Boston and New York have a rivalry in sports like no other. Leighton Dolan (‘19) is often caught in the middle of this rivalry as a Yankees, Jets, and Celtics fan. He grew up as a Yankees fan due to his strong relationship with his Great Uncle, but his interest in the Jets is inexplicable. His self-created sports blog, The Intersection, covers each major sports team in both cities and provides analysis of and previews to the teams’ respective seasons. Articles such as Assessing The Celtics Draft Situation offer insightful analysis of the moves Danny Ainge made over the offseason, such as trading down from the #1 overall pick. Others like Why the Yankees Will Win the World Series in 2019 are straight and to the point, using evidence such as Aaron Judge’s MVP caliber year and Clint Frazier’s potential to predict the future success of the franchise.
Although the blog just began over the summer, Leighton and his three friends, Sam, Johnny, and Alex, have already worked together to cover twelve teams from New York and Boston from the NBA, MLB, NHL, and the NFL. The website’s Instagram account (@interectionsports) currently has over 1,100 followers and posts updates after each new article are published. Most recently, the writers inquired about a recap of the Yankees’ season, which surprisingly involved a decent playoff run in what was widely expected to be a rebuilding season. “A lot of ups, a lot of downs, but at the end of the day, there’s a rekindled interest in baseball in the Bronx, and perhaps a rekindled dynasty.” The Intersection also includes personal stories of the Boston and New York rivalry, such as A Yankees Trip All the Way from Boston discussing Leighton’s trek to Yankee Stadium to watch a game with a co-writer. Dolan created this blog to offer debate topics to his friends, declare his own opinions on certain situations, and pass the time looking into his areas of interest. He plans on expanding outside of the classic New York-Boston rivalry, but with the return to school and lack of authors finds it challenging. Although fewer articles are being published than a few months ago, he still writes when he has time. At its peak, The Intersection was receiving over a hundred views per day, showing the potential Leighton’s project truly has.
Although not yet committed, Leighton definitely has considered a future in sports journalism. He explains that this writing creates an outlet for him to talk about his passions. “I enjoy having my opinions heard by others besides those of my friends and family who think I’m nuts, but the main goal is for anyone who wants to write even one article or be a part of the editors to come and let me know so we can really get the name out there in the sports media world.” More writers and editors help the website expand, get new opinions, and discuss new topics. What started out as a cool experiment by four friends has turned into a fun, successful website and led Leighton to consider a possible career path. If all goes well, maybe one day he can carry on the BH legacy established by renowned fantasy football expert Field Yates (‘05) on ESPN.
