I’m not the biggest sports fan in the world, although Go ‘Niners! In truth, I’m not so much a fan of sports as a fan of sports fans. Maybe it’s the anthropologist in me, with a lifelong attraction to cultures and subcultures.
Maybe it’s the lingo. Because it’s sports writers and sports talk that actually blow my skirt up. The subject is limited. There’s a game. Somebody wins and somebody loses. What happens in between is where the magic happens. Which of course brings us to the Good Doctor Hunter S. Thompson.
Whether at his first writing gig, as sports editor of The Command Courier at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, or under his own name at ROLLING STONE, or later as Raoul Duke, or later still at ESPN, HST occupied the Sports Desk. I’m a big fan, so I stole the fucking title, OK? Let’s just get that out of the way now.
I’m not trying to write like him. I’m not that stupid or deluded. I do honor him, as best I can, by quoting him when appropriate; by keeping his memory front and center. I also make an effort to be accurate about the important stuff. And I do use his device of starting with a quote, so there’s that. But I make no mention of Fear & Loathing, at least not as a couple. I’m not particularly interested in guns, although I do believe in keeping a can of whoop-ass handy. I left alcohol behind over forty-five years ago, hence, I’m alive. I smoke weed every day and have for over fifty years. Harder drugs are, shall we say, situational. So much for the gonzo lifestyle. That’s not where it’s at for me, anyway. It’s all about the words.
Sometimes just one word can do the trick. I was across the kitchen with my hands in soapy water when one guy on the TV says, “They won ugly,” and the other guy says, “Yeah, but it was a pretty ugly.” I love that shit.
So Sports Desk is my official title. I’ve used it for years, actually, as my portable territorial imperative: Don’t bother to give me a title, I come with my own. There is literally nothing else you could call me that I would like better. Or that guarantees a grin. And seriously, isn’t that what we’re in it for? I certainly aim to get one out of you every now and then. Selah!
