Tim Russert... not just a political junkie, but a sports fan
by: BIsACE
I'm sure than many of you have heard about the passing of Tim Russert and I am also sure that there are many here that are not big on politics so you don't realize the maginitude of his death. Hopefully after reading this you will be enlightened as I was last year.
I had the opporunity to meet Russert and watch a live taping of his show "Meet the Press." Ask anyone that knows me and they will tell you that I despise and don't care about politics, but Russert made me care. After watching him grill several politicians in a polite, direct, cynical and professional manner it made me think. This is what journalism is and why the first amendment is so key to democrazy, so much so that journalists are the only professionals protected in the Bill of Rights.
Sure Russert's revelation to me is one of those " you had to be there" moments, but that encounter did not end with me watching him breakdown and get information out of these politicians as if he were unwraping a Christmas gift. It went further when Russert held a QandA session afterwards and those in attendance got to learn about the man. He was a blue collar Buffalo man who was a student of the journalism game, more so he was not just a political junkie. But rather he was also a die hard sports fan as anyone who regularly checks this site.
Russert and I bantered about the Cowboys and Bills, I am a diehard Dallas fan while Russert was a huge Bills fan. Anyway, that debate and interaction with him got me more interested. We talked more sports and I found out that he was a big Wizards fan, Nationals fan and still a Yankees fan. And he was not one of those snootie people that went to games in a tie just because it was cool, he would get courtside tickets and go to a game as a real fan.
With this revelation I sought advice from him and he had told me that doing my homework for anystory and any interview would make you sucessful. And he was right and lived that motto every day of his life.
This political season will be different without Russert de-boning the canidates, but it will also be different because many will remeber him as a huge sports fan. And that his how he probably would have wanted to be remembered...as a sports fan. Sure he was in politics, but in his heart he was all about sports just as any of us. So if you didnt know his work or lived under a rock for years, take a moment of rememberance for one of the most influential journalists of all-time.
Russert held a Q
Comments:
Every Wizards game I went to this year, they would show Russert and the Bald dude with the sunglasses who's also on Meet the Press in their court seats cheering on their times. Great journalist, and always seemed like a good man, even though I never got to meet him. May he rest in peace.
Most Respectfully,
UnitedSkins
I've always admired Tim Russert, he was a great political analyst, and seemed like a great man. May he R.I.P
by:
doood Jun 14 2008 12:02AM
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