When you are in the public eye, no matter how popular or successful you have been, you will say, write or do something that people don’t like.
It’s just part of life. You can’t avoid it no matter how hard you try.
And sometimes people reach out to you because they are mad at what you said or don’t understand. “The book” says you ignore those complaints under the umbrella of ‘you can’t make everyone happy.’
My approach has been that if you come to me with a non-confrontational attitude (and most do) I’ll be glad to have a conversation with you about your concern.
So today I am writing about some of the things you reached out to me about. Think of it as a second-chance opportunity on several subjects.
“It’s not fair for you to talk about kids negatively”: One of the hardest things to hear is someone saying something negative about you or your child, grandchild, niece or nephew. I totally get it. As a radio announcer, my job is to describe what is happening and, as best possible, to explain why it’s happening or some possible reasons it is happening.
I tell kids all the time that by being a high school athlete they are putting themselves out there in the public eye just like I am as an announcer and columnist. People are going to celebrate their successes, which is a huge rush and a lot of fun. But when they fail, they also fail in front of everyone, too. That’s certainly not the end of the world. We learn a lot from those times when things don’t work out and we should encourage young people to put themselves in those situations because that’s when they grow the most.
Of course, when it’s your child, it never sounds or reads as a teachable moment.
In every game I broadcast, mistakes are made (me too). Sometimes a bad pass is the result of a bad decision. Doesn’t make that person a bad person. But when a player comes out of the game and flops themselves on the bench because they are mad the coach is taking them out – that’s different.
“I was deeply disappointed at what I felt was a cheap shot at (what you describe as) 1A basketball”: This relates to a recent article about changes in the state tournament I would be open to making.
I wrote that Class 1A is “choked with charter and private schools” that aren’t interested in being competitive. There was an immediate assumption that comment was a shot at Lakeland Christian Academy, which is absolutely untrue. When LCA became IHSAA-sanctioned, I will admit I was concerned about the Cougars’ viability. The boys basketball team, for example, just finished a season where they went 10-14. Seven of their 24 games were against public schools, while 10 are against schools who were not in the IHSAA field this year.
I understand there is a heritage for LCA of playing other Christian and home schools that isn’t going to change – and it doesn’t have to. But I would like to see them find some other smaller public schools to play as opposed to playing Granger Christian twice, for example.
But their mission is clear and it’s a good one.
“What do you have against the White Sox?”: I am a Cubs fan, who grew up cheering for the White Sox, too.
I used to listen to the Cubs games in the afternoon and the White Sox games at night. Listening to Vince Lloyd and Harry Caray, and Joe McConnell and Lorn Brown helped shaped me into the broadcaster I am today.
But that all changed with interleague play.
When the Cubs and Sox started playing games against each other that counted in the standings, it painted a totally different color on the annual single-game Crosstown Classic exhibition game the teams engaged in before interleague games. It became personal. It became vicious.
It wasn’t fun anymore.
The White Sox fans skew toward the hard-working, gritty South Side of Chicago. I appreciate them and their contribution to the city of Chicago. But they have made it clear that I, as a Cubs fan, are not welcome on that side of Madison Street. They express jealousy in our ball park, and our atmosphere.
They wish they could be us, and I don’t blame them one bit.
But when they built their new ball park, they built it without a personality. They missed a chance to create their own atmosphere. Instead, led by their grouchy broadcaster Ken Harrelson, White Sox fans have chosen to throw stones at the Cubs’ crystal cathedral.
I can’t respect that.
“When are you going to join the 21st Century and put a shot clock into high school basketball?”: That’s simple … never.
You all can say whatever you want, but shot clocks in high school basketball will make the product worse, not better. You will see more bad possessions, more forced up shots simply to beat the clock, and lower scoring.
I hope that clears up at least a few things. We don’t have to agree to be friends. Civility is a lost skill and I want to be a champion in it.
Contact me anytime about anything you see or hear that you want to ask about.
