Do sports writers consider themselves above us common fans?

Mike Dowling’s Linked In post says he is self-employed and a media consultant.  Below his photo at forbes.com, he writes: “I will share with you my unique perspective on the Boston Red Sox.”

Coming up from copy boy to newspaper editor, I was told to avoid the word “unique,” because it is a misused word. Few things are unique, especially a baseball writer’s “perspective.”  But then, Dowling does work in Boston, were the smart folks live. That is smart as in “chic,” not necessarily as in “intelligent.”

I worked on five daily newspapers in Texas. Yes, sports writers consider themselves more intelligent than other newspaper writers and certainly more intelligent than their readers. It is ingrained. It cannot be purged.