fired from his job. Then, 11 years
later, he was rehired by the same newspaper. In his first column back, he
wrote:
"As I was saying when I was so rudely interrupted 11 years ago . . . "
Reflexes.
Read, old sport, then write
So what can you expect from this space four times a week?
Some opinion, some heart, some frankness. Some laughs.
Some out of the ordinary. There's a side of the sports leaf that rarely
gets turned over, a human side that I like to peek at now and then.
Otherwise, it's hard to predict. Except that, whether my tone be
scolding or sympathetic, I try to be honest. That doesn't change.
This is not always a pretty job. Sometimes you have to write that the
good guys lost, or that somebody's favorite baseball hero in the whole world
just checked into the rehab clinic.
Still, sports are the only show in town where no matter how many times
you go back, you never know the ending. That's special.
And, for the most part, sports are fun. Even the silly things can be
worth reading about.
So in the end, that's all I ask.
Read.
You may not always agree with what I write, and I may not care for the
shredded copies of my column you send back in an unmarked envelope.
That's OK. A column is just one person's view. Read it before your
coffee, or after your coffee. You can dunk it in your coffee if you like,
though I suggest you read it first.
The only thing I'd resent is if you didn't bother to read it at all.
I'll always try to make it worthwhile.
One other thing. Some people apparently look at a new job in Detroit
as something to be endured or tolerated.
Well, maybe that's right for them. I, for one, am thrilled to be here.
For sports, they don't make towns any better than this one.
Enough said. Starting tomorrow, I ask your attention, your reaction,
your letters, your laughter and, once in a while, the benefit of the doubt.
After all, even Buck Buchanan let that sports writer live. I think.
FIRST;COLUMN