Guest Post: An Open Letter to SI and Tom Verducci

A lot of folks in Philly are less than thrilled with Sports Illustrated's decision to not give the Phillies' first World Series win in 28 years its own cover. Nationally, the win was but a post-it on a picture of upright citizen Albert Haynesworth. In the mid-Atlantic region, the prominences were reversed, but a text box sullies the great picture of our moment of moments. In the following letter to SI and Tom Verducci, who penned the cover-crowding letter to Bug Selig, Dan Roche sums what a lot of Philadelphians are feeling.

I am writing to you as a life-long fan of both the Phillies and your magazine. Having experienced plenty of disappointment by the former, the latest dose from your publication was no less severe.

The city of Philadelphia waited a quarter-century between major sports championships. And for this reader, the anticipation of seeing how the event would be immortalized by the photographers and wordsmiths at SI is just as integral as the celebration in the streets on the night of the clinching game and the subsequent parade that followed.

The last -- and only -- time the Phillies conquered Baseball's Mount Olympus, back in 1980, they were passed over for the cover of the subsequent SI issue by marathoner Alberto Salazar (take a second to think about that). When I received the latest issue in the mail, I hoped for retribution. I began at the photo of an enraptured Brad Lidge and Carlos Ruiz, and making my way down the cover (which I imagined framing in my unborn child's room), saw that the picture had been sullied by a box filled with the beginning of a letter from columnist Tom Verducci to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. (I now know by skimming your website that the national cover went not to the Phillies, but to Albert Haynesworth, who, at last check, hasn't won anything besides a 5-game suspension for stomping a helmetless foe 2 seasons ago.)

I immediately opened to the article, which only intensified my apoplexy. Verducci mentions the Phillies only tangentially to make his points to improve the World Series to make it more fan-friendly. Well, sir, I am a fan, and friendly is not what I'm feeling right now.

Verducci manages to step off the soapbox long enough to give back story on Charlie Manuel's journey through hardship. During this portion of the article (paragraph 23), we stumble over the fact that yes, the Phillies won the 2008 World Series. And only after the end of the 30th paragraph (of 32) does Verducci stop to mention any of the players by name. Maybe space-filler?

I've never written a letter like this to voice my displeasure. I certainly hope Mr. Verducci got Commissioner Selig's attention with this article, and elicited a response that is within a toll call of the feelings I'm experiencing right now.

This article is self-serving, aimless drivel. And if folks weren't interested in watching the World Series, as you imply, they certainly wouldn't have wasted any time side-stepping the photos that bracketed your pointless ramblings.

At the risk of prolonging a stereotype, Verducci, boo.

Note: SI also released a Commemorative Edition. Perhaps with the regular issue covers, they hoped to sell more of that? We're a little puzzled by the decision, with an obvious bias.

Comments

[brett]

Yeah its BS, my excitment and willingness to get the SI package for the championship went out the window when I saw the cover for this thing.

Side note: I went to blockbuster yesterday and the commemorative DVD for the Phillies is coming out on Nov 25th. SI's DVD i believe is just the WS while this new one is about the season. Sorry SI Ill be buying their products instead of yours now, and NOT getting a subscription

[theKrisheim]

they still print magazines?

[PhillyPSU]

Come on, no one's given a crap about SI for 5-10 years. (That's how long it's been since I subscribed). They lost their way a long time ago. They don't listen to the fans anymore than MLB or Fox does.
That's why forums like this get so much attention--because they're for us and by us. Leave SI to their self-important bloviating and just frame your Inquirer/Daily News.

[Jeff]

I have to admit I was very disappointed in SI. I have not really liked their magazine for a while, and have been thinking of canceling my subscription. I think ESPN mag has better coverage now (all though I don't care for the awkwardly oversized pages) but this was the last straw. I felt the same way, wanting to frame this magazine...thinking of days past when you saw the Yankees and RedSox storming the mound on the cover. When I was walking past a news stand and picked it up, I smiled. Then I looked closer and I was very upset. Who would frame this?? Sullied is the perfect word to describe this. So sad. DEAR BUD. How about Dear SI, you officially suck now. And then to open up and read the article, you would've thought the WS happened months ago and this was simply a follow up to the poor ratings. Absolutely disappointing. And how can one of the suggestions be to give more backstory prior to and during the world series? How about a little BACK STORY IN YOUR ARTICLE. How did they get here? How did Brad Lidge get run out of a town to be our perfect hero? How did a team that was dominated in the NL East for over a decade come from behind two years in a row in the closing weeks to make the playoffs...etc. I was very disappointed, and now by seeing the national cover, that's even worse. Albert Haynesworth? Sad. So sad.

[Theodore Rdesinski Jr]

they wanted 89 friggen for the p.o.s. package

[Jeff]

I guess we can say, 'at least they didn't do this to us!!! Thanks SI.'

http://juicedsportsblog.com/2008/10/si-covers-chicago-cubs.html

[Mark]

Yeah, I was extremely disappointed when I rushed to the store only to not find what I expected. Isn't it a forgone conclusion that when a champion is crowned in any of the 4 major sports, that the cover is devoted to them? It damn well should be. SI can also take their $90 offer and cram it. What does this team or this city need to do to get some love from the national media? It's been a while since we've done anything highly incriminating.

[will]

eventhough its hard to feel bitter after a WS championship, SI really did give us the shaft with that half-ass 3 page article NOT about the phillies. Just imagine if the Rays won.. Rays Illustrated.

front cover would have read:
Rays dominate planet earth, rewrite the dictionary and invent cool shit for your hybrid

[Esco]

PHILLYPSU said it all

[Sundar]

Reason # Why The Phils Need to Repeat:

To cram it down the throat of every self-serving writer and media format who slights us.

[Sundar]

Reason # 35,541,126*

[timm]

out here in chicago i didnt even have the option of which cover. fat man titan was the only one available. i picked up the special issue when i was home for the parade bc i knew that wouldnt be out here.

[ARphillyfan]

I was pissed too when I saw the national cover (which is all I can find down here in Arkansas).

But How Cool Is It That We Get To Grumble About Not Getting Proper Treatment After the PHILLIES WON THE WORLD FREAKIN' SERIES?! I never thought that I'd get a chance to do so. So yeah, SI Sucks but that doesn't change the fact that were CHAMPS!

[R.S.]

Agree with PhillyPSU as far as SI's irrelevance.

Verducci is a capable baseball writer, but nothing particularly special. I'm sure he was just under pressure to do something that would capture the attention of SI's dwindling audience and maybe garner a few newsstand pickups. Given the dreary audience for the world series, an SI cover with Lidge kneeling and the words "CHAMPS" isn't going to garner any extra attention.

It's an ugly ploy by a dying brand, and it is unfortunate and unfair to Philadelphia fans. Rather than offer a substitute for ESPN and the web by pursuing in-depth profiles and long form journalistic pieces, SI continues to try offer a product unwanted by the magazine reading audience. Which is why SI continues to lose readers and advertising, forcing Time Inc. to make even more layoffs.

Sorry for the rant. Stupid SI.

[Jon]

Here's what I just wrote to SI.

Really, your magazine has gone downhill in the past couple of years. And now, because its not the Cubs or the Red Sox or the Yankees, my Phillies can't even get a solo cover when they win the championship after so many heartbreaking years. Your point after use to be my favorite part of the magazine, now it's a disappointment week after week. Unless positive change happens, rest assured my subscription will not be renewed.

P.S.

Dan Patrick isn't funny. I hope you didn't severly overpay for him.

[goldsounds]

SI has been affected pretty badly by the interwebs and ESPN. Pretty much everyone had heard the story 8 million times by the time SI was sent out, so they needed a new angle. That being said, the four major sports championships (NFL, MLB, NCAA FB, NBA) should all have their "victory celebration" cover. To crust even the local cover up with their angle is a bunch of smegma.

PS - I haven't read the magazine in forever, due to Rick Reilly's unforgivably horrible crap. I was a bigger fan of Buzz Beamer anyhow.

[nicky]

they have some phillies ws winners package with like a dvd and stuff if you get the subscription. and i personally feel espn gives too much off the field crap i could care less about.

[dmac]

Thanks, I kept forgetting to write about this. The lack of a cover isn't unprecedented: Teams occasionally (usually?) don't get covers when they clinch a title and it's old news by the time SI comes out. Clinching on a Wednesday is about the worst possible time if you want an SI cover.

[ryan]

The only reason that I care about SI is because for YEARS I've seen them try to sell Leather-Bound Commemorative magazines of the champions of all sports with some other cheesey gift with a year's subscription the magazine. I ordered that the day after the series, but I won't read any of the magazines when they come in, I just want the loot!

[Mike H.]

Remember CNNSI? I think it was a channel around 205 on DirecTV. When they pulled the plug on that dog, Sports Illustrated ceased to have any meaning. And Verducci has had a pretty solid anti-Phillies streak to him. So more like "Dear SI, You've sucked for years. That sound was the end of my subscription to your garbage."

BTW, I got my "Why Can't Us" shirt the other day, and wore it proudly in Orange County, CA. Most people didn't give a fuck. It was awesome.

[Lauren]

This issue is available with a Phillies cover in certain markets. See Zolecki's blog: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillies_zone/Phillies_on_SI.html

[Sam]

Am i the only person who got the si with the whole mag all about the phillies???

[will]

sam that might have been the commemorative special edition only sold in retail stores. It has a red glossy cover and im sure they only printed several dozen knowing how lazy SI's coverage seemed to be.

[Andrew]

I purchased the "commemorative issue" last night...it was $8.00!! Hardly even 20 pages it seemed. (Of course, I still purchased it)

Compared to $2-something for the regular issue, that was a RIP! FU, SI.

[Tartan69]

"Most people didn't give a fuck. It was awesome."

This describes us Philly fans to a T. Boston *tried* to play the underdog, and the Cubs still try...but there really is only one true underdog worth mentioning. Us. And we don't give a fuck about what anybody else says or how they feel about us.

PS. SI? Garbage not even worth mentioning.

[Kevin]

Yeah, I touched on this cover the other day as well. Seems nobody likes this cover.

http://nittanydelphia.blogspot.com/2008/11/to-sports-illustrated-subject-wtf.html

I also sent a pair of e-mails to Sports Illustrated voicing my complaints; letters@si.time.com

[BP]

Don't be shocked. After the White Sox won in 2005, the next cover had Brady and Manning on it.

[Collin]

Wow, I was appalled by not only SI's decision to put "Haynesworth - The Angry Helmetless Stomper" on the national cover (I live out in Los Angeles) but to also have Verducci's stupid caption box soil the Lidge/Ruiz picture. You @#$@# suck Sports Illustrated. Goes to show that the national media hates Philadelphia.

[BadMotherFutley]

I got a 1-year subscription as a gift last Christmas. SI, erroneously assuming I must be distraught over the imminent end of said subscription, has been including roughly 135 renewal forms with each issue lately. The cost of a 1-year renewal? $46.

So that "free" championship package they are offering with an $89 subscription? It actually costs $43.

[Mairin]

Am glad to see that I'm not the only one who was furious over SI's treatment of the Phils. Manny was on the cover of the Oct. 13 issue and had a 5 page article completely devoted to him. The Phillies WS win was only tangentially mentioned in a 6 page diatribe about low WS TV ratings. It's enough to make me cancel my subscription, but I haven't found another weekly sports magazine that I like.

[nicky]

SI'S A B*TCH, CHECK OUT THE MLB HOMEPAGE, THEY HATE ON LIGHTS OUT LIDGE, THEY SAY ALL HIS SAVES WERE NOT TOUGH!

[Brandon]

Everyone e-mail SI.letters@si.timeinc.com

If you're going to hate on the Phillies, which is inevitable for the media, why can't you make it a little box at the top and let not only the Phillies, but the city of Philadelphia have some recognition and joy for a little. Instead, SI, you put that horrible opener to Verducci's terrible article over the picture. You give no credit and respect to a team and organizations that worked hard to acheive the highest goal. Now I, and many others, have lost respect for this magizine. The magazine has gotten worse every year and this is the final straw.

[BFisch]

You know they do that whole thing with the collectors edition magazine, they do it every time one of the four major sports wins it all. i saw the commercial for it the other day fort the Phillies Edition.
Seriously who gives a fuck? The Phillies are World Fuckin Champions... so they didnt make the cover of SI boo who it doesn't matter at all.

[mattindc]

The DEAR BUD is quite tacky. They usually throw a bunch of teasers down the side of the front cover anyways, I don't know why they had to slap a big "email" or whatever that was supposed to be on there. It's like a big stain on the cover. And I'm no marketing guy, but since when does Albert Haynesworth sell magazines?

SI is an artifact of past times anyways and I don't ever buy it, but I could see why people would want a cool Sports Illustrated cover to hold on to.

[nicky]

guys, no one will ever understand the passion of philadelphia until they expirence it, sports is different here, so different that it is almost immpossible to understand. sports are a religon here, and you have to live here to understand the phscy of philadelphia sports fans.

[maria]

nicky,
According to that article, Brad Lidge didn't have one "tough" save all year. The top 3:
1. Mariano Rivera
2. Brad Lidge
3. Jonathan Papelbon

Arguably the three best closers. Their stupid formulas are just asinine.

[Colin_K]

I live near Baltimore and I was able to get the championship edition from SI at a local Barnes and Noble. I believe it is the same one they offer on hard back with the subscription, but in paperback format.
Cost 8.99 I believe.
Much better than spending close to $100 bills for a magazine I wouldn't really care to read.

[EastFallowfield]

By the way, the season highlight videos for the WC teams usually skimp on the WS footage, so if you're looking for complete video highlights of the 08 World Champion Phillies you'll probably want both DVDs. You don't need to get either of them from SI, of course.

[Pete D]

After reading this shit I'm really regretting ordering the package. But it was always something I wanted to do...I got tired of seeing those commercials for other teams. Picking up the phone and ordering was a dream. But these guys clearly suck.

[HLH]

Hey I don't know if it had anything to do with everything writing letters but as I walked thru the store today something red caught my eye in the magazine section. It was the Sports Illustrated Philadelphia Phillies 2008 WORLD CHAMPIONS commemorative issue.

[Dan]

I sent SI several emails by now. One complaining about the cover and another asking how a current subscriber gets the Phillies Championship package without any type of subscription, especially when the renewal forms I get are less than half the $89 for the subscription with the "free" Phils package. They completely ignored that and sent me a link to renew my subscription, which is not going to happen. I wrote back and am still waiting to see what they say when I put it blatantly clear that all I want is the package and nothing more

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