To ESPN's Seth Wickersham, sportswriting is a pursuit to be perfected, much like his subjects' efforts to throw a perfect spiral or build a better football team.
From the piece in Gelf Magazine...
Gelf Magazine: What is your idea of a perfect article?
Seth Wickersham: As a reader and consumer of media, I think the best ones teach me about a subject I didn't know, teach me something about myself, and, most of all, entertain me, whether it's by making me laugh or scream or cry or think or whatever. It can't feel like work. As Jim Murray used to say, "There's no city ordinance that they have to read you."
How an article goes about accomplishing all those factors is arbitrary; it's like a song, where you know a good one when you hear it. I think, in terms of pure writing, the best ones have a voice that remains strong throughout the story. A lot of stories, including my own, might have a lot of personality at the beginning and lose it as the story goes on. It's tough to maintain that voice without overwriting or forcing it into moments that don't need it. But the best writers, and stories, do that.
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