Bill Simmons Must Be Stopped
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by user Chachi
My goodness! What has happened to this man? At one point and time Bill Simmons was one of my favorite writers, I even had a Bill Simmons Fan Tag. His ideas and approach to both sports and writing used to seem fresh and interesting. But now, I honestly can't stand him anymore (and yes, as of today the Fan Tag has been removed).
I mean come on, how many trips to Vegas with your buddies do we need to read about. Yes, we know...you smoked, drank, and gambled. You and every other freakin' guy in Vegas that weekend. Congratulations, you're unoriginal. What else do you have for us? Oh, a diary of some sort. Great, something that will drag on for 3,000 words with 87 obscure references only you and six other NBA fanatics will get. Now there is something that carries mass appeal.
But these aren't the reasons why I'm really perturbed at him. I'm really bothered because it seems like the only two things he can talk about any more are television shows (especially horrible reality shows) and the NBA (which is horrible in its own right). Actually, if you look at his latest work it all centers around these two things. I think 98 of his last 100 articles, podcasts, blogs, and chats have centered on these two topics. And almost every NBA piece centers around how bad the league is, how bad the players are, or how incompetent the front offices have become. If it is so damn horrible, stop writing about it. Also, if it's so bad, what makes you think we want to read about it? And the obsession with reality tv is killing me. I mean seriously, what self-respecting sports writer does one of his first five podcasts ever with Alton from the Real World.
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Simmons use to write about other things. I may be crazy, but I swear he has a best selling book about baseball out there somewhere. His Red Sox own the best record in baseball, the Yankees are falling all over themselves, and all Simmons is worried about is making mock drats? I use to realy enjoy his baseball writing, but I think I need to go to his archives from 2006 just to find an article dealing with it for more than a paragraph.
And yes, I am well aware that I don't have to read his stuff and he doesn't have to do anything. I just want to get that out there for all the Simmons Supporters who may jump all over me. I'm just writing this as a fan of sports and as a fan of quality sports writing. This is my opinion, feel free to disagree. Also, there is nothing in here that I haven't basically said to Simmons in an e-mail to him. I have written him e-mails at least twice asking him to throw us a bone with a decent baseball article once in awhile, but all he does is prattle on about the NBA. So it is not like I'm just talking trash. I am a genuinely concerned fan of his who has a beef to pick with him. I just hope that he gets his act together because he has reportedly gotten a new four year deal with ESPN that will include some tv work. And, I don't want to have to change the channel every time he comes on to save myself from putting my foot through the TV.
