Victory Journal, Issue 19 – Halftime

Victory Journal is the new refuge of the true sportsman. Unmoved by statistical analysis and provincial opinions, Victory is concerned with the eternal glories and ignominies of players and pursuits the world over. From sumo wrestling to nautical jousting, 80s icons to Olympic hopefuls, Victory unearths the sublime joys of the sporting life through reportage and oral history, photography and illustration. Calling on an elite roster of like-minded contributors, Victory provides a forum for work that is unapologetically enthusiastic and uncompromisingly personal. It speaks to an audience that like its architects can distinguish the enduring from the fleeting and is ruled, above all, by an irrepressible curiosity.

In this issue:

Victory Journal’s second double-issue, Halftime, explores sporting and artistic expression at a moment of intense pressure and promise. It includes Jet Toomer and Nina Chanel Abney’s kaleidoscopic dialogue on leisure, New York City bicycle gangs finding community amid emptiness, and the iconic images of kingmaker Walter Iooss Jr. and his most famous muse. We reveal a personal history of the Ruff Ryders motorcycle stunt crew through the eyes of Yayi the Queen, fall in love with high school baseball in Japan, witness virtual cross-country in Washington State, and marvel at interpretations of  “homecoming” at a supercharged North Carolina drag ball. At a moment between an international stoppage of play and full re-entry, Victory #19 engages across disciplines, borders, and time—finding joy in a pigeon’s beak, winter surf, and the metallic “brap” of an RC-car’s acceleration.