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November 1, 1999
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The "bleacher creatures"-the often-rowdy fans who sit in Section 39 of Yankee Stadium-have a lot celebrate since the Bronx Bombers repeated as World Series champs last week. And Filip Bondy, the Daily News sports columnist who brought fame to the bleacher creatures, is just as happy. Not only did the Yankees sweep the series, he no longer has to worry about canceling class to travel back to Atlanta.
A visiting specialist in journalism, Bondy has been writing for the Daily News six straight years after flipping back and forth between that paper and The New York Times. He started out at the now defunct Paterson News and The Bergen Record where he did everything from the city beat to theater reviews. He later went to graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania. "My father worked there, so I got a master's degree from an Ivy League school for free," he said. "You can't beat that."
INSIGHT: What are your feelings about reporting vs. teaching?
Bondy: They present very different feedback situations. Millions of people read my column, but I don't see the readers who like what I do. I only hear from those who are mad at me. In the classroom I get immediate feedback from students. The response is more rewarding because we're in a non-adversarial situation.
INSIGHT: What do you tell your students about the news and sportswriting industry?
Bondy: I always save that class for last because I don't want to scare them. I encourage my students because it's a noble profession, and we don't answer to anybody but our editors and ourselves. For those of us who like to travel, it takes us places we normally wouldn't go. I was always shy, and writing forced me out of my shell, so it can help us discover things about ourselves and complete us as people. I warn students that financially for a while it will be a struggle. Looking back, I can't believe I had the nerve to raise a 2-year-old son on $120 a week. But then slowly we can carve out a living and supplement it, and a big city sports columnist makes money. So I tell them if they hang in there they can make a decent living.
INSIGHT: What sports do you prefer to cover?
Bondy: Soccer. I'm first-generation American. My parents came from Europe, so I grew up playing soccer right through college. This is my sport. The problem is, it's not America's sport. I also enjoy tennis and international sports like the Olympics where I can cover a game and wake up in Paris, not in Cleveland.
I've grown tired of the local professional sports. When you've covered them as long as I have, the cycle becomes repetitive-whose contract is in dispute this year? That sort of thing. But as a sportswriter I understand it's my bread and butter.
INSIGHT: What is your opinion of the first sanctioned boxing match that recently occurred between a man and a woman?
Bondy: I think boxing of all sorts should be banished. So I'm not going to be outraged at this because I'm outraged at boxing. An evenly matched bout is the worst because everybody gets beaten up for the longest period of time. It goes without saying that there's corruption in boxing because that's the essence of the sport. I think it shouldn't exist, but that doesn't mean I won't cover it.
INSIGHT: Tell us about "the bleacher creatures."
Bondy: That's the persona I take over, which I admit pushes the envelope of journalism. I've read so many boring articles about the bleacherites at Yankee Stadium and about fans in general that were written without a point of view. If I were going to make my column readable I needed to take on the persona of a bleacher creature myself, and speak for them, almost channeling their thoughts and emotions. I identify with their sense of fun and their anarchy.