It’s well known that sportswriters are not supposed to root for the team they write about. But it’s a little bit less well known that there are certain restrictions and caveats that apply.
Andrew Baggarly has openly admitted that the one time he roots for the San Francisco Giants is when he’s on deadline and they’re winning in the ninth inning; it’s at that point that a win preserves a nearly-finished game story, where a loss blows not just a lead, but a writer’s hard work.
If a writer revealed that they rooted for a player to shine ahead of a profile piece being published, no one would blame them or call them unprofessional.