Sports Story Ideas

Writing sports stories

While many of you may not be interested in sports stories, I suggest rethinking that position. Some of journalism’s best writing appears on the sports pages of major newspapers and magazines.

The sports pages are filled with stories about people attempting to overcome the odds and do things others cannot do. There is drama, conflict, struggle, agony, ecstasy, etc. in these stories. The sports pages are filled with human drama that rivals the best soap opera, the best reality TV program or the best drama you’ve ever seen.  The best thing about these sports dramas is they’re real and they focus on real people doing amazing things.

In addition to the human spectacle of sports, those who write about these events do so in a unique way.  Sports stories have neither a hard news lead nor a feature lead; they have both.

Most sports stories begin with a feature lead. This lead usually starts off telling something about one of the people involved in the game, or the turning point in the game, or some other unusual aspect to the game.  Here are some examples from last year’s sports page:

            Clinton Portis celebrated the apparent winning touchdown with a leap into the end zone, capping a 43-yard reception that gave the Washington Redskins a one-point lead over the
Green Bay Packers with 2 minutes 35 second to play at Landover, Md.

            Oops.  Scratch that.   Flag on the play.

            Receiver James Thrash was called for illegal motion, a penalty that Thrash didn’t understand and one that Washington Coach Joe Gibbs called “an absolute mystery.”

            The Packers had a different feeling: sheer relief.

            Al Harris intercepted a pass on the next play, and the Packers drove for an insurance touchdown to cap a 28-14 victory Sunday.

            In sports leads, you’ll see that you don’t know who won the game until later in the story.  The first paragraph doesn’t tell you the score of the game or who won the game.  Therefore, this is a feature lead that focuses on something interesting and grabs your attention.  The hard news lead—who won—is usually in the third or the fourth paragraph of today’s sports stories. Why? Because the sports fan knows who won the game by the time he or she reads the next morning’s newspaper.  With all of the cable, satellite and other outlets available to the sports fan, he or she has probably either seen the game or seen the highlights before picking up the newspaper. So why read the newspaper?

Good newspaper sports writers know this about sports fans and they know that they must give the sports fan something new, something they didn’t see last night.  This is why today’s newspaper sports writers try to find a different angle or do whatever they can to give their readers a unique perspective.

So if you write a sports story, think of beginning it with a human element to the event. Oftentimes a turning point in the game can be used as your feature lead block to the story. Or perhaps an injury is the lead block to the story. Or maybe the fact that the star player just flew in from watching his wife give birth to their first child and he was so inspired that he had a career-high scoring game is your lead block to the story. It’s stuff like that, the human stories behind the people who play the games, that make the sports pages come alive.

Once you’ve grabbed the reader, then you write a basic inverted pyramid news story. You give information, quotes, information, etc. The only real difference is you also make sure that you include a lot of statistics in the body of your story and include the names of as many players as possible.

To cover sports well, you must know something about the game being played. You can’t write about it or even know what to write about if you don’t understand the game. So make sure you know the nuances of the game, the strategies involved and the basic rules.

ELEMENTS OF INTEREST IN SPORTS STORIES

1.         Significance

            a.         Is a championship at stake?

            b.         Impact of the result on season records of those playing as well as all-time records.

            c.         Are the contestants old rivals?

            d.         Will the outcome suggest probable strength against future opponents?

2.         Probable outcome

            a.         Relative weight and experience of the contestants.

            b.         Ability as demonstrated against other opponents, especially common ones.

            c.         New plays, tactics.

            d.         New players, return of injured players.

            e.         Former contests between the two.

            f.          Recent records, slumps, etc.

3.         How the victory was won.

            a.         The winning play, if the score was close.

            b.         The style of play of both the winner and the loser.

            c.         Costly errors or mistakes.

            d.         Decisive moment in the game.

4.         Important plays

            a.         How each score was made.

            b.         Spectacular catches, etc.

            c.         The result of hunches.

            d.         Penalties, fouls, etc.

            e.         Disputed umpire or referee decisions.

5.         Individual records, stars, etc.

            a.         Records broken.

            b.         High scores.

            c.         Players who came through when needed.

            d.         Teamwork.

            e.         Players not up to usual form.

6.         Injuries.

7.         The occasion or the crowd.

            a.         Size of crowd; a record?

            b.         An annual event?

            c.         Enthusiasm, riots, demonstrations, etc.

8.         The weather

            a.         Condition of track and playing field.

            b.         Effect of heat or cold.

            c.         Effect of sun on outfielders.

            d.         Delays due to rain.

            e.         Which side was more impacted and why?

9.         Box score, summary and statistics

A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR SPORTS WRITERS

1.         Use as many names in your stories as possible.

2.         Place special emphasis on the future.

3.         Edit your stories carefully before they are published; make sure every word counts; be concise.

4.         Keep a file of statistics and records and consult them frequently.

5.         Know the rules of the sport.

6.         Know the jargon of the sport.

7.         Be absolutely factually correct.

8.         Stress action in your stories in both content and in how you write your stories. Use relatively short, crisp sentences. Avoid long, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink type sentences.

9.         Study sports pages and the sports stories of professional writers. The best way to learn is by reading the work of others. Do not steal someone else’s style, but study it to see how you can improve yours.

10.       Do not overplay the hero or the star; be alert to the good performances by others who may not be quite as well known and emphasize these as much as possible.

11.       Avoid discussing a team impersonally. Remember that all teams are made up of individuals.

12.       Remember that sports fans are gluttons for statistics.

13.       Do not be afraid to criticize, when necessary, but also do so with caution and with knowledge about what you are doing.

14.       Do not become a cheerleader for the home team. Do not become friends with the players. Retain your neutrality and objectivity.