Fans who savor and appreciate long-form sports journalism and investigative reporting were saddened last week with the demise of HBO’s “Real Sports.”
After 29 years, 37 Sports Emmys and a Peabody Award, the Bryant Gumbel-hosted program ended with a poignant 90-minute special.
Gumbel, the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award earlier this year, told the Washington Post he felt the show enjoyed a special place within the sports universe.
“I think the show is going to be remembered as a show that tried to do sports journalism the right way and tried to treat fans, athletes, and sports with a degree of respect.”
“Real Sports” covered both tough issues and oddball, entertaining characters. It didn’t shy away from controversy, but it never became so pedantic or academic that only a tiny segment of the sports audience could understand or appreciate the stories.
Their demise is the latest in a series of blows for those seeking alternatives to the “hot take,” blustery personality driven model that now characterizes much of sports television, especially on cable.
Now it would be both unfair and inaccurate to dismiss all current radio and television sports talk shows as “dumb,” or denigrate the audiences that enjoy them.
In truth, many are hosted by past or in some cases current print journalists, several who are extremely intelligent and smart enough to play characters (or in some cases caricatures) on the air.
But these programs are first and foremost entertainment, whether it’s insulting or ridiculing athletes who don’t meet the hosts’ performance standards, or athletes using podcasts to attack media types.
These programs can be comical, fascinating or shameful, but they don’t make any pretense of doing anything beyond presenting opinions and being showcases for various personalities.
“Real Sports” tried to do much more than that. Whether you agreed with the conclusions reached at the end of their pieces, the show’s correspondents provided audiences with facts and context on numerous vital issues in the sports world. They went beyond who won or lost, how much money some athletes made, or how many titles they won.
The end of “Real Sports” is a major blow to journalism in general and sports coverage in particular. It will be sorely missed.
The final episode of “Real Sports” can be viewed on both HBO and Max.