I recently discovered Phil Taylor and his work with Sports Illustrated after he was mentioned in an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary I was watching over the summer. I began reading his work from the 90’s and some of his more recent pieces and I’ve never witnessed a more brilliant storyteller.
What Goes Up … Must Come Down, Or So It Seems was an article written by Taylor in 1995. He begins the piece by referring to Michael Jordan basically as a powerful and almighty God. The entire piece is speculating Jordan’s return to the NBA. He describes the anxiety of the fans and how Jordan’s return will rock the basketball world all over again.
As I was reading this article, it felt as if it was a tale about a mystical figure rather than a realistic human being. Taylor is able to dramatize his stories just enough to get the audience on its toes and make us feel like we’re a part of something spectacular. He compared Jordan’s return to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I felt excited as if Jordan was going to descend from the heavens into my living room that very moment.
Taylor has a gift for scene setting, and to me, he’s the best at it. I’ve always struggled with scene setting or anecdotal ledes, making them too cliché and wordy. I admire Taylor’s writing because he takes you there without you even realizing that you’re being sucked in.
He shows this talent best in his Sports Illustrated article Mixed Messages.
This piece was on homosexuality and the challenges athletes face trying to keep their secret hidden and what they are faced with after they come out. This article was written 6 years ago and although times were changing, homosexuality was still taboo in the sports world. Thus, it was also rare for a heterosexual black man to write such an endearing piece about their struggles. It made me feel proud, like the world was becoming a little less awful.
The article was based on Austin Hendrix, a cross country runner at Eastern Michigan who came out to teammates. Although the feature story was based around Hendrix and his journey, Taylor made it relatable and personable to many. Whether homosexual, heterosexual or somewhere in between, he places the reader in someone’s shoes that they probably wouldn’t have related to in everyday life. That’s a gift.