Our first roundup features the story of a man who set off on a journey from Seattle to São Paulo with a football at his feetWelcome to the first of our weekly compilation articles, which will pick out our favourite writing, galleries and...
Our first roundup features the story of a man who set off on a journey from Seattle to São Paulo with a football at his feetWelcome to the first of our weekly compilation articles, which will pick out our favourite writing, galleries and features from around the web. This page is an opportunity to celebrate the best online journalism from around the globe and we want to hear what you think of our choices.We would love you to contribute to this series by posting your own suggestions below the line. If you're a writer, editor or blogger, please share your own work in the comments section and we will feature the best articles every Wednesday.The article of the weekDribbling Man: by Robert Andrew Powell, for GrantlandRichard Swanson was an unemployed divorcé who had reached his early forties and needed a change of scene. He had lost his job, sold his apartment and his youngest son had turned 18. Swanson was free from the ties that bind men of his age.With little to hold him in Seattle, he set off on a journey. Swanson hoped that São Paulo would be his destination and that his own two feet would carry him there. He took a football for company, dribbling it along the side of the road as he trampled southwards to Brazil.Swanson did not reach São Paulo and will not be at the first game of the 2014 World Cup, as he had hoped. He did not even make it past the US border. He had planned to dribble his football through 11 countries, but was killed by a pickup truck while walking on the wrong side of the road in Oregon.Swanson only covered 270 miles of his route. He did not see Mexican desert, Costa Rican rainforest or Panamanian jungle, but he exhibited a beautiful and confusing innocence that caught the imagination of writer Robert Andrew Powell.The journalist has worked for the New York Times, Sports Illustrated and This American Life, but his account of Swanson's fated trip must rank as one of the most personal stories written by a sports journalist this year – or any year, for that matter.While most people felt sorry for Swanson or laughed at his seemingly pointless waste of life, Powell responded to his death like he had lost a friend. His reacted with deep empathy as he too had suffered a crisis of confidence and sought solace from the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other.When Powell's life came crashing in on him a few years ago, he rid himself of his belongings and set off for the isolation of Colorado. The writer took up running; he ran, and ran, and ran, until something inside him mended and he was ready to face the wider world again. Powell's two years away gave him the space he needed to close down the part of his life that needed to end.By focusing all his attention on his feet, he cleared his mind. Powell was transformed by his time out and he thinks that Swanson was trying to achieve something similar. His long walk to Brazil was a way of clearing out his life and starting over. He didn't make it to São Paulo and we will never know if he found the transformation Powell thinks he was seeking.But his story has inspired people. And so has Powell's telling of it.Other stories we like1) Footballers, award nights and after-dinner speaking: WSCAs a 13-year-old youth footballer Mark Sanderson was treated to a night in the company of former Southampton defender Jim Steele, who was the guest of honour at his team's end-of-season awards presentation in 1996. Steele seemed to enjoy telling some stories about the old days and showing off his FA Cup winners' medal, but he was not paid for the privilege (to the writer's knowledge). He missed a trick. Kevin Keegan can earn £8,000 a night for sharing his anecdotes, while Andy Gray picks up £6,000. Sanderson's trek through the world of after-dinner speaking will make you feel poor.2) My week with the North Korea hockey team: DeadspinLured by the chance of spending some time with the North Korea ice hockey team, Peter Cox went to Cape Town to watch them compete against Greece,
