Robservations: Sports not always fun and games
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But today I find myself looking among the various items that usually clutter up the birthplace of your weekly dose of Robservations, and it seems something’s wrong with the picture.
You see, just about any minute of the day you can come in here and easily find my little work station. It’s the one with the sunflower seed shells scattered around, the superhero action figures, the pictures of No. 1 nephew, and the MTSU football posters.
Cluttering up the desk space you’ll find photos of softball teams, the Kids of Summer pics that no one has picked up, more superhero action figures, scorebooks dating back heaven knows how far, and stack after stack of notes on games.
Those things I can deal with. Those things belong.
But police reports, incident accounts and highlights from the Tennessee Code Annotated law website do not belong. Those kinds of things are supposed to go behind me, to Duane. He’s the police beat guy, right? I’m the black sheep, the brash, wacky sports guy, right?
Well, unfortunately for all of us, sometimes beats get crossed. And that’s what’s happened now, as we all deal with the incident that will probably for years be known as the darkest, most surreal period in the history of Warren County high school sports.
At least, I hope it’s the most surreal. I can’t imagine things getting any worse.
(By the way, if you don’t know the incident I’m talking about, welcome back. How was the cave?)
Back to the matter at hand, which, in case you haven’t figured it out through the first eight inches of this piece, is the fact that this normally ultra-fun job has turned into actual “work” the past couple of weeks.
Rather than just going out and asking the simple fun questions after watching the young athletes of the county giving their all, it’s been requesting this report, and meeting that administrator, and finding out who will talk on the record and who won’t.
I’ve come to some realizations over the course of this whole fiasco, and — since it doesn’t look like it will be over for a long time — I’m sure I’ll reach a few more.
One, I’ve gained a lot of respect, and pity, for the people in charge of our local school system. Things like this aren’t supposed to happen. But it did, and they’re dealing with it the best way they can, even though you know the stress is eating them up inside.
Two, I’ve seen first hand the face of remorse, and I’ve learned without a shadow of a doubt how easily one regrettable action can change a person’s whole life. Think about that one hard, gang, and remember: There, but for the grace of God, go us all.
I’ve also seen the resilience that deep down, I knew was inside the members of the Pioneer football team. I’ve said time and again how much heart it must take to keep coming back for more in the face of the challenge of turning this program around. And I’ll say it even louder this time. Having 45 men who’ll work every day to build a winner, then keep right on handling their business amidst all this controversy, is — put simply — amazing.
And finally, I’ve learned a little something about your friendly neighborhood sports editor. I’ve learned that sports aren’t always about getting the score right and spelling kids names correctly. Sometimes, even in this section of the paper, you’ve got to get the hard stories, the stuff people don’t want to talk about. It’s the nature of the job, I guess. And it’s got to be done.
But that doesn’t mean we have to like it. And to tell you the truth, I’ll be glad when this is all behind us, and we can get back to the fun and games.
I’ll bet most of you feel that way, too.