Thursday, April 30, 1998
Access O’Brien
BOOK: Pat O’Brien demystifies professional terms for
non-athletes, speaks out on sports issues
By Stanley L. Johnson Jr.
Daily Bruin Staff
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt clueless,
unsure or just plain dumb when it comes to knowing about sports? If
your answer to this question is yes, then you are not alone.
Pat O’Brien, co-host of the television show "Access Hollywood,"
17-year veteran sports commentator and author of "Talkin’ Sports: A
B.S.-er’s guide," provides the reader with excellent facts,
historical references and timely sports-related questions.
"Talkin’ Sports" is conveniently broken up by month, allowing
for a user-friendly experience. In each of the 12 different
chapters, dominant sports are highlighted by season.
O’Brien writes, "In sports, January means two things. Football.
And more football. And on the very first day of this football
month, you will wake up to newspaper headlines screaming about
college football. Even in churches around the country, they are
talking football with sermons like ‘Jesus is My Quarterback.’
‘Touch-down, Jesus,’ and ‘It’s Not Just a Game.’ You get the
picture."
"Talkin’ Sports" even provides the reader with useful
information about attending a sporting event for the first
time.
For example, he provides practical analogies to help you get to
your first game. "Going to your first sporting event can be as
stressful as attending your first bar mitzvah. So as a novice
attendee of sporting events, you will not want to make any glaring
public errors while trying to impress somebody that you are a
sports kind of person."
Have you ever contemplated what to wear to a sporting event?
Well, fret no more. O’Brien provides valuable tips which are key to
surviving the experience.
"If you are going to a Raiders game, tank tops and anything that
says Marriott or Pepsi on it will do. A Green Bay Packers game
screams for a down sleeping bag. I’m not kidding."
Women’s sports issues are given equal consideration in "Talkin’
Sports." O’Brien conscientiously articulates the role of women in
sports.
An example of this kind of gender sensitivity can be seen in the
way O’Brien shows how Sheryl Swoopes, who now plays in the WNBA,
broke Bill Walton’s points record in a Division I title game.
Others have pointed to Swoopes’ achievement. Few, however, have
taken the time to point out that she actually surpassed NBA legend
Walton’s achievement.
Similarly, O’Brien tells the story of how Nancy Lieberman became
a pioneer in women’s sports by bringing college basketball (across
gender lines) into the mainstream.
"Lieberman captained two national title teams at Old Dominion in
Norfolk, Virginia, and was a three time Kodak all-American,"
O’Brien writes.
O’Brien’s prose and diction are also meticulously chosen, so
that he does not indirectly offend his female audience.
Traditionally, texts that deal with sports or sports-related
issues often tend to cater to a male audience. However, O’Brien’s
text possesses a rare quality of sensitivity that indirectly
eradicates the traditional sexist, misogynistic and patriarchal
language that is prevalent in traditional sports-related prose.
Essentially set up for a layperson who struggles with sports
related-issues, O’Brien’s creative and witty prose allows the
reader to become erudite instead of admitting that he just doesn’t
know what’s going on.
"Talkin’ Sports" is a cogent, well-developed, cleverly crafted
text that affords its reader valuable facts and pertinent
information pertaining to sports.
O’Brien’s experience as a sports journalist makes this
first-person narrative both believable and enjoyably honest.
Access Hollywood
Author, co-host Pat O’Brien.