--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is the very structure of sports…" description: "\"“This is the very structure of sports journalism: deification and damnation, death and resurrection, failure and redemption. You succeed so you can fal..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/will-leitch-52501_death_this-is-the-very-structure-of-sports-jou_2554069.jpg" --- # This is the very structure of sports journalism… ![“This is the very structure of sports journalism: deification and damnation, death and resurrection, failure and redemption. You succeed so you can falter so you can succeed again. We need a rise and a fall. We need hubris and retribution and recovery.” quote by Will Leitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/will-leitch-52501_death_this-is-the-very-structure-of-sports-jou_2554069.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/will-leitch-52501_death_this-is-the-very-structure-of-sports-jou_2554069.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/will-leitch-52501_death_this-is-the-very-structure-of-sports-jou_2554069.jpg) > ““This is the very structure of sports journalism: deification and damnation, death and resurrection, failure and redemption. You succeed so you can falter so you can succeed again. We need a rise and a fall. We need hubris and retribution and recovery.”” [Will Leitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-leitch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sports media thrives on extremes, celebrating triumphs and failures alike to create compelling narratives. **In simple terms:** Sports stories focus on highs and lows. Key Takeaway Embrace both success and failure. Themes sports media storytelling heroism redemption Mood critical analytical reflective Type commentary observational When to use this quote - sports journalism - media analysis - personal branding - public speaking - marketing Key Concepts Narrative cycles public perception celebration of failure heroic fall recovery Questions to Reflect On - How does this cycle affect athletes’ mental health? - Can balanced reporting improve public perception? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on drama can distort reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [When I applied for Channel 4 I was a sports journalist. I saw it as another sports journalism job, if I'm honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-brooker/when-i-applied-for-channel-4-i-was-a-sports-journalist-i-saw-it-as/) [Alex Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-brooker/) > [The '30 for 30' strand started life as a series of behind-the-scenes docs for the sports channel ESPN. It has now spawned an equally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hepworth/the-30-for-30-strand-started-life-as-a-series-of-behind-the-scenes/) [David Hepworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hepworth/) > [Every person working in sports journalism today owes a tremendous debt to Howard Cosell. His greatest contribution was elevating sports reporting out of daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roone-arledge/every-person-working-in-sports-journalism-today-owes-a-tremendous/) [Roone Arledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roone-arledge/) > [Sports journalism is in the midst of an identity crisis so profound that we no longer know whether we're made up of one word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-leavy/sports-journalism-is-in-the-midst-of-an-identity-crisis-so-profound/) [Jane Leavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-leavy/) > [One of sports journalism's great ironies is that covering an Olympics can be wildly unhealthy. NBC shows athletes in peak health performing on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pilon/one-of-sports-journalism-s-great-ironies-is-that-covering-an-olympics/) [Mary Pilon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pilon/) > [ \[The web\] is going to end up being a tremendous advantage, providing we can work out the financial structure. I think we’ll see newspapers… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/the-web-is-going-to-end-up-being-a-tremendous-advantage-providing-we/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [Early experience shapes the structure and function of the brain. This reveals the fundamental way in which gene expression is determined by experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-siegel/early-experience-shapes-the-structure-and-function-of-the-brain-this/) [Daniel J. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-siegel/) > [I just think structure can make a book feel so much bigger. It's the architecture. You could use flimsy materials if you wanted to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/i-just-think-structure-can-make-a-book-feel-so-much-bigger-it-s-the/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) > [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I am moved more by melodies, song structure, and evocative textures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geddy-lee/i-am-moved-more-by-melodies-song-structure-and-evocative-textures/) [Geddy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geddy-lee/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) Riffat Hassan > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) ## More by Will Leitch > [I consider what I do on Deadspin to be based in the foundations of journalism, yes, based on the foundations of journalism that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-leitch/i-consider-what-i-do-on-deadspin-to-be-based-in-the-foundations-of/) [Will Leitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-leitch/) > [The key thing is, don't worry about if anyone is reading you or not. Figure out your voice and figure out what you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-leitch/the-key-thing-is-don-t-worry-about-if-anyone-is-reading-you-or-not/) [Will Leitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-leitch/) > [“Four years of sitting in your room reading, and now you're out here with the common folk," I say. "What did inspire you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-leitch/four-years-of-sitting-in-your-room-reading-and-now-you-re-out-here/) [Will Leitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-leitch/) > [“I was just growing old enough to start realizing my own limitations, which is the first step to dying, I think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-leitch/i-was-just-growing-old-enough-to-start-realizing-my-own-limitations/) [Will Leitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-leitch/) > [As inherently franchise-altering as drafts are, as monumental as they can be in the sport's history, you still can't get past the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-leitch/as-inherently-franchise-altering-as-drafts-are-as-monumental-as-they/) [Will Leitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-leitch/) > [True baseball fans do not cheer for their teams to win; they cheer for them not to lose. Victory does not come with joy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-leitch/true-baseball-fans-do-not-cheer-for-their-teams-to-win-they-cheer-for/) [Will Leitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-leitch/) [Explore all 7 Will Leitch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-leitch/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is the very structure of sports journalism: deification and damnation, death and resurrection, failure and redemption. You succeed so you can falter so you can succeed again. We need a rise and a fall. We need hubris and retribution and recovery.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Will Leitch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-leitch/this-is-the-very-structure-of-sports-journalism-deification-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-leitch/this-is-the-very-structure-of-sports-journalism-deification-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/will-leitch-52501_death_this-is-the-very-structure-of-sports-jou_2554069.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/will-leitch-52501_death_this-is-the-very-structure-of-sports-jou_2554069.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/will-leitch-52501_death_this-is-the-very-structure-of-sports-jou_2554069.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is the very structure of sports journalism: deification and damnation, death and resurrection, failure…” — Will Leitch", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Will Leitch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-leitch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“This is the very structure of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-leitch/this-is-the-very-structure-of-sports-journalism-deification-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-leitch/this-is-the-very-structure-of-sports-journalism-deification-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```