Jeff Pearlman is one of the most successful sports writers of his generation. His must-read articles appeared in Sports Illustrated and ESPN in the 2000s Bo Jackson By 1986, the New York Mets went to the Showtime era Lakers, which became the most recent HBO series.Win time. “His biography of Tupac Shakur is scheduled to be released in October.
Last month, however, Pearl announced that he was launching a completely different mission: writing about Orange County politics. Talk about evil curveballs!
As a loyal reader and lifelong Orange County, I immediately registered his website, Truth OC. In almost every day, Pearl Man uses the same attitude towards local conservatives and President Trump, who once reserved for sports fools.
Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns? He was “Bull Connor met Bobby Knight and Officer Krupke.”
Is Pat Mo, president of Laguna Woods Republican Club? Belongs to the “genre of people who need to be told, repeatedlydo not answer her cell unless she realizes the number. ”
The Capistrano Valley Unified School District trustee is a member of the Han Right Board of Directors of Wackadoo. Rep. Young Kim is a “coward”transparent Because I don’t stand on Trump. These are the barbs I can quote in family-friendly newspapers.
Pearl has scored through the excavation video That’s all the rage At the board meeting, Capo Valley trustee Judy Bullockus, who used the N-word. While I was shocked by Pearlman’s hub, he is a much-needed chronicle, with 3.2 million regions and has been a political leader, and for decades, the press is much smaller than before.
Nevertheless, Pearl’s article on OC politics seems a bit like Gustavo Dudamel’s drummer in Dresden’s room resigned from the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Moonlight. Shohei abandoned the Dodgers to join the local pickle league.
He said he now knows the politics of the country when we recently met at a cafe near Chapman University. The pearl-sharp and foot-glasses but a spatula-wearing cream shop is dressed like a typical sporting freak: black and yellow Pittsburgh Pirate hats and Pittsburgh Morrows shirts, a long-lasting professional soccer team. Flip-flops. Sport pants that look like jeans.
“Like, these aren’t happy days for me. But every time I write a new post, I feel good.” “Every time I see people reading and subscribing keeps going, I’m like, ‘Okay, it’s a way that feels kind of like you’re doing something.'”
Other sports journalists also occasionally claim politics, which is not feasible for their profession. But Galen Clavio, director of the Center for National Sports News at Indiana University in Bloomington, felt that Pearl’s latest focus was particularly fascinating, that almost all of its companions weren’t “not going into hyperlocal things because most followers would think, I don’t believe you really like this, so why bring it into the equation?”
“I wish I didn’t have to…but it felt more important.” Pearl answered quickly when I asked him why he was now focused on the microscopic rather than the macroscopic. Recently, he covered an afternoon pro-democratic rally outside Irvine Town Hall for Chrissakes. “We don’t need me to yell at Trump, I did a lot. It didn’t really resonate. There were a million people screaming, but not many people screaming at local politics.”
I wonder why he not only volunteered to join the local democratic club, but also wrote a check to the politician, instead of devoting his time and energy to what he did for free.
“It’s important-I’m serious,” he drove back. “I want people to know that not everyone is doing sh-t for money. Like, I’m just doing it Crazy. ”
Jeff Pearlman premiered at the 2022 Ace Hotel Theatre in Los Angeles.
(Tommaso Boddi / Getty Images)
After years of work, the East Coast native moved from New York to South OC with his family, including covering the 2002 World Series Angels defeated the San Francisco Giants (He thinks Halos is the worst team in the Major League Baseball). “We want a yard for the kids,” he cracked. Pearlman started out as a classic OC suburban guy who would rather focus on a good life than local affairs. But he always remembers the experience of a good friend.
“She used to tell me what it was like to be black in Orange County and be stopped by the police here.” “I’ll notice the weird thing, she’s like, ‘Okay, that’s Orange County.'”
In 2018, Pearl met Huntington Beach Area Rep. Dana Rohrabachera long-standing eccentric figure, once said at a congressional hearing Dinosaur farting can lead to global warming (He later claimed it was a joke). “I’ve never actually met someone like this,” the 52-year-old said. “I’ve read about them, but that’s all.”
He created a website that tracks some crazy things Rohrabacher said, which I remember is interesting, but not really revelation. In hindsight, Pearl is awaking the OC liberals History was made in 2018 by electing a delegation from the National Congress This is the first time after two years of making Hillary Clinton First Democratic presidential candidate to elect Orange County Since the Great Depression.
“That was a real turning point,” Perlman said. “I didn’t expect it.” [Orange County] Will go back red. ”
Trump’s victory last year (although not in the OC, He never won), plus Maga Acolytes’ local election victory, The pearls re-worked. Shortly after the election, he attended the Liberal Party’s local meeting.
“They are really nice people, but basically, the whole atmosphere of the meeting is, ‘Who wants a hug? You need to get in touch with how we feel.” That’s not me. [MAGA nation] On the face. ”
His loyalty reminds me of OC’s oldest political blog: Orange Juice Blogstarted in 2003. Publisher Vern Nelson started with resident Loudmouth in his lively comments section, then became a contributor, before taking over Orange Juice completely in 2010.
He didn’t hear the truth about OC until I told him, and he asked if he could read some posts before he made a comment. When Nelson called back, he smiled and praised.
“He did a lot of good things,” Nelson said. “We need another good political blog. I said to use his former reputation, but he might annoy many of his old readers.”
Pearlman believes his sports background actually makes him ideally write about politics.
“We deal with people who are angry with us all the time, and we have to come back the next day,” he said. “And, like, you have to write quickly. You have to turn around copying quickly. You have to make it start. Like, it can’t just be flat.”
Jeff Pearlman, the best-selling author of multiple books on sports, talks about L’Orange Cafe in Old Towne Orange. His elbow rested on a copy of the book by Huntington Beach Councilman Chad Williams.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
When he knew his new beat, he admitted that he was “a community college student, a freshman in the second semester.” He didn’t know the historical name I threw at him, nor did he know Santa Ana A new generation of Latino voters brings progressive politics of LA-style to the city. When Pearlman tried to rationalize his neighbor’s conservative tendencies – “I think my neighbor was upset with his taxes. I think he wasn’t satisfied with a black family here” – I countered that if his neighbor was a Mexican family, his neighbor would have embraced it, and he admitted that.
“But I’m going to bring everything anyone gives me,” he added. “I’m willing to learn.”
Pearlman didn’t know how long he would do the truth, and even admitted, “I know I’ll definitely burn. That doesn’t mean I won’t move on.” But he hoped his role model would bring attention and vitality to the political arena that desperately needed both.
“You’ll go to these [local Democratic] At the meeting, they would say, “Well, guys, tomorrow we’re going to open letters to Young Kim’s office and we’re going to send 100 postcards. It’s serious and has good intentions. I’m not going to slam it anywhere, but it’s not f-work.”
He remained silent for a second – Perlmann’s life.
“I’ll give you $50 [Rep. Hakeem] Jeffries’ office. He has $50. What should I do? Buy 100 postcards? ”
Silence for half a second.
“These people [politicians] No It’s like awkward. ”
