Re: New Walter Payton book has some shocking revelations

[Sammy Sofa]

You're a great friend. :good:

 

Yeah, I wouldn't be pretending my friend was someone he wasn't.

[Old Style]

No one has done that here. They're just upset & questioning the guy's motive for writing this book now 13 years after Walter's death. It accomplishes nothing but making his bank account larger.

[SpongeWorthy]

If biographies were only written while the subject was still alive with all of the negative stuff white washed out no one would read them and you're left with campaign books and ghost written books for C-list celebrities telling you how to "live life to the fullest."

[erik316wttn]

No one has done that here. They're just upset & questioning the guy's motive for writing this book now 13 years after Walter's death. It accomplishes nothing but making his bank account larger.

 

So what would an appropriate amount of time have been before this bio came out?

[Sammy Sofa]

Actually, it accomplishes having a decent biography about Walter Payton being written.

 

Do you get furious when you walk past the biography section in a book store or library? Because I hate to tell you this, but most of those are written about people after they've died, too. And they're filled with plenty of unflattering things as well.

[Sammy Sofa]

http://www.gq.com/images/entertainment/2010/09/samsung-inspired-by-you/book-washington-a-life.jpg

 

WRITTEN 212 YEARS AFTER HE DIED. CHERNOW, YOU GREEDY HACK.

[SpongeWorthy]

You'd probably have to pay damn near 30 bucks for that Washington biography. For that much money I could raid the bargain bin and buy 15 memoirs written by reality television stars.

[Sammy Sofa]

Listen to the publishers', greedy, scummy description of their greedy scummy book:

 

At five feet ten inches tall, running back Walter Payton was not the largest player in the NFL, but he developed a larger-than-life reputation for his strength, speed, and grit. Nicknamed "Sweetness" during his college football days, he became the NFL's all-time leader in rushing and all-purpose yards, capturing the hearts of fans in his adopted Chicago.

 

Crafted from interviews with more than 700 sources, acclaimed sportswriter Jeff Pearlman has produced the first definitive biography of Payton. Sweetness at last brings fans a detailed, scrupulously researched, all-encompassing account of the legend's rise to greatness. From Payton's childhood in segregated Mississippi, where he ended a racial war by becoming the star of his integrated high school's football team, to his college years and his thirteen-year NFL career, Sweetness brims with stories of all-American heroism, and covers Payton's life off the field as well. Set against the backdrop of the tragic illness that cut his life short at just forty-five years of age, this is a stirring tribute to a singular icon and the lasting legacy he made.

 

DO THESE MONSTERS KNOW NO SHAME?!?

[Old Style]

Actually, it accomplishes having a decent biography about Walter Payton being written.

 

Do you get furious when you walk past the biography section in a book store or library? Because I hate to tell you this, but most of those are written about people after they've died, too. And they're filled with plenty of unflattering things as well.

I'm not furious about this book, Ditka is. And how do you know it's decent? Have you read it?

[Soul]

Listen to the publishers', greedy, scummy description of their greedy scummy book:

 

At five feet ten inches tall, running back Walter Payton was not the largest player in the NFL, but he developed a larger-than-life reputation for his strength, speed, and grit. Nicknamed "Sweetness" during his college football days, he became the NFL's all-time leader in rushing and all-purpose yards, capturing the hearts of fans in his adopted Chicago.

 

Crafted from interviews with more than 700 sources, acclaimed sportswriter Jeff Pearlman has produced the first definitive biography of Payton. Sweetness at last brings fans a detailed, scrupulously researched, all-encompassing account of the legend's rise to greatness. From Payton's childhood in segregated Mississippi, where he ended a racial war by becoming the star of his integrated high school's football team, to his college years and his thirteen-year NFL career, Sweetness brims with stories of all-American heroism, and covers Payton's life off the field as well. Set against the backdrop of the tragic illness that cut his life short at just forty-five years of age, this is a stirring tribute to a singular icon and the lasting legacy he made.

 

DO THESE MONSTERS KNOW NO SHAME?!?

 

I think we got your point 10 posts ago.

[Old Style]

Listen to the publishers', greedy, scummy description of their greedy scummy book:

 

At five feet ten inches tall, running back Walter Payton was not the largest player in the NFL, but he developed a larger-than-life reputation for his strength, speed, and grit. Nicknamed "Sweetness" during his college football days, he became the NFL's all-time leader in rushing and all-purpose yards, capturing the hearts of fans in his adopted Chicago.

 

Crafted from interviews with more than 700 sources, acclaimed sportswriter Jeff Pearlman has produced the first definitive biography of Payton. Sweetness at last brings fans a detailed, scrupulously researched, all-encompassing account of the legend's rise to greatness. From Payton's childhood in segregated Mississippi, where he ended a racial war by becoming the star of his integrated high school's football team, to his college years and his thirteen-year NFL career, Sweetness brims with stories of all-American heroism, and covers Payton's life off the field as well. Set against the backdrop of the tragic illness that cut his life short at just forty-five years of age, this is a stirring tribute to a singular icon and the lasting legacy he made.

 

DO THESE MONSTERS KNOW NO SHAME?!?

So the publishers are hyping this book as the best ever? Shocking.

[SpongeWorthy]

The publishers, SI, and Pearlman made a calculated decision to include the most shocking/negative stuff in the excerpt to generate hype for the book. It's had the effect of pushing the book up the sales charts and getting Pearlman in trouble because people think he's doing a hatchet job. The reviews of people who have read the whole thing say it's pretty damn thorough though.

[Sammy Sofa]

No, I'm pointing out the tone they're going for. Tawdry tell-alls usually are hyped as such. Think Kitty Kelley.

[SpongeWorthy]

I'm just waiting for the definitive Jordan biography. Playing for Keeps is good and Halberstam was one of the best of all time but it borders on hagiography.

[Sammy Sofa]

Actually, it accomplishes having a decent biography about Walter Payton being written.

 

Do you get furious when you walk past the biography section in a book store or library? Because I hate to tell you this, but most of those are written about people after they've died, too. And they're filled with plenty of unflattering things as well.

I'm not furious about this book, Ditka is. And how do you know it's decent? Have you read it?

 

Because the reviews from the people who have read it make it sound very good and well-researched/written. Ditka hasn't read it.

 

It's amazing how many quotes there are like this:

 

“If you're going to wait 12 years after somebody's passed, come on,” Ditka said in an interview on ESPN 1000. “This is the sign of a gutless individual who would do this. Totally gutless who would hide behind that, and that's what he's done.”

 

Ron Rivera, the Carolina Panthers coach who was a teammate of Payton’s, told ESPN 1000: “It’s unfortunate somebody wrote a book and throws that kind of light on somebody who's not here to defend himself . . . I think it's a shame.”

 

“I would just say, ‘why?’ ” Butler said. “What are you trying to accomplish?”

 

I understand the personal connection, but come on, they have to be playing dumb. Do they seriously not understand that comprehensive biographies are almost always written after someone has died? It's not an issue of "oh boy, NOW I can get that damn Walter Payton." The better biographies take a long time to write because of the research is involved. If you're writing a bio about someone who is still alive that information is going to be continually changing. That's why biographies about living people tend to suck (that and because they tend to run to the extremes of either trying to tear someone down or suck up to them). Yes, there are exceptions, but the vast majority are written after the subject has died. It's not like Pearlman is pulling some dirty trick here.

Edited October 4, 2011 by Sammy Sofa

[Sammy Sofa]

I'm just waiting for the definitive Jordan biography. Playing for Keeps is good and Halberstam was one of the best of all time but it borders on hagiography.

 

Exactly.

[SouthSideRyan]

I'm just waiting for the definitive Jordan biography. Playing for Keeps is good and Halberstam was one of the best of all time but it borders on hagiography.

 

I'm on it.

[jersey cubs fan]

I have the book Never Die Easy and don't really think there's any sort of need for a more in depth look into Walter Payton. He was a really good football player, not some leader, decision maker or other important person.

[Soul]

I understand the personal connection, but come on, they have to be playing dumb. Do they seriously not understand that comprehensive biographies are almost always written after someone has died? It's not an issue of "oh boy, NOW I can get that damn Walter Payton." The better biographies take a long time to write because of the research is involved. If you're writing a bio about someone who is still alive that information is going to be continually changing. That's why biographies about living people tend to suck (that and because they tend to run to the extremes of either trying to tear someone down or suck up to them). Yes, there are exceptions, but the vast majority are written after the subject has died. It's not like Pearlman is pulling some dirty trick here.

 

I'm sure you are correct, but I think the emotional reaction is completely understandable. They knew and really cared about him.

[Sammy Sofa]

NDE is an autobiography. There's always room for a biography to contrast what a famous figure has to say about themselves.

[Old Style]

I understand the personal connection, but come on, they have to be playing dumb. Do they seriously not understand that comprehensive biographies are almost always written after someone has died? It's not an issue of "oh boy, NOW I can get that damn Walter Payton." The better biographies take a long time to write because of the research is involved. If you're writing a bio about someone who is still alive that information is going to be continually changing. That's why biographies about living people tend to suck (that and because they tend to run to the extremes of either trying to tear someone down or suck up to them). Yes, there are exceptions, but the vast majority are written after the subject has died. It's not like Pearlman is pulling some dirty trick here.

 

I'm sure you are correct, but I think the emotional reaction is completely understandable. They knew and really cared about him.

Agreed. And, at least as far as I know, all the negative stuff is new information. Jordan's skeletons have already been revealed, so he at least has some chance to address them if he wants to. While some details may be new information, it wouldn't seem as much as a cheap expose like the Payton book seems to some people. I'm not saying that the book shouldn't have been written or that the writer is evil, but I certainly understand why Walter's friends are reacting the way they are. I probably won't ever read the book. I realize that he was human and has his skeletons like every other person. I just don't want to read about them.

[jersey cubs fan]

NDE is an autobiography. There's always room for a biography to contrast what a famous figure has to say about themselves.

 

Eh, it's just not that interesting to me to rehash everything we already know and then add that he was doing drugs and diddling other ladies. He's a football player who died young. I could see if he went from playing into a coaching career and has a legacy that reached into whole lot of other venues. He's not that interesting. Jim Brown is an interesting character to get to know. Paul Robeson is worthy of multiple stories. There is no market for a Walter Payton biography outside of talking about sex and drugs. It's completely disingenuous of Perlman to talk about wanting to go from the bad guys he wrote about to an in depth biography of a good guy and that he only stumbled across the sex and drugs along the way. You don't write that book unless you have the hook of sex and drugs to sell it.

[SpongeWorthy]

I don't think most of Jordan's skeletons have been revealed. Not even close.

[jersey cubs fan]

I understand the personal connection, but come on, they have to be playing dumb. Do they seriously not understand that comprehensive biographies are almost always written after someone has died?

 

At this point I have to think you are playing dumb. They are talking about a person who they felt very strongly about who died. In depth biographies are generally written about much bigger personas than Walter Payton. And most of his friends are all alive, so they are going to defend him.

Edited October 4, 2011 by jersey cubs fan

[Sammy Sofa]

I understand the personal connection, but come on, they have to be playing dumb. Do they seriously not understand that comprehensive biographies are almost always written after someone has died? It's not an issue of "oh boy, NOW I can get that damn Walter Payton." The better biographies take a long time to write because of the research is involved. If you're writing a bio about someone who is still alive that information is going to be continually changing. That's why biographies about living people tend to suck (that and because they tend to run to the extremes of either trying to tear someone down or suck up to them). Yes, there are exceptions, but the vast majority are written after the subject has died. It's not like Pearlman is pulling some dirty trick here.

 

I'm sure you are correct, but I think the emotional reaction is completely understandable. They knew and really cared about him.

 

Emotional and rational thinking aren't mutually exclusive. Granted, yes, we're talking about football players here, but still, I'd figure even they could be mad about something without saying stupid things.