A new low, for me anyways...

I have received thousands of e-mails from parents pissing and moaning about something. I accept the e-mails as being part of the job, but this one left me speechless. In fact, it reached a new low.

Background: The mom's kid is our area co-Wrestler of the Year. He won a state title and lost only once this year. A good kid who is really enjoyable.

Anyways, I open my e-mail today and the mother looks on our photo database to see the pictures of her son with the other wrestler of the year. She says that we should not use the photo where the other kid is in the foreground and he son is in the background because it will make her son appear that he is in the other kid's "shadow."

She says if we use a photo like that, her kid needs to be in front because he is a four-time state qualifier and a three-time medalist and the other kid, who won the school's first state title, only qualified for state once.

I was completely speechless. This did not make me mad, but I cannot believe a parent would have the audacity to send an e-mail and basically blast the other kid.

What are your thoughts? Should I do anything?

Thanks

 

Parents have the audacity to do a whole lot of crazy shit. Buck's right. Ignore it.

 

Publish the photo in print and run the letter next to it. Include the mom's e-mail address and home phone number. Grab some popcorn and watch the fun from a safe distance.

 

Yep, what Buck said.

Those player of the year awards for high school sports have dredged up more ridiculously misplaced controversy and venom from both parents and coaches than just about any other preps-related story.

I can remember a smaller daily I worked for in a town where high school basketball was pretty big. There was this bar that everyone went to on Friday nights (great pizza after work, plenty of good beer), and the high school basketball crowd would always be there after games. I remember drunk parents and coaches always lobbying me and the other sports reporter I'd go out with every Friday relentlessly over why their guy should be the POY. It was ridiculous and fucking annoying as hell.

Anyways, one year we made the final selection, and a senior who'd won the award the three previous years was just edged out by another senior who had a great season, as per the choice of me, the other sports reporter and our SE. Well, the coach of the kid who didn't win was just livid. I mean, for a whole week he sent us a never-ending series of letters and statistical breakdowns trying to prove that even though his guy played in a smaller conference and a lower division, his team's schedule was more taxing than the schedule of the team that the POY played for. I mean, this shit was like a doctoral thesis. This coach must've spent 40 hours preparing all these comparisons and shit. Nevermind his kid had won the award three years in a row, it was like we were slapping him in the face that he didn't win again.

It got to where the coach actually scheduled a meeting with my SE at the school, a meeting which my SE had to excuse himself from and walk out of because he got so pissed that he was afraid he'd say something he'd regret.

And for the record, none of the five players on the first team we selected gave a shit about who was named POY, including the kid who got edged out and the kid who won. I always find it fucking pathetic that coaches and parents get so worked up over this stuff and the kids are the only ones who actually handle the situation with maturity.

 

I would ignore it also, but if I were choosing a photo of him for a feature in the paper, I'd be looking for one of the kid in command.

 

This is a philosophy I've pondered, but ultimately I think it would backfire.

As sweet as it would be to run these idiots' complaints in the paper and let every reader see what big jackasses they are, I think we're underestimating how stupid and misguided these complainers really are.

You run that email, and I almost guarantee that the parent who wrote it would just get emboldened to do it more often. She'd figure her email was so profound and impactful that it actually made it into the paper, and that she was making a difference rather than being exposed as the jackass she really is.

Ulitmately, you gotta ignore these people. I've long been told never to argue with an idiot, because they'll drag you down to their level and win with experience.

 

I've worked at a couple prep-centric papers, and I've seen it done both ways.

The smaller paper I worked for that was the most prep-centric would always schedule a separate photo shoot for player of the year and first-team stuff, at least for the major sports.

The larger paper I worked for, which was prep-center but not as prep-centric, usually used file photos, or we'd call the player and ask for a mug shot. Actually, we never even named players of the year, just all-county.

 

You're absolutely right. Sad world we live in.

Here's a better idea, since we're talking about wrestlers - arrange a cage match to decide the real wrestler of the year. None of this co-winner crap. Put it on the undercard of their moms wrestling in jello. Make it a PPV event. Grab some popcorn and watch the fun from a safe distance.

 

Have you considered sleeping with the mother?

 

Sounds good to me!

 

Then if the wrestler's father told you the ocean called and they're running out of shrimp and you came back and told him the jerk store called and they're running out of you and he fired back by saying, "What's the difference? You're their all-time best-seller," you could just say:

"Oh yeah, well I had sex with your wife!" And hope she's not in a coma.

By the way, love the photo of Kramer chugging the beer and smoking at the same time. Just a classic Seinfeld moment.

 

Here's what you need to do, Reggie:

First, learn that the word is anyway, not "anyways."

Then, once you've mastered the English language (if you ever do), you can start complaining about stupid parents.