THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: No room for objectivity if you’re a Gooner
Thierry Henry being introduced in 2018 as AS Monaco head coach.
OLIVIER ANRIGO/Associated Press
The rules are befuddling.
No. 1 would be: “No cheering in the press box.”
(For our purposes today, expand that rule from a journalist’s physical presence at a game to what we write in opinion columns like this one.)
The idea, obviously, is that a reporter is supposed to be neutral, and simply deliver a factual account of what he or she sees occurring in competition.
Except…
We KNOW that sort of thing isn’t going to fly, unless you’re working for the Associated Press or some other international wire service.
For instance, if I’m covering a Gonzaga game and analyzing it afterward, I’m not going to be neutral.
All but a few people in this neck of the woods want the Zags to be successful, so my look at what went on within a single game, or perhaps in a tournament preview, well…
It’s going to be written through the eyes of Gonzaga fans.
In other words, honest but tilted to our guys down the road.
IN FOUR years with The Press, I haven’t received a single complaint from, say, a Loyola Marymount grad who’s upset that our coverage is overly biased toward the Zags.
Of course it is.
It’s the same with Idaho, with Washington State, and with the Seattle pro teams.
Plenty of our readers went to those schools, or have become attached to area teams after moving to the Northwest.
So…
Apologies to our newsroom boss, Mike Patrick, who earned some suspicious paperwork from the University of Arizona — and bleeds whatever combination of colors the Wildcats call their own.
A huge majority of fans around here, though, will not be rooting for Arizona when the Cats come calling at the Kennel on Dec. 5.
Sorry, Mike.
Most of your constituents will be hoping the Zags win in a blowout.
This is all obvious stuff.
Where things become a little fuzzy is with teams or individuals who have no particular affiliation with the Northwest.
For instance, you and I may favor different golfers — but if yours is anyone other than Tiger Woods, you’re wrong.
(Just kidding…)
Seriously, though, we might be fans of various NASCAR drivers, or boxers, or whatever.
I’m bringing this up today because I’m wondering how that “cheering in the press box” prohibition carries over to soccer.
More specifically, what about European soccer, which naturally would be called football in most parts of the world?
THE WILDLY popular English Premier League resumes play next Wednesday after a three-month break due to the coronavirus pandemic.
I make no secret of the fact that I am a Gooner — that is, a fan of Arsenal Football Club.
Yeah, you can easily make fun of us now, since the Arse have struggled a bit over the past few years.
Our ownership, sadly, has fallen to Stan Kroenke — who also owns the Los Angeles Rams, has been busy spending $5 billion of his own money on that monstrous stadium in Southern California, and thus has little cash left to invest in a dominant midfielder for Arsenal.
So how should we cover the Premier League?
I’ll assume that if you’re not a Gooner (and thus missing out on the planet’s greatest kinship), you’ve probably hooked up with one of the free-spending giants who are owned by nation-states or Russian oligarchs.
How sad.
IF YOU’RE a Liverpool fan, however, and thus soon to celebrate that historic club’s first title in three decades, you’re exempt from scorn.
The Reds have great ownership (John Henry of Boston Red Sox fame), a sensational manager in Jurgen Klopp, and one of the best sides the sport has ever seen.
Liverpool, however, will not win the Premier League without a loss — because the ONLY club to accomplish that feat, ever, was…
Oh, right.
It was the Arsenal in 2003-04, the year of “The Invincibles” and magnificent striker Thierry Henry.
If you want to make fun of us Gooners, hey…
Call me when somebody else goes through a season unbeaten.
Meantime, there MAY be some cheering in the press box.
Email: scameron@cdapress.com
Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “Moments, Memories and Madness,” his reminiscences from several decades as a sports journalist, runs each Sunday.
Steve also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball, once per month during the offseason.