The Essays of Sam Person
Reading the Sports Pages First
.....By Samuel Person
June 6, 2000
After picking up a newspaper at a convenience store located in my apartment building this morning, I was standing at the cash register to make payment. As I usually do, I started to scan the paper from back to front, reading the sports pages first.
The clerk making change commented, "I see you read the sports pages first." I replied, "Yes I do, and have you ever noticed how many others do as well?" She allowed that my observation was correct by shaking her head affirmatively.
This exchange has set me to thinking. Why, I wonder, do many people read the sports pages first? It might be said that it is because we are avid sports fans, or that to those of my generation, at least, it was a ritual that began in the days before television. Back then, we would rush to the corner store (at least in those geographical areas where there were such things), in the late evening to await the arrival of the next day's newspapers in order to check on the results of our favorite teams and favorite players.
But, no, I think the reason is deeper. The "main" news (i.e., that which appears at the front), represents material we have already been made aware of through the "instant media" modes: on TV, delivered to one's computer, and/or heard on the radio, etc. Therefore, it is news that we are already aware of, and is far more intimidating and unnerving.
On the other hand, the sports news seems to be more benign, and an escape from news of war zones, political chicanery, wanton killings, and/or the vicissitudes of the financial markets. One does not need to think of the problems of the world while learning the score of a game or the statistical accomplishments of the participants.
Of course, the counter argument is that this philosophy really represents an escape from reality. Sure it is, and don't we all need to do this occasionally?
Tangentially, I believe that despite all the available access to instant media, getting news through a newspaper will never totally disappear; there is something about the feel of newsprint in one's hands. And, to really appreciate that feel, it is likely that I shall continue to read newspapers from back to front.
