I have been searching for a word or term that describes the following feeling – things were so much better back in 19XX than they are now. I found a word online, “presentism” that caught my eye but doesn’t really fit how I feel. Presentism is judging the past using today’s standards and values, judging artists, politicians, celebrities for their actions a century ago (or some time in the past) using 2025’s values and moral standards. Nope, it’s not presentism. It is something else – nostalgia.

Nostalgia is a yearning, a longing, an affection for the past, a happy place if you will in your heart, mind, and soul. Nostalgia is picking up a baseball glove and remembering a day in your youth when you pitched a game in front of your Mom. Nostalgia is reading the back of a baseball card and recalling the time you and your grandfather went to a Red Sox game and saw your baseball hero hit a home run. Nostalgia could be a pen or a Christmas ornament or a road sign or a song – which brings you back to a happy place in your life. Yep, nostalgia is the word and term I have been seeking.

I get very nostalgic during the holiday months. How can you not with children? I have photos and ornaments and books strewn around my house that remind me of the wonderful times I had as a parent with my 3 sons growing up. The happy places I visit by looking at a photo or hanging an ornament or hearing a Christmas song are so special, I cannot possibly put the feelings into words. Being nostalgic is fun and emotional and can be frustrating if you allow it to be. Not everything that once was remains. Life moves on in reality, in the present and it can be even more stressful if you constantly live in the past. For example…

When I was growing up, Sunday mornings were a special day in my household. After church and hitting the local Donut shops of North Kingstown, I would sit in my mother’s living room and read through the entire Sunday paper. The Sunday paper weighed about 10 lbs. – 10 lbs. of paper I kid you not. There were national news sections, local news sections, classified ads, the TV guide, wedding announcements, and the best sports section all week. The sports section had news and stats and color photos and cartoons and interviews and upcoming events. With my sports knowledge upgraded through reading (and not some YouTube video), I retained so much ridiculous useless sports (mostly baseball) knowledge that I still have today. And use when I meet someone with a Providence College Friars shirt or Boston Bruins hat or Boston Red Sox sweatshirt. Reading the Sunday paper section by section, especially those sports sections, made me want to become a writer.

Fast forward into my early adulthood and another awesome Sunday morning nostalgic sports memory – The Sports Reporters. Having read the newspaper for so many years and respected sports reporting nationwide, a show on TV caught my attention and I was hooked for decades. ESPN, the sports cable network that now just talks about football, gathered a panel of national sports writers in a room with a host and they talked about sports for an hour. The moderator would introduce a subject, then ask the esteemed panel to talk about it intelligently. They talked tennis, baseball, hockey, golf, football, basketball, college sports and they gave their educated analysis and opinions. And there were panelists from various papers in Boston, NY, Washington, D.C., and Detroit with different views and opinions and I loved every minute of every show for the intelligent content and civilized discussions.

I am feeling nostalgic about my Sunday Sports Reporter Mornings growing up and into my young adulthood because they were better times than today. Reading the Sunday paper, absorbing all that great sports trivia, paying close attention to how writers phrase things or describe an event – all that remains in my life in 2025 as a baseball storyteller. Watching the Sports Reporters then, listening to how you present an argument, defend it, back it up with facts, and establish your position in a debate – that is a lost art in today’s opinionated sports media. The Sports Reporters of old – they had clout. They covered World Series games and Kentucky Derby’s and Super Bowls and US Opens and Masters Golf Tournaments. The Sports Reporters of today are mostly former professional athletes who speak well on camera or are outrageous enough to get on a panel or check the box for being attractive. In my strong opinion, most sports reporters today do not have the clout to be reporting about sports on TV or in print.

I established an amazing foundation of sports writing by reading the Sunday paper and watching the original Sports Reporters. I remember my inked stained fingers needed a solid washing with soap when I was done with that 10 lbs. of glorious news from around the world, around the neighborhood, and around the ballpark. I remember sitting and watching as Mike Lupica debated Bob Ryan about a pitcher throwing at a batter in an important game and left my seat thinking both stated their case with dignity. I was introduced to great, I mean all-time great writers from the Providence Journal, NY Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe every Sunday morning and dreamed of following in their footsteps someday. Were these sports writers prom kings, maybe? Were they cover models for GQ magazine, nope. Did they stand on tables and rip their ties off in an outrageous attention seeking display to get their point across, absolutely not. Those sports reporters, in print and on TV, won me over with clout and expert analysis and dignity – that’s it.

To sum up, sports reporting on Sunday or any day for that matter was way better when I was growing up than it is now. Not even close!!! Phew, rant over, back to the present, back to reality, and exhale. For the present day sports reporter, in my opinion, it is about shock and attention drawing statements and actions that mirror more entertainment than sports reporting. The reality is sports reporting is now 100% visual, so you have to check different boxes than you did 25, 30, 40 years ago. For me, I try to pattern my sports reporting, my storyteller on the principles of the writers I grew up emulating. I cannot be someone I am not.

Thoughts, opinions, disagreements, nostalgic items of your sports Sundays- message me anytime.