Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston after the phantom punch is one of the most iconic images not only in the history of sport, but in the entire history of photography. It was taken by a man named Neil Leifer, who purchased his first camera with the money he made shining shoes on the streets of New York City. He only got his break in sports photography when he was working at the Giants’ stadium as a wheelchair attendant, where he snuck onto the field in the 1958 NFL final posing as an official photographer, and ended up snapping the game-winning touchdown of what came to be known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played”. He then became responsible for not just the Ali/Liston photograph, but also the Ali/Williams photograph, taken from the rafters, with Williams flat on the canvas. In many ways, he is the Muhammad Ali of sports photography.
When we consider the stories behind sports’ most fascinating photographs, we always tend to think of the story in front of the lens rather than behind it. That’s why someone should make a game about sports photography.
I play the big sports games every year. This year, I ended up reviewing NBA 2K21, Madden 21, and FIFA 21, and in preparing screenshots for each review, I became my own Neil Leifer. Sports games actually look quite ugly in general play, the screen constantly marred by stamina meters, clocks, run markers, sponsorships, and a lot of other UI that gets in the way of the crisp, clean, boot-on-ball appeal of sports photography, so I mostly use the photo mode.
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