Basejumper.com - archive

http://sports.espn.go.com/...ght&lid=tab1pos1

Good press/ bad press? opinions?

As I just told Tom, from a true BASE jumper's perspective it's a great story that's well written with great pics. However, the dark tone of the article will probably scare away some people (which might be a good thing).

I'd be interested to see how Tom thought it turned out, since a good portion of it dealt with his reasons for beginning and continuing to BASE jump.

After 30+ years in skydiving, and seeing the FJC sign-ups after a fatal skydiving accident was in the paper, leads me to say...
"There is no such thing as bad press"

BASE359

I pretty well written article, and probably the best that ive read in national press. I think it gives a fair perception of base, perhaps a little morbid. Not really sure if its good or bad for the sport, but its nice to see something other than a random bridge day news report.

That was good. And it should be morbid. Keep away the riff raff.

There's even a shot of Gay Nick on the Raven. What else could ya want?

I was waiting to see the general consensus and then post to agree with them.

NOT!!!!!

Nice one Tom, ESPN.
Take care,
space

I am thinking that is doubtful.

Tom A. would know, have inquiries to Snake River BASE Academy increased dramatically since the story was published??

Baz, nice photos mate they turned out really well, and Michael good writing but no one has called me Jamie since I was 12 ;) haha

Good Press, I think...

Well written, good photos, interesting characters,
story involves fear and injuries, hell, if the actors
were better looking it would be Shakespearean

Good story!

I liked this one best: What could be more American than exercising your right to jump off the Perrine Bridge?

Be sure not to miss the comments section attached to the article. Great stuff.

I especially liked the slanted comments about Tom from those that have never met him.

I wrote Tom to say how good I thought the ESPN piece was. And I just read the "comments" section and it reminds of Harry Truman when he was President and he said of the mail he received, "Why is it son's of bitches are the only ones who know how to lick a stamp?"

I suppose we could call these Wuffo Nuggets . . .

"BASE is for losers"

"It's selfishness taken to extreme."

"Tom Aiello is a complete BASE Nazi and is all about scaring people to death"

"Another sport and article that glorifies irresponsibility under the guise of "sport."

"If you need to jump off a cliff to "feel alive" you may want to see a doctor."

"This doesn't belong on ESPN. This is filler. It is nonsense."

"I pray those of you who participate in this activity die while attempting the activity"

And my favorite:

"I have met that Tom character and he is one sketchy dude." This guy says he's a BASE jumper, and promotes a more "happy-go-lucky" types of training. This reminds me of some FJC skydiving Instructors I've counseled because they never mention "death" in their courses. These are the kinds that should be running the Ferris Wheel down at the local Carnival, except that would probably be too much responsibility for them . . .

NickD
BASE 194

You mean in the last 24 hours? Nope.

Seriously, though. We're just coming off Bridge Day (which typically raises awareness and increases inquiries), and there are lots of other press mentions of BASE generally and my school in particular. I'm not sure we'd be able to sort out what this specific article did.

The only inquiry I've had that was specifically related to this article was from someone looking to get in touch with one of the students about a family history factoid peripherally mentioned in the piece. Other than that, I can't trace a single inquiry to it. Both new student inquiries I've had since the publication of the article were folks who jumped at Bridge Day, and who I'd talked to then.

I'm still trying to formulate my thoughts, meaning both figuring out what I think and writing it down. Once I get that together, I'll post it into this thread.

and my favorite:

That was an absolutely top-notch article, and an excellent video to go with it.

Michael

Thanks James! I’m proud to have been involved with this project. The best part of the whole adventure was meeting you all. I hope to CYA all again soon!

Michael Abrams is an amazing writer and did an outstanding job with the article. I feel that it is accurate, informative and very positive. I look forward to seeing more of his work.

Way to go Tom!

The press Slim got after his fatal accident was the catalyst that got me interested, I'd never really considered BASE or even skydiving for that matter before that happened. I was just reading an interesting looking article in the local paper which mentioned basejump.org - that's where it all started.