Sports Writing – About the Real Sport
A sports movie is an overall genre which makes use of sport as the central theme of the movie. In this sense it’s more of a fictional genre, rather than a documentary, and as such it’s very different from a musical. However, it’s also frequently a sequel to an earlier film, or a prequel to a prior television show, and as such it has certain inherent qualities which can help it to succeed in terms of entertainment value and narrative coherence. It’s often a story which relies heavily on sport as a theme, either through the characters who are involved in the story, or the events which unfold within the larger story.
The most obvious thing about a sports movie is that it’s largely based around sports. So much so that sometimes it becomes difficult to escape the fact that the story is primarily about sports itself. It’s usually a drama about a sport – particularly one with a major league team or leagues, as it makes the story very difficult to tell if its entirely true. It’s usually a story which is heavily reliant on sport for its plot inspiration or resolution, and so relies on sport for its mental underpinning, which can be both entertaining and informative at the same time.
When a film celebrates or reports on the sporting activities or participants, it’s often about what sport has won or lost, as well as how the outcome of that sport was determined. For example, a movie about the Formula 1 car driving contest can talk about the various moves and strategies which drivers and teams used during the race. It could talk about the rules, regulations and procedures which governed the competition; and so on. It may have clear links to the actual races, so that you get some idea of how the race was decided, but this is all part of the story and part of what makes it a sports story, and so is relevant to the wider point of what’s going on in the real world.
However, when writing about sports, it is sometimes the case that the writer has to take into account the wider aspects of how we perceive and appreciate the activity. We might talk about the physical skills and strength required, and the intellectual edge that certain people have, or the sheer physical challenges and triumphs which people find insurmountable. These can be divided into the mind sports, and the body sports. The mind sports include things like strategy and tactics, athleticism, mental toughness, mental acuity and perception skills, etc. Whereas the body sports can include things like swimming, diving, athletics, gymnastics, horse riding, rock climbing, weightlifting, etc.
An interesting thing to note is that the psychological factors are much more important than the physical ones when it comes to making a sports story exciting. The author needs to do his or her best to capture the reader’s imagination and psychology, and then support it with the facts. The reporting and analysis of these psychological factors need to be done in a manner that makes the reader feel that they are part of this exciting game and not reading an article that contains facts and figures about one aspect of a sport.
A good sports article needs to be readable, well-organized, and clearly-written. It should be interesting and add to the reader’s knowledge. It should be able to show the reader how their favorite teams or athletes are improving, overcoming problems, or surprising everyone by winning a particular event. If you can do all these things, then you are well on your way to being a successful sports writer. You’ll be able to earn lots of money as a professional sports writer.