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Major Link Soccer: Grant Wahl tributes

Soccer internet has been flooded with tributes to the journalist who died at the age of 48 while covering Argentina-Netherlands.

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England v France - FIFA World Cup 2022 - Quarter Final - Al Bayt Stadium
A tribute to journalist Grant Wahl, who died after collapsing during extra time at the quarter-final match between Argentina and the Netherlands on Friday, is displayed ahead of the FIFA World Cup Quarter-Final match at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar. Picture date: Saturday December 10, 2022.
Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images

A lot of tributes to Grant Wahl have been published in the past few days. They were referenced in my own recounting, but not collected. Here are some, not even many of those works done by the people inside Wahl’s media tree and the forest around him.

A Love Letter to the Writing of Grant Wahl
We have lost soccer's everyman correspondent.

Sounders FC mourns the loss of Grant Wahl | Seattle Sounders

Grant Wahl was my idol and my friend. A selfless, wonderful man - The Athletic
Grant Wahl’s friend and former colleague Alexander Abnos pays tribute to a special man.

Grant Wahl, American Soccer Reporter, Dies At World Cup | Time
The longtime Sports Illustrated writer helped boost the popularity of soccer in the U.S.

Concacaf President offers sincere condolences to family of Grant Wahl
Everyone at Concacaf is shocked and deeply saddened by the news of the passing of renowned football reporter Grant Wahl.

Grant Wahl Dies at World Cup After Collapsing at Argentina Game - The New York Times
Grant Wahl, who in his career covered soccer for Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports and CBS, was in Qatar for his eighth men’s World Cup.

Grant Wahl’s sudden death at World Cup was a huge loss to football | The Sunday Times
Every once in a while, you hear the keen edge of panic in someone’s voice and know that death and his friends are nearby.

OFFSIDE REMARKS: Grant Wahl pushed boundaries and then some - Front Row Soccer

Grant Wahl’s Miami Herald archives, colleagues remembrances | Miami Herald
The sudden death of sports writer Grant Wahl while covering World Cup in Qatar resonates in South Florida, as former Miami Herald colleagues recall the 1996 sports intern.

Death of Grant Wahl is a blow to those who knew his work — and especially to those who knew him | Sporting News
Grant Wahl was a brilliant all-around journalist who was dedicated to the coverage of soccer. Those who read and listened to his work will miss him. Those who knew him as a friend will miss him that much more.

Remembering Grant Wahl: A loss for journalism, and for all of soccer - Sports Illustrated
A titan in the industry, he is remembered for more than just his coverage’s passion and vigor.

Honoring Grant Wahl - Whyhockey Periodical

Prominent Soccer Journalist Grant Wahl, 48, Dies While Covering World Cup in Qatar - WSJ
Wahl chronicled men’s and women’s soccer in the U.S. for more than two decades.

Grant Wahl, a famous soccer writer, mattered to basketball, too - Deseret News
Grant Wahl, who died this week while covering the World Cup in Qatar, won’t soon be forgotten.

America soccer journalist Grant Wahl dies at FIFA World Cup | The Kansas City Star
Journalist Grant Wahl, a Kansas City native and prominent international soccer reporter, died while covering the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

American sportswriter Grant Wahl was an original
Grant Wahl saw an opportunity to cover soccer and took it, and in the process made the sport more popular in America.

LeBron James remembers Grant Wahl, the journalist who introduced him to the world - Silver Screen and Roll
LeBron James says he’s never forgotten the impact Grant Wahl had on him when profiling him as a teenager for the cover of Sports Illustrated, a story that is largely remembered for introducing James to the world at large.

World Cup 2022: Remembering Grant Wahl, a Champion of American Soccer - The Atlantic

Grant - by Joe Posnanski - JoeBlogs
There are six words you will see again and again over the coming days as so many of us try to make sense of the senseless: He was the best of us.

Grant Wahl: American journalist dies after collapsing at Qatar World Cup | CNN
Prominent American journalist Grant Wahl has died in Qatar after collapsing while covering the World Cup, sparking an outpouring of shock and grief across the sports world.


These are only a few of the various tributes. They’re from major newspapers, basketball and baseball writers, from soccer blogs, from athletes and coaches. Most importantly, they’re from people. They’re all flawed, just as we are and Grant was.

They are a powerful statement of Wahl’s influence and the respect he earned from colleagues, subjects, and competitors.

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