Journalists are not essentially writers. They are mere mediums of transfer of facts from the speaker/doer to the listener/receiver. But Sports Journalists need to be good writers. They just don't jot down facts. They live the moments. They experience the super-human spirit. And most importantly, they keep up the spirit of mankind. Ever since I decided to be a journalist(one in my long list of careers), I've wanted to be a sports writer.
Sports have been a major part of people's lives since time immemorial. In the ancient times, we had Gladiator fights and Olympics. In the colonial era, Cricket and Football were the major sports. Now, we have everything to cover from Chess to Golf and from Rugby to Baseball. And a sports journalist should know all those sports and the legends who played them. And then, he should be able to hold the attention of the reader and act as the bridge between the genius of an athlete and the indifference of the reader.
An athlete, I believe, is an epitome of the unbending will of human spirit. It is in the sports arena that humans surpass their limits and for moments, transcend into gods. I have always loved reading about athletes and am still a very regular reader of Sportstar. Some of my all time favourite articles include those by S.Ram Mahesh, S.Dinakar, Nirmal Shekhar and Nandita Sridhar. Today I read an articles about Tiger Woods' return to professional golf and the piece was beautifully penned. It somehow looked familiar(every writer has his own signature) and so I checked it up with my all-time favourite article. And yes, it was the same guy, Rohit Brijnath. That article, my all-time favourite, came out in The Hindu back on 25 April, 2007 before the French Open. And I was struck by it the first time I read it.
Here it goes.
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