When the Washington Post announced that it was firing most of the people who manned the Sports Desk about a month ago, I pointed out here that another Washington paper had done the same thing in the past and had to go back on that decision. So far, there has not been any indication that the Post might be regretting its decision. Nevertheless, I wonder if the full effect of the demise of the Sports Section has been felt to date.
The Post continues to have a Sports Section, and it is usually 4 or 5 pages long. However, one page is usually devoted to agate type showing standings and scores from the day before and various transactions; it is a part of the paper that probably gets a glance from most readers and little more. On the other pages, at least 40% and sometimes 50% of the space is consumed by a picture or two related to the story that is printed.
Stories are mostly of Associated Press origin; they are reportorial and accurate; they are also not exciting. Imagine someone existing on a diet of peanut butter sandwiches seven days a week; it might not be a shock to learn after a month or so that the consumer craves a meal of Mexican food or perhaps some spaghetti and meatballs. This may turn out to be the case for the Post’s readers down the line, but the timing for such a “break-out” may not have arrived.
Washington sports fans are notoriously bandwagon riders. When teams are good, they are embraced and even adored by fans and by other locals who normally could not care less about sports or that team. When the Skins were winning Super Bowls back in the 80s and 90s, there were people following the team who did not know a first down from goose down. And when the teams are bad, no one really cares.
Right now, sports in the DC area are in a trough – – to use a wave metaphor.
- The Wizards are overmatched even when they are not tanking on purpose
- The Capitals are mediocre – – good enough to sneak into the playoffs down the line but currently with the 9th best record in the Eastern Conference.
- The Nats were awful last year and project to be merely bad this year.
- DC United finished dead last in the Eastern Conference of MLS last year.
In this area, all those those teams are marginal players in terms of fan involvement. The Washington Spirit finished second in the women’s soccer league last year and still drew only about 15,000 fans per game and attracted TV audiences comparable to half-hour infomercials featuring Phil Swift. The big swinger in sports in the DC area is the Washington Commanders.
The NFL is never out-of-the-news but even the NFL has periods of quietude, and this is one of them. So, I wonder if the Commanders’ fans have yet realized that the only stuff they are going to read in the Post is the journalistic equivalent of “peanut butter sandwiches”. Perhaps that realization sometime around the NFL Draft or the opening of Training Camp will make current readers realize there is “something missing” which might turn them into former readers.
I have been a Post subscriber for more than 50 years. Like former Chief Justice, Earl Warren, I too turned to the Sports Section first in the morning; then I looked elsewhere. I miss the focused coverage in what was the Sports Section and the highly talented columnists who wrote there, but I also read much of the other content in the Post every day. I will continue to be a subscriber unless the coverage of national, international and business news deteriorates from its current standards. Having said that, I recognize that what is now the Post Sports Section is a poor relative as compared to a month ago.
Moving on … The UFL will start its regular season one month from today and it will incorporate some new rules that bear watching because they might find their way into the NFL someday. Consider:
- A pass completion only requires the receiver to have one foot inbounds not both. [Not sure if this is good or bad; we’ll see.]
- Field goals from 60 yards or longer are worth 4 points. [Brandon Aubrey’s NFL contract demands just went up.]
- The “Tush Push” is illegal. [Not sure how that is illegal if blockers are allowed to assist running backs; we’ll see.]
- No punts allowed inside the 50 yardline. [Not sure I like this; too much emphasis on long field goal tries already; we’ll see.]
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- However, such punting is allowed in the final two minutes of each half.
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- Kickoffs will be from the 30-yardline. [Given the UFL kickoff alignment, I don’t see this as a big deal.]
- PATs will come in three flavors. Kick for 1 point, play from the 2-yardline for 2 points; play from the 8-yardline for 3 points. [Meh!]
- If the defense returns a failed PAT for a score, the defense will earn the value of the PAT that was tried. [It is now possible for a UFL team to score a total of 1 point in a game; hoo-ray for that.]
Finally, this from George Bernard Shaw:
“If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………
Did you just compare yourself to Earl Warren?
Warren’s comment works better in NYC, on the tabloid style papers, not on a broadsheet. You don’t have to take the paper apart to see the Jets and Giants lost.