There are plenty of sports podcasts out there. However, podcasts about sports writing are few and far between. Enter New Hampshire sports writer John Doyle, known to many as JD, who's obsessed — in a very healthy way — with sports writing. In short, it gets his adrenaline going. JD has interviewed a who's who of sports writing legends for his podcast Sports Writers Inc with JD: Sports Writers Talk Sports Writing. JD took some time to discuss his passion, as well as a few annoyances.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
Why'd you dive in and start the podcast and Substack?
JOHN DOYLE:
I got into listening to podcasts right from the beginning. In fact, I invented podcasting. Well, not really — but I did think the idea of on-demand talk radio, maybe in the form of a mailed cassette or compact disc, was a good one well before the internet and iPods made it possible.
So I'd always been enamored with the idea of having my own podcast and in 2020 — just a coincidence that it was during the pandemic, I swear — I decided finally to do it. At that point I'd been out of full-time sports writing for five years, and I wanted to get back into that world in some form. And I'd dabbled in radio in the years prior and realized that getting guests for a radio show wasn't hard. In most cases, all you need to do is ask. I wasn't surprised at all that many, many writers were willing, and in many cases eager, to jump on for 30 minutes. Writers love to talk about themselves. The high-quality guests have been my podcast's calling card — Dan Shaughnessy, Bob Ryan, Jack McCallum, Helene Elliott, Leigh Montville. It's a murderer's row of sports-writing legends.
I got the idea for the Substack in 2024 for a number of reasons. I'd noticed a lot of journalists were going the Substack route. Like podcasting, the barrier to entry was low — all you need is a laptop, really. So the tools were there. Plus, the stigma of self-publishing had eroded by that point. As recently as 10 years ago, anyone who put out their own website or blogged was seen as kind of a loser, to be honest. The stereotype was that they were living in their mom's basement, or they didn't have the chops to make it in legacy media. Turns out these cats were ahead of their time. It's the complete opposite today. Not only are the legacy media opportunities quickly slipping away, but now being a Substacker is seen as kind of cool. Also by that time I'd been doing a lot of freelance reporting of college hockey for USCHO (U.S. College Hockey Online) and I was around a lot of student reporters. It struck me — here we have a group of young people who appreciate reading and writing, and would probably be eager to read what a seasoned journalist had to say about the profession. The Substack (SportsWritersInc.Substack.com) was born.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
You're a New Hampshire native, but you went to the University of New Mexico. Describe the beauty of The Pit?
JOHN DOYLE:
Ah, the Pit. One of the last great on-campus basketball-only gyms. It's as advertised — loud, intimate, and it's literally a pit. You enter at ground level and the seats and court are below ground. Fill that place with 18,000 basketball fans and, well, you get the picture. Now comes the "old man yelling at cloud" part. Capacity at the Pit is only 15,000 now — of course they had to renovate the place and add a bunch of damn luxury boxes. Also, video boards. Which, I hate to say it, took away a lot of its uniqueness. And the coup de grâce was when they took the band and moved it from the floor and put it near the top rows, all so they could pump in the same damn artificial noise and sound effects like every other arena in the country. Sorry, but I want to hear the band. It's still a cool place to see a game though.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
Let's talk about the underdogs of the athletic experience: bands. Is there a band in New England that deserves our attention?
JOHN DOYLE:
My love for bands goes way back to my days playing alto sax for my high school in Manchester. My brother, a trombonist, took his love for music to the extreme and became a music teacher. One of his first assignments was as the band director at our rival high school, an offense for which I will never forgive him. As far as New England bands go, it begins and ends with UMass, where my brother and brother-in-law played as part of their musical education journey. My son now matriculates there though he is not a musician. The UMass band penetrates the soul. That's the best way to put it. When it marches into the football stadium you can feel it literally in your chest. Their halftime shows are downright inspiring, and you can see it twice because they perform it post game too! Too bad they don't play for a better football team.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
Hockey arenas. Which ones should be on our bucket list and why?
JOHN DOYLE:
If you're talking bucket list, I'd recommend Alfond Arena at the University of Maine. It's like the Pit, but for hockey. It's old school. It's got a low ceiling that locks in all the sound and the student cheering section is perched on a deck, behind one of the nets, that seems to hang directly over it, though I don't think it actually does.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
As a reporter for USCHO.com, you covered the legendary Beanpot. What's so special about this tournament?
JOHN DOYLE:
Stability, really. It's the same four schools — Boston University, Boston College, Harvard and Northeastern, the "Tobacco Road" of college hockey — every year on the first two Mondays of February, and that's unlikely to change any time soon. In the days leading up to the tournament, the organizers tend to lay the nostalgia and schmalz a little thick, in my opinion. But in the end, it always delivers — huge crowds, great atmospheres and usually great games.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
You didn't start out as a sportswriter. What made you pivot and get into it? How'd you break in?
JOHN DOYLE:
Growing up, what I really wanted to do was be a broadcaster. Either a television news reporter or a radio talk-show host. Then in college at the University of New Mexico, I was a communications major but was having trouble progressing toward a degree because all the classes filled up fast. I'm completely serious — this was the days before everyone on the planet had a laptop, so class size was limited because of the number of computer stalls in each classroom. So I switched to creative writing because I needed to graduate within a decade. Also, I liked writing. So then I had my sights set on becoming a novelist or an essayist. But for whatever reason I didn't pursue it as a career. It wasn't until I was in my late 20s and had moved back to New Hampshire that it became painfully obvious that if the subject wasn't sports, I had a hard time writing about it. So I started stringing high school game stories for the newspaper in Dover. I was bitten by the bug. They had a staff position open, I applied and got the job. Later they told me I was their fourth choice — three people had been offered the job and turned it down. Their loss, I guess.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
You've covered a lot of high school sports. Upside? Downside?
JOHN DOYLE:
OK you realize I could and possibly will someday write a book about this? I'll try to keep it short. High school sports coverage is the essence of sports writing in America. How's that for a loaded statement? That's why I bristle at NBC calling their Sunday night pro-football pregame show "Football Night in America." Not only is it a blatant and cheesy rip off of the CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada," it's one game. Friday is "Football Night in America." Don't believe me? Go to Twitter on Friday night and search the phrase "wins the toss" and you'll see what I mean.
Upside? High school sports are everywhere — every town, every city, big and small, coast to coast. Stories abound. You will never run out of things to write about. It's one of the reasons why the demise of local news is a tragedy. Downside? It ain't glamorous. I can't tell you how many times I've stood in the rain, my notebook turning into soup, only to spend the rest of the night soaking wet in my car outside a closed Panera Bread, praying their wifi will stay on so I can file a story.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
What's the make-up of the press box these days? Who's there? Any camaraderie? Have you built any friendships with the next gen?
JOHN DOYLE:
That's a really good question. As I mentioned earlier, since I cover college hockey mostly, there are a lot of student journalists filling up the press boxes these days, and it's pretty cool because in the college-hockey world, they make up I'd say about three quarters of the press corp. Virtually no college hockey teams get covered by the local newspaper anymore, yet the student papers sometimes send up to five reporters to each game. They're sweet kids for the most part and it's tough to think how few full-time jobs are out there for them if this is what they want to do for a career.
As for me, sure, I have a large number of very pleasant colleagues of all ages with whom I share good-natured relationships. But there are cliques. I'll leave it at that.
STADIUM JOURNEY:
You've got a soft spot for Fitchburg State. Please share.
JOHN DOYLE:
Wow, you dug deep. My affection for Fitchburg stems from my affection for obscure, out-of-the-way sports stories. So one day I came across a list that this maniac — I use that term with affection — Bill Connelly of ESPN put together, ranking every single college football program in the country — Divisions I, II and III. At the very bottom of the list — because let's face it, that's where your eyes go when presented with such a list — was good ol' Fitchburg State, No. 760, in Massachusetts. Hey, I thought, that's only about an hour and a half from my house. I knew I had to get to a game. I dragged my wife and younger son along — they're good sports when it comes to this stuff. Plus, we were on our way to Amherst to visit our older son at UMass. We get to the game — beautiful little stadium they have at Fitchburg State. You walk through a wooded path from the parking lot and come to a tree-lined field with a little concrete grandstand built into the side of a small hill. We got there in the first quarter and of course Fitchburg State was getting killed. Halftime came, and a poignant scene unfolded. Trailing 35-zip, the teams went to the locker room, except the Fitchburg kicker. He remained on the field, and he was all alone practicing these long kicks — 35, 40, 50 yards — and missing them all. And it occurred to me, this kid has virtually no chance of attempting one of these kicks in the second half. That was sad enough. But then I turn to the game program to see what this kid's name is, where he's from. Maybe I can do a story on him or something. I look for his number — and he's not even listed on the program. Tragedy. We left at halftime, and later I saw Fitchburg lost 49-zip. I didn't look to see if they attempted a kick. I decided to let the mystery be.
(editor's note: on 10/22/2022, the Fitchburg State Falcons lost to UMass Dartmouth 49-0, in a game that they trailed 35-0 at halftime. Also in attendance that day; Corsairs PA announcer and Stadium Journey President Paul Baker. Small World.)
STADIUM JOURNEY:
And finally, most importantly, what's your gripe with Boston College fans?
JOHN DOYLE:
Wow, you dug really deep. I have nothing against BC fans in general — just BC football fans. Why? One word: Flutie. I've met Doug Flutie and he's a really nice guy. But BC football fans' obsession with this cat who played more than 40 years ago — I just find it irritating. Plus, New England isn't a traditional football area. Sure, there have been plenty of great players from here — Howie Long, Mark Bavaro and a few others. Oh and the Patriots have been fairly successful since the start of the current century. But as Beyonce said — this ain't Texas or Florida or Ohio for that matter. As for New England sports fans whose primary obsession is college football? Let's just say you won't find me hanging out with them.
Jon Hart is @manversusball
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