I am not an avid football fan. Although I will tune into a game and have spent many a Saturday afternoon sitting on the splintering benches of California Memorial Stadium at the University of California, Berkeley, I was not invested in Super Bowl 2017.
However, The Guardian’s Tom Lutz’s colorful recap of the game was, while not quite as lively as Lady Gaga’s halftime performance, entertaining and enjoyable. Lutz seems to be aware that a basic play by play of any sports match isn’t an exciting read, so he spices it up by taking it upon himself to cast aside his news voice and write honestly.
One can tell that Lutz is passionate about Super Bowl, and it is far more enjoyable to read the thoughts of someone who actually cares about the topic they are reporting on than an attempt to sound enthused by an apathetic person. Lutz’s uses colorful language in his recap, such as when he refers to the Patriots’ victory as “a frenzied, brain-frying climax,” that has more life breathed into it than a simple “the Patriots won in overtime.”
Lutz also displays his skill as a storyteller by reminding readers of the Patriots history throughout the season. Boston’s home team is painted as the underdogs rising to the challenge after Tom Brady, the starting quarterback, spent the first four games of the season on the bench after he was found guilty of deflating footballs in order to give himself and his team the advantage over opponents.
It is an interesting twist to present the Patriots as the underdogs considering that the Atlanta Falcons, the Pats rivals in the Super Bowl, had not been to the Super Bowl in decades prior to Sunday’s match and have yet to win a Super Bowl. On the other hand, the Patriots won the Super Bowl two years ago in 2015. Lutz’s continues to cast the Patriots as the underdogs throughout the piece, citing the Falcons 28-3 lead at the start of the quarter. And, to be fair, Lutz reports that no team has ever come back and won the Super Bowl from as far behind.
Lutz’s piece was entertaining on account of its inclusion of color and the narrative that it crafted, which goes to show that journalists are ultimately storytellers, no matter the subject they are reporting on.
If you’d like to read Tom Lutz’s Super Bowl 2017 recap, you can view it at this link: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/feb/05/new-england-patriots-super-bowl-51-champions-atlanta-falcons
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