SI’s longform masterpiece: general journalism greatness

In preparation for last weekend’s college football kickoff, Sports Illustrated unleashed a longform masterpiece on it’s website. The piece, done by SI senior writer Andy Staples, revisits Appalachian State’s epic upset of Michigan in 2007, as the two teams would play on Saturday for the first time since the upset.

Using as many forms of media as humanly possible, Staples takes the reader back into the Big House on September 1, 2007 for arguably the greatest upset in college football history. The piece is simply captivating. Here’s what makes it great:

1. The story is told mainly by the short, succinct quotes from members of the Appalachian State team, administration, and radio crew that were there that day. These quotes are accompanied by the headshots of all members, and they drive the story with unique perspective.

2. As the story is told, audio pieces (like the one of Michigan’s fight song, which accompanies the picture of Michigan’s band marching onto the field) add another dimension to the telling of the story. This aspect of the piece really makes the reader feel like they are in the Big House on September 1, 2007.

3. While the narrative of the game wears on, the story introduces short snippets of radio footage from the Appalachian State football radio broadcast, accompanied by pictures and quotes that reveal the nerve-wracking nature of the upset. Steve Brown, a radio analyst for the Mountaineers at the time, provides great insight on what the game felt like for the Appalachian State media. As a journalist, this is interesting because it adds another dimension to the feeling behind the upset.

4. The way that the story allows the reader to scroll through the pictures was very smooth. The reader can take everything in, while doing it at their own pace.

Staples allowed the reader to experience September 1, 2007 in the Big House all over again, only this time the fan actually felt as if they were at the game. The synchronization of writing, audio clips, and pictures made this a piece that captured what multimedia journalism is all about. Although outlets like the New York Times seem to use this type of convergence journalism on a regular basis, it was interesting seeing it used to retell a story such as a sporting event.

Simply put, it made the idea of ‘re-watching the game’ sound very, very dissatisfying.