It's fair to say that Seth Wickersham is a little underrated in the world of sports writing. That's in spite of the fact that he has written a couple of books - "American Kings" and "It's Better to be Feared" - that were both terrific. Both received five-star ratings here for what it's worth.
But Wickersham is remembered more for his work for ESPN. He's a senior writer there, having arrived for the outlet after graduating from college in 2000. It was easy to keep track of him at first, because ESPN was producing a magazine so that was an obvious outlet for him. When that publication died, Wickersham simply moved smoothly over to the website.
That's not a particularly easy spot. ESPN sometimes gets a little too caught up in marketing hype for its various enterprises. In other words, it can be easy to wonder if stories get covered because the company is broadcasting its games somewhere. But it's easy for the network to point at Wickersham's work (as well as some others) and say "See? We do journalism here too." And that's true. Sometimes you may have to search for his stories, but that's a worthwhile project.
A quarter-century isn't a bad excuse to look back at a body of work, and Wickersham had the chance to do exactly that with "Be On That Hill." It's an anthology of some of his favorite stories. (In case you are wondering, the title comes from a lyric of Bruce Springsteen's song, "Darkness on the Edge of Town.")
For someone associated with football, Wickersham throws a curveball at us with a good-sized story about a person who could be called an "extreme climber." In other words, he goes up the face of steep mountains without special equipment. That's a long way from the world of the NFL, and it may not be able to lure in his usual readers.
Happily for some, the subjects become more "conventional" for the rest of the 400-plus pages of text. There are profiles of such people as Sean McVay, Andrew Luck, Patrick Mahomes, Richard Sherman, and Tom Brady. Wickersham throws in a few change-ups along the way, which is nice. Care to know the backstory of the song "We Will Rock You" by Queen and how it came to be so popular at sporting events? It's here. There is a tale of the person who is in charge of euthanizing injured race horses at tracks, an conversation with Kobe Bryant's Colorado prosecutor after the basketball star's accident death, a (mostly) gay rugby team in the San Francisco area, and a relationship turned ugly between a NASCAR driver and his girt friend. I particularly liked a piece on an almost legendary if rare football book by Bill Walsh detailing what went into the job of head coach in the NFL.
Some investigative stories are also included here. There is a seriously deep dive into what went into the not-so-simple transfer of the NFL's Rams and Chargers to Los Angeles. The anthology also contains a look at the demise of the Patriots' dynasty, which obviously covers some similar territory to his book on the New England franchise. Such stories do feel a little dated and complicated at this point, but it's impossible not to be impressed by the work involved.
"Be On That Hill" is on the long side at more than 400 pages of text, and the "mostly but not completely" attempt to emphasize football may not work completely for a few. However, those who take the time will find plenty of rewards along the way, and no doubt will take the time to seek out his work after finishing it.
Four stars
Learn more about this book from Amazon.com. (As an Amazon affiliate, I earn money from qualifying purchases.)
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