Nissue #16: Matthew Futterman, Sports Journalist and Author.
If you follow sports journalism at all, Matthew Futterman should be a familiar name. His New York Times reporting on the recent Naomi Osaka debacle was Matt at the top of his game (writing these days can be a contact sport), and his latest book, Running to the Edge, inspired even me to start jogging.
He’s not just an observer, either — at last count, he’s run over 26 marathons — with a personal best of 3:15.58 in 2017. I met Matt while at Union College, where we were in the same fraternity (D-Phi or die!), so it’s been extra special to see such a humble and nice guy have this brilliant career doing what he’s always loved. The only thing missing is a groundbreaking story on beer pong. Think about it, Matt!
Nish: What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Matt: I suppose being together with my nuclear and extended family, including my brothers and their kids and my parents at one of our homes on a warm summer day. As we age these occasions become rarer, so I cherish them.
Nish: What was your worst job ever?
Matt: I remember getting hired for a day moving furniture at a home. My upper body strength stinks. It seemed like a backache waiting to happen. Made me realize I never wanted to be a moving man.
Nish: What was your first job ever?
Matt: Lifeguard/counselor at Flint Park Day Camp, Larchmont, NY, Summer 1985.
Nish: What was your best job ever?
Matt: So many variables. I did love working as a carpenter during my summers and winter breaks in college. Great money, lots of time outdoors, and so satisfying at the end of the day or the weeks to be able to look at something you build. There was also a lot to love about lifeguarding, and my current gig, covering tennis and Olympic sports for The New York Times is pretty darn good.
Nish: What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Matt: When I veer into mansplaining and lecturing.
Nish: What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Matt: Certainty. I admire people who understand how much more they don't know with each passing day.
Nish: What’s some advice you’d give to yourself at 23?
Matt: Date a lot. Don't tie yourself down at too young an age because you don't know the person you are going to be.
Nish: What is your greatest extravagance?
Matt: My home on Long Beach Island on the Jersey Shore.
Nish: You have dinner reservations for 4 at Noma, excluding family and close friends, who are the three people (alive, dead or imaginary) you’d invite?
Matt: Jesus Christ. Abraham Lincoln. Martina Navratilova and if she is not available Arthur Ashe.
Nish: What is the theme song of your professional life?
Matt: The Boxer because of the last verse:
In the clearing stands a boxer And a fighter by his trade And he carries the reminders Of every glove that laid him down Or cut him till he cried out In his anger and his shame "I am leaving, I am leaving" But the fighter still remains…
Nish: What is your motto?
Matt: A marathon can only be run one step and one mile at a time.
Nish: What is something you’re really excited about right now?
Matt: The promise that the Summer of 2021 holds. We’re going to get past Covid, slowly but surely, and I can’t wait to see what the world looks like.
End Interview.
FiNish line bonus fact: Matt’s self-proclaimed best run ever… “Downtown San Francisco to Corte Madera in Marin County via the Golden Gate Bridge, through Sausalito and the fire trail over the Tiburon hills.”