When Will Leitch was working on his latest book, “God Save the Fan,” he had to use a computer with no Internet connection to avoid distraction.
The 37-year-old Leitch is also the founding editor of Deadspin.com, perhaps the Web’s most popular and most impactful sports blog.
He stuck to a routine when working on the book; he blogged in the morning and focused on the book after a midday workout at the gym.
But at its heart, the collection of essays holds true to the site’s perspective. Leitch writes with a voice that is more sports fan than sports reporter. He will read from the new book on Tuesday at Book Soup in Hollywood at 7 p.m.
When he started Deadspin, Leitch writes in the book’s introduction, he wanted to “write about sports the way we talk about sports.”
The book, too, stays connected to what Leitch values most in the sports universe: the fans.
“Originally, the book was going to be 25 3,000-word essays,” Leitch said in an interview Monday. “Then I was like, “˜These are way too long.’ I wanted to get across what I wanted to say, but I wanted people to enjoy it, too.”
The book is separated into four parts, with essays on players, owners, media and fans. Some are more lengthy, such as the book’s opening essay on steroids. Others are shorter, such as the hilarious “Carl Monday is Watching You Masturbate.”
At times, Leitch’s fandom can seem a bit overzealous; his defense of fantasy sports is an example.
But, then again, aren’t all sports fans a bit overzealous?
Leitch’s roots trace back to print journalism. He was once the sports editor of his college newspaper. That experience, he said, convinced him not to follow the typical path of a sports reporter.
“The idea of going out to get that boring quote and then going to write that boring story just seemed awful,” Leitch said. “My big fear was that nobody looked like they really enjoyed sports ““ nobody seemed to be having a very good time.”
Leitch somehow found a way to do his own thing.
He moved to New York and “starved for a few years,” he said. Then he caught a break starting a Web site with three other struggling writers, The Black Table. It was Leitch’s work on that Web site that eventually led him back into the world of sports, when he started Deadspin.
There were sports blogs before Deadspin, but it was arguably Leitch’s site that brought the new form to the forefront. He routinely collected tips from insiders and broke stories that other media outlets were unwilling to report. Now mainstream sports sites have blogs of their own.
“God Save the Fan” is both a mark of how greatly the sports blogosphere has evolved since the founding of Deadspin and a look at where the new culture of sports fans is headed.
“I have a firm “˜no press box’ rule that I stick to,” Leitch said in the interview.
Leitch said he isn’t sure if he wants to stick with sports writing for the rest of his career. He has another book in the works that has nothing to do with sports. But for now, with the release of “God Save the Fan,” Leitch is certainly an example of a new way of writing about sports.