Chico Harlan Hates Sportswriting, Apologizes For His Angst

I can totally understand where Washington Post Washington Nationals beat writer Chico Harlan is coming from.

He hates sports, hates covering it, but intrinsically know its beauty.

He feels the power of a byline, the worth of crafting a story, and its profound impact on readers. There is an adrenaline that comes from a beginning, middle, and end with your personal imprint on such a universal occurrence.

And he has apologized for it. And I think he deserves to continue doing his job.

In a weird way, my obsession with blogging and my pursuit to do it full time is a personal apology to the craft I loved and left some years ago. Without being too long-winded, I earned a degree and received formal training in journalism.

I wrote for a couple of papers and magazines, and somewhere before I turned 22, figured out that there was no money or daily satisfaction in being put on a beat you didn’t like for years.

So I stopped being a journalist and got into public relations. The rest became life.

But I never stopped loving writing or the craft of journalism.

I stumbled into blogging late, but fell hard. A look to your right in the blogroll shows just how much I love it. And while I don’t miss people who distrust any and all media, unyielding and biased editors and low pay, I miss the ability to shape people’s opinions, if only for a couple of minutes, if only on a meaningless subject.

So, I understand Chico completely.

His writing is on point and, while it may not be his cup of tea, there should certainly be no drama in a reporter disclosing his true professional passions. If not in the Washingtonian Magazine, it would’ve likely come out in a succinct Tweet, or in a memoir down the line.

But he needed to breathe—somehow, some way.

I respect him for owning up to it. At least he gets paid for dealing with his pain. People like me? We just hope for that one break that will get us to a place where writing will welcome us back with open arms.