“There’s a new fad in the sport I love. I should have hated it. Deep in a mega-mall, I surprised myself by how much it stirred in me.”
Sports
Posted inEditor's Pick
A Racial Slur and a Fort Myers High Baseball Team Torn Apart
“The avalanche of broken relationships within this baseball community at Fort Myers High . . . served as a microcosm for a polarized country.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Behind F1’s Velvet Curtain
“If you wanted to turn someone into a socialist you could do it in about an hour by taking them for a spin around the paddock of a Formula 1 race.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Wild West of NBA Jump Balls
“Basketball’s most iconic tradition is also one of its oldest and most curious events, characterized by the same foggy rule interpretations, quirky styles, and chicanery as the first jump balls ever tossed.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Air Jordan Is Finally Deflating
“The brand’s rise and fall, and rise and fall again.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Political Street Fighters Of Israeli Soccer
“A soccer rivalry between an idealistic fan-owned club and a powerhouse’s racist hooligans reflects Israel’s continuing march towards right-wing extremism.”
Posted inNonfiction
Best Of 2023: Features
At the time of this writing, Longreads editors have created nearly 650 recommendations in 2023, and just about every one of them can be considered a feature. However, you’ll find that the stories contained herein are features in the classic sense: marriages of deep reporting and indelible prose. Some are light, others emotionally taxing. Their […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Wild Quest to Create a Fake Indian Cricket League … That Was Just the Beginning
“Davda’s Molipur cricket league was not a one-off caper, it turns out. It was a single node in a network of at least dozens of Molipur-style scams worldwide.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
“I Shall Not Be Moved”: Inside a New York City Sumo Wrestling Club
“Slowly but surely, sumo wrestling is growing in America. Meet the men finding meaning in the ancient art of pushing each other around.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Game, Set, Fix
“As gambling on tennis exploded into a $50 billion industry, he had infiltrated the sport, paying pros more to lose … than they could make by winning tournaments.”