The Oral History of The Swan

by Joe DeLessio, foreword by Will Leitch

I’ve gotten to do a lot of things in my career. I’ve interviewed Presidential candidates. I’ve traveled to Russia for the Winter Olympics. I’ve been to multiple Super Bowls and World Series. I even briefly had my own television show, albeit one that nobody watched.

But I don’t think I’ve ever been more professionally flattered than when a man named Paul Penland sent me the following direct message on Twitter:

Hi Will — this is completely random but hang with me for a second. The fantasy baseball league I’m in is dying for entertainment and with no baseball we are looking for alternative sources. After watching The Last Dance, we decided that we would pull some money together for someone to coordinate an oral history article of our league. I know it’s absurd but we are convinced it could be good, especially if we get someone who knows what they are doing. I realize you are probably too big for something like this, but it also seems right up your alley. We pulled together $1k for this, which isn’t exactly life changing money but it could be a fun side project for you? Feel free to ask any questions, and completely understand if this isn’t for you.

I do not know if Paul approached other sportswriters about this project, if he only contacted me once they all said no or ignored him…