John Finger was a fresh beat reporter covering Major League Baseball a lifetime ago when he learned an invaluable lesson.
"The outcomes of the games matter less than the story being told,” Finger says.
Finger, now the managing editor of The FIFTY, has carried that lesson with him throughout his career, and one he’s shared with us as we seek to tell stories of the 50 most interesting athletes in the world.
Our mission here is to capture the stories of athletes who don’t get daily recognition in front-page headlines or by opinionated TV pundits, yet whose stories are equally uplifting and inspiring.
“One of the things I like about The FIFTY is that we have so many different athletes that cover a wide range of topics,” says Chris Soule, director of photography for The FIFTY TV series and a two-time Olympian in skeleton. “It isn’t all about athletics, as each person has an amazing story to tell.”
To find and vet the athletes whose stories we share, we have a selection committee that sifts through pitches, discusses the details, and dives into their journeys.
Who is this athlete? What is their résumé? What makes their story compelling beyond the fields in which they compete?
As Soule says, he’s looking for “something in there that makes me genuinely curious about that athlete’s personal journey.”
Take Joe Blanton, for example, a former major league pitcher turned winemaker and vineyard owner. Blanton is a World Series-winning player with the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies who — interesting trivia fact — will be the last pitcher to hit a home run in the World Series. But Blanton’s story goes beyond what he accomplished on the diamond.
As writer Michael Weinreb shares in this fantastic profile, Blanton retired from baseball and chased his second dream: starting a vineyard in the renowned wine-growing region of Napa Valley, California.
“You have a glass you like,” Blanton tells us, “and the next thing you know, you buy a vineyard.”
It's those types of stories that stand out.
These pitches come from an array of sources: our staff of writers, folks whom we’ve never met (the parents for Tia & Rio Watson), to the occasional special guest we invite into our weekly committee meetings, such as Steve Mesler.
He’s an Olympic champion in bobsled who’s still heavily connected with the athlete world, having served as a USPOC board member for eight years and his current role as CEO of Classroom Champions. He’s helped us connect with Olympian triple jumper Christian Taylor, fellow bobsledder Cyrus Gray, and hockey star Brigette Lacquette.
After the committee has approved an athlete, that’s when the real work begins. It’s easier when we have the help from people like Mesler, who have established relationships with these athletes. It’s more difficult when it’s our team cold-calling an athlete hoping to hear back.
It’s rare an athlete says no. It’s common for us never to receive a response. It’s a celebration when they say yes.
And once they do, we pass them along to the hands of one of our many gifted writers to do what they do best: share the stories of 50 of the most interesting athletes in the world.
“That’s the essence of life,” Finger says. “We all want to hear the best stories.”
