Happy Trails, Peter King!
Paying tribute to one of the best sports writers there ever was as he heads into retirement...
I’ve been dreading this moment for weeks. Months. Years, even.
Every Monday for the last little while I’ve opened Peter King’s legendary ‘Football Morning In America’ column, wondering if that was going to be the day the news I’d been bracing myself for finally jumped out of the laptop screen and hit me firmly in the gut.
I began to read last week’s column with a little trepidation, fearing that was going to be the day a decade-plus ritual on a Monday morning would come to a melancholic end. Instead, after not seeing the one bit of news I’d been desperately hoping would never come, I began to hope that maybe I’d avoided it for another year.
That was being way too optimistic.
Upon waking up this morning, I reached for my phone as I always do and began scrolling Twitter. It was then that I saw the post from my all-time favorite writer / reporter that first suggested his time to ride off into the sunset had come. After hastily clicking the attached link to open the column, my worst fears were confirmed.
The all-time great, iconic Peter King, one of the best football writers to have ever graced the industry, announced his retirement in one last Monday column that was perhaps the toughest one to read for somebody who hasn’t failed to read a single one for well over a decade.
I think we all saw this day coming. I mean, Peter himself had dropped hints over the past couple of years that maybe his all-time run as one of the most naturally-gifted football scribes ever to live was nearing an end. He had been covering Pro Football for over 40 years, after all. It still doesn’t make it any less easier, however, to know that I will no longer get the euphoric joy of reading Peter’s unrivaled views on football, life, baseball, travel, beer, coffee and so, so, so much more first thing on a Monday morning.
I’ll miss those wonderfully clever Adieu Haiku’s, too.
But if anyone deserves to gleefully dance into retirement, it is Peter. What a career. What a legacy. What an imprint he has left on the game of football and, indeed, on sportswriting.
What an impact he’s had on generations of football fans and aspiring writers / reporters.
Below are some personal thoughts on what Peter King meant to me - a stupid kid in England with lofty aspirations of making it in America as a sports writer.
Where do I even begin.
For those of you who regularly read the website - and for that, I thank you deeply - then you will be all too familiar with my admiration for Peter King. I’ve written about it ad nauseam.
But for good reason.
You see, Peter can lay claim more than most people for being responsible for this very website being in existence. He’s played as big a role as most in my career up until now. He’s had arguably the biggest influence on me as I’ve thrown all caution to the wind, embraced every single risk thrown my way and relentlessly and passionately pursued my ultimate goal, my preordained destiny, of being a sports writer in America.
Even if he doesn’t know it.
I don’t know Peter. He wouldn’t be able to pick me out of a lineup if he tried, but he’s influenced me from afar stretching back well over a decade now. Ever since I first stumbled upon one of his cover stories in the once-hallowed covers of Sports Illustrated, I strived to follow my dreams and dedicate my entire life to becoming a respected and successful sports writer.
Just like Peter.
Reading the beauty of the written word that flooded from the genius mind of Peter and onto the page quickly became a daily ritual. There wasn’t a day that went by where I didn’t try to consume at least a kernel of Peter King content.
When The MMQB was launched - the site dedicated to covering the NFL in-depth - I was afforded the luxury of even more content from one of my favorite writers of all-time. It was pure heaven.
I devoured every single word of Peter’s iconic marathon columns, becoming smarter for what I’d just consumed. A lot smarter. And I have a pretty strong feeling that the vast majority of those who read The MMQB religiously every single Monday felt exactly the same way.
Reading Peter’s deep dive into the hottest topics around the NFL became a hallowed and sacred ritual.
Every single Monday I’d wake up, drag myself out of bed, make myself a steaming hot cup of coffee, open up the laptop or the iPad and then get comfortable before settling in for an hour of pure pleasure. Yes, it would take me an hour to read The MMQB - and then FMIA - because I’d routinely re-read certain sections of the column, particularly the nuggets of gold that took you into the heart of a Super Bowl winning play or into the mindset of a certain NFL personality.
But what pushed Peter’s epically long columns over the top - for me, at least - was the non-football stuff. I enjoyed reading insights into his personal life. I cherished the slew of book recommendations and the nods to other must-read articles that week. I lived for his recommendations on the best coffee and beer each week. And I absolutely loved reading Peter’s thoughts on baseball in the ‘Things I Think I Think’ section of the column. Peter, like me, is a devout baseball fan and it was always compelling to digest his views on the game today, as well as his thoughts on his Red Sox. Man, I wish Peter would turn his hand to baseball writing here and there in retirement. Now that would be a real treat.
Basically, reading Peter’s column was like having a conversation about football, and about life and sports, with your best friend in a bar. That’s what it felt like every single Monday. And that’s what I’m going to miss the most.
I think what I will take away most from Peter, however, is his insatiable appetite for the job and his exemplary work ethic. I’m a Double-A player, at best, in terms of my talent when it comes to writing - I am worlds away from being a Hall of Fame wordsmith - and I know that. But what Peter taught me, and so many others, is that obsession is gonna beat out talent every single time and in order to be successful in this business, you need to be able to outwork your peers 24/7, seven days a week. Peter certainly did that. And then some.
Writing 10,500 words and more in a single column every single Monday is no easy task - trust me, it takes me hours and a whole lot of brain power to write just a small chunk of that - but Peter delivered insight and greatness every single Monday morning without fail. The kind of rare insight and greatness you would not find anywhere else.
Make no mistake about it, though, Peter was and still is one hell of a writer and he did it with so much joy. The love for football, the love for storytelling, the love for the written word, all of that came through in his writing and that resonated deeply with me. That’s exactly how I approach what I do when I sit down at the laptop and begin to type away.
I wish I could write like Peter King. But, one thing I know for certain, I’ll always strive to work as hard as he did. He remains the shining beacon of greatness that I’m never going to stop chasing. I may never reach that peak, but I’m going to sure try.
Peter has been one of the last conduits of great storytelling, and it has been the absolute pleasure of a lifetime to read one of the best who ever did it.
Monday mornings just won’t be the same without you, Peter.
Happy retirement. You’ve sure as hell earned it.
