Guest Post: An Open Letter to SI and Tom Verducci

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A lot of folks in Philly are less than thrilled with Sports Illustrated's decision to not give the Phillies' first World Series win in 28 years its own cover. Nationally, the win was but a post-it on a picture of upright citizen Albert Haynesworth. In the mid-Atlantic region, the prominences were reversed, but a text box sullies the great picture of our moment of moments. In the following letter to SI and Tom Verducci, who penned the cover-crowding letter to Bug Selig, Dan Roche sums what a lot of Philadelphians are feeling.


I am writing to you as a life-long fan of both the Phillies and your
magazine. Having experienced plenty of disappointment by the former,
the latest dose from your publication was no less severe.

The city of Philadelphia waited a quarter-century between major sports
championships. And for this reader, the anticipation of seeing how the
event would be immortalized by the photographers and wordsmiths at SI
is just as integral as the celebration in the streets on the night of
the clinching game and the subsequent parade that followed.

The last -- and only -- time the Phillies conquered Baseball's Mount
Olympus, back in 1980, they were passed over for the cover of the
subsequent SI issue by marathoner Alberto Salazar (take a second to
think about that). When I received the latest issue in the mail, I
hoped for retribution. I began at the photo of an enraptured Brad Lidge
and Carlos Ruiz, and making my way down the cover (which I imagined
framing in my unborn child's room), saw that the picture had been
sullied by a box filled with the beginning of a letter from columnist
Tom Verducci to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. (I now know by skimming
your website that the national cover went not to the Phillies, but to
Albert Haynesworth, who, at last check, hasn't won anything besides a
5-game suspension for stomping a helmetless foe 2 seasons ago.)


I immediately opened to the article, which only intensified my
apoplexy. Verducci mentions the Phillies only tangentially to make his
points to improve the World Series to make it more fan-friendly. Well,
sir, I am a fan, and friendly is not what I'm feeling right now.

Verducci manages to step off the soapbox long enough to give back story
on Charlie Manuel's journey through hardship. During this portion of
the article (paragraph 23), we stumble over the fact that yes, the
Phillies won the 2008 World Series. And only after the end of the 30th
paragraph (of 32) does Verducci stop to mention any of the players by
name. Maybe space-filler?

I've never written a letter like this to voice my displeasure. I
certainly hope Mr. Verducci got Commissioner Selig's attention with
this article, and elicited a response that is within a toll call of the
feelings I'm experiencing right now.

This article is self-serving, aimless drivel. And if folks weren't
interested in watching the World Series, as you imply, they certainly
wouldn't have wasted any time side-stepping the photos that bracketed
your pointless ramblings.

At the risk of prolonging a stereotype, Verducci, boo.

Note: SI also released a Commemorative Edition. Perhaps with the regular issue covers, they hoped to sell more of that? We're a little puzzled by the decision, with an obvious bias.

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