The Man that led the Way

The one guy that I can legitimately call my journalistic hero is Rick Reilly. His column locked up the back page of Sports Illustrated for as long as I remember. There would be days when I would come home from school and my mom would have a not attached to the Sports Illustrated instructing me to go to the back of it and read his article.

Rick Reilly really made Sports Illustrated special. I would make a point to read his article every week. His words were put together so well that every week reading his work would give me goosebumps. He had some great articles that I will never forget. The one that always comes to mind is the one about the father that did the ironman marathon while carrying his son with him the whole time. The way he told this story on the back page of Sports Illustrated made me wish that there was some way I could do anything like that.

Now he is on to new things. He just signed a contract to write for ESPN the Magazine that is reported to be for 5 years and $10 million. ESPN the Magazine now has the two most popular sports writers in the country with Reilly and Bill Simmons. Without the help of Rick Reilly I don't think that I would be interested in journalism to the extent that I am now. He really is my journalistic hero.