In this age of websites and ezines, I’m going to give a shout out to the old fashioned magazine.
I’ve grown up on them. I still love reading them. There’s something intoxicating about holding a glossy in my hands and reading up on the latest cultural trends, political maneuverings, and athletic accomplishments.
And I’m old-fashioned enough that I simply don’t “get” ESPN The Magazine. It’s too hip, too disjointed, too modern for me.
So here are my top five magazines of all time:
5. Good News Magazine. This is the ultimate “insider” piece for those interested in Methodist machinery and Methodist politics. Its print presence is much dimished these days, but its web influence is still strong. But back in the day it was the place to go for tasty morsels from the hierarchy of the UMC . . . and how to return it to orthodox theology.
4. Car And Driver. A great magazine for a teenage boy. It’s where I first laid eyes on a Lamborghini Countach and where I learned the difference between horsepower and torque. Even to this day, I’ll check it to see if my Nissan Maxima gets a good review on the Driver’s Test (mas o menos, but what do they know?).
3. Time. Sadly, the editions keep getting thinner and thinner as ad revenue goes online. But it’s still far thicker than Newsweek! My family subscribed to Time when I was a boy and we’ve continued that trend to this day.
2. Sports Illustrated. I still have an extra hop to my step when I get the Thursday mail, knowing that SI will be there. The “covers” section on SI.com is simply priceless. Of all the classics, I’m partial to this shot of Pete Sampras winning the 1997 Wimbledon:
1. Speaking of tennis, my favorite magazine of them all is the late, great World Tennis. From its inception in 1953 to its demise in 1995, it was the voice for those who followed the sport closely. As a pre-teen, I simply pored over its pages every month. Fortunately, I have about 30 copies from the 60s and 70s in our bonus room and as I look back through them today I realize that reading World Tennis was where I learned to write.
