When George Vecsey was 7, his father took him to a baseball game and pointed out the reporters: ”Outside in the daytime, beyond the bounds of office and school, watching the games, meeting the players. These reporters were off on a permanent case of hooky. Sounded pretty good to me.” In ”A Year in the Sun: The Diary of a Sports Columnist” (Times Books), Vecsey admits that covering sports still sounds pretty good.
Q-You`ve been covering sports on and off since the late `50s; have you seen any changes?
A-Definitely. First, in the amounts of money involved. When I was a young journalist, I made the same salary as the average professional athlete. Now, I barely make what a rookie in pro baseball makes. Second, the degree of athleticism is much higher. The great athletes today are very impressive physically because of improved training and diet. And third, free agentry has made athletes much more independent.
Q-Among all the athletes you`ve known, whom do you consider the most outstanding?
A-Muhammad Ali, for his style, his humor and what he meant, not only to blacks, but to all young people because of the pivotal role he played in the antiwar movement. Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, who complement each other. Chris, for her steadiness, competitiveness, poise and athleticism. Martina for her drive, intelligence, fire and great athletic ability. Reggie Jackson, for putting a great burden on himself by his bragging and then coming through in the big games. Julius Erving, for his dignity. In the early `80s pro basketball was under a cloud for two reasons. The first was a fear that it was becoming predominantly black and would therefore cease appealing to whites, and the second was the number of drug scandals that hit the sport. But Julius had such dignity, athletic ability and discipline that he carried the sport in a troubled time.
Q-What`s your favorite sport?
A-Baseball, because there`s something happening every day. The players don`t wear masks, so you can see them and get to know them. I like tennis, too, because you put two people in an arena with no substitutes allowed and it leads to great drama. Football is my least favorite because nothing happens for six days between games.
Q-You`ve covered religion and poverty. Does covering sports ever seem frivolous to you?
A-Well, take a week where students are rioting and being killed in China, the Ayatollah is dying in Iran and a train is crashing in the Soviet Union, and I might feel that way. I`m not a doctor or a nurse or a policeman-people who are on the line. But I try to do my job in a moral way. I`m not the kind of sports columnist who says whom the Mets should trade for a new
centerfielder. I prefer to write about why we shouldn`t have beer advertising in the stadiums.
