unit 1: nonfiction 1—sports profiles / long-form journalism / creative non-fiction
MEETING 1: thompson, “Beyond the breach”
Welcome. So glad you’ve decided to take this class.
Let’s brainstorm: What drives interest in watching sports?
What is this class all about? What are my expectations for you?
Let’s turn to “Beyond the Breach”. What are some of the profile’s ideas about football’s connection to the culture of the city of New Orleans? Who are the main characters? To whom were you drawn? Why?
Homework:
(1) Familiarize yourself with the course website—this page, the Policies page, and the Writing Center. It’s up to you to know the resources you’ve available to you. Study these pages.
(2) Register on turnitin.com: Class ID: 46903708 Enrollment Password: Magis
(3) Complete your assigned thumbnail sketch and then the “Beyond the Breach: Structure” handout for our next class.
MEETING 2: thompson, “Beyond the breach”, Day 2
Before the quiz, let’s move through your homework: What did you notice about the components of your chosen section? How do those components work together to tell the story and/or accomplish Thompson’s goals in that section?
What are some of the profile’s ideas about football’s connection to the culture of the city of New Orleans? Take me to a few passages in the essay that make this clear.
A few key lines from the essay for discussion:
“No White Flags” (several).
“That’s what the anniversary is doing: forcing people to go to a place they’ve tried to avoid” (204).
“The most powerful four-letter word is home” (253).
Homework:
(1) Read “Michael Jordan has not Left the Building” in Wright Thompson’s anthology of essays (It’s the first essay.). Read with “Content” and “Style” in mind as we did with the opening of “Beyond the Breach”. Be ready to share one part of the Jordan essay that you think makes an effective stylistic choice? Effective why?
MEETING 3: thompson, “michael jordan has not left the building”
I’ve asked Trent and Bobby to get us started with a passage from the latest Wright Thompson essay. We’ll begin there.
What do you think is the largest purpose of this piece? What story is really being told here about Jordan? What are the essay’s parts that contribute to that larger story?
Lets’s talk about characterization. What are Jordan’s dominant characteristics? What details support those various aspects?
CR: 18-19
If we have time, I’d like to compare the section about Jordan’s Hall of Fame Speech to his actual speech.
Homework:
(1) In your notebook: What is the most memorable sports viewing experience you’ve ever had? Describe it in detail: Where are you? Who are you with? What are the stakes and storylines of your chosen event?
MEETING 4: memorable sports viewing / “roger federer as religious experience”
Advance to 22:22 to see the point David Foster Wallace mentions.
We’ll begin today with your chosen sports viewing experiences. What makes them memorable? What are the stakes and storylines of your chosen event?
Let’s recall the purpose of this unit before moving to another essay by novelist David Foster Wallace. The essay is called “Roger Federer as Religious Experience”. We’ll look at the opening together, and you’ll finish the essay for homework.
Homework:
(1) In a doc: Pick a more specific moment within your chosen event from last time (an individual play, a shot, an attempt, a point, a move) and describe it, imitating the opening of DFW’s “Roger Federer as Religious Experience.” Be mindful of your syntax, your word choice, your tone.
(2) Finish reading DFW’s essay on Federer.
MEETING 5: recent long-form journalism
Before we begin the main work for today, let’s submit and work through a few of your paragraphs.
In the second half of class today, I want to look at some more recent writing to complete some on-the-spot analysis. In honor of the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, each of the essays features a team still competing for the ultimate prize.
(1) Skim each of the following essays, and choose one to read thoroughly:
11/21/2024: Jason Gay, “Two Sons, Two Star NFL Coaches. Who Has It Better Than Jack Harbaugh?”
01/13/2025: Sarah Barshop: “Amid Los Angeles wildfires, Rams' playoff hopes persevere in Arizona”
01/14/2025: Elizabeth Merrill and Stephen Holder, “Football, frostbite and a 'borderline inhumane' NFL playoff night”
01/15/2025: Tim McManus, “Eagles' Sirianni is a players' coach, no matter what you think of him”
01/16/2025: Kalyn Kahler, “How Dan Skipper reported eligible and became a beloved Lion”
01/17/2025: Alaina Getzenberg, “Buffalo Joe! Bills linebacker and local legend: Joe Andreessen”
(2) In your notebook:
(1) After skimming each of the pieces, what do you notice about what they all have in common? Are there components you’ve noticed in all of the readings this semester?
(2) The other day we made a distinction between the subject of a piece of writing and what the piece is actually about: The subject of our most recent Wright Thompson piece, for instance, is a retired Michael Jordan, but it’s actually about the afterlife and legacy of top-tier professional athletes. So, with your chosen article, identify the subject, and then identify what you think the article is actually about.
(3) Find one of each of the following:
Statistical evidence and how it’s used in the essay
An anecdote
A human angle
An interesting stylistic choice
The moment where various threads are tied together
A claim about what makes success
MEETING 6: henry aaron & your first assignment
We’ll begin today in Atlanta, 1974 by watching the clip to the right. It tells the story of three calls of the same moment in the history of baseball—Hank Aaron’s 715th home run. What do you notice about the differences in the three calls? What stands out to you about the hit itself? After watching, we’ll turn to Joe Posnanski’s short piece on his experience of the hit and the interview he conducted years later with one minor player involved in the moment. What does Posnanski identify as being the “real” story behind Aaron’s 715th?
Here is your first major-grade assignment of the year. We’ll go through it today and begin brainstorming a topic together to give you a sense of what it is you’re tasked with over the next few weeks.
Homework:
Brainstorm a topic in the way we did in class. You want to come to our next class (Monday) with a preliminary plan of attack before I send you off to complete some research.
MEETING 7: structuring your sports profile
Today will largely be a work day, but we’ll begin by sharing our topics and then take one topic to brainstorm a structure. What work needs to be done for your topic? Do you need to interview anyone? Do you need to go read about the event? Do you need to research the life of your chosen athlete?
In the second half of class, I’m going to have you choose one other piece in the Wright Thompson anthology and begin reading it. What you don’t finish, I’d like you to finish for homework. As you read, recognize components and notice how the components are carefully arranged. I’ll break you up into small groups on Thursday to discuss your chosen essay.
