Cheering on press row?

Kathy Ireland should have won an Oscar for her role in Necessary Roughness. A simply sublime performance... especially when she kicked the KU football player in the nuts.

 

What about congratulating individuals for winning a state title/medal in something? In something like swimming or wrestling it's a huge personal accomplishment. That's not to say you go hug them and high-five the coaches, etc. But saying "Congrats" at the beginning of an interview, at least to me, doesn't constitute cheering.

Now, I do know a guy who all but cheered for kids he covered at a local state competition in his paper's live updates, wishing them luck, etc. Made me sick to read.

 

congrats is fine

long way from all these hugs I'm reading about to "congrats"

 

I'm more guilty of the half hug with some of the athletes I cover on a regular basis. There's one kid that likes to do a whole 6-step handshake type thing. I just let the situation dictate. I've always found the more comfortable the athlete, the better the interview.

As for cheering, I don't really care how fast the game goes, who wins, or if it makes for a good story. I just don't want to drop my pen under the bleachers.

 

What's wrong with being entertained by the games we cover? So I have fun while working. That can't be all that bad, right?

Here's one that I've told on this site before: I was sitting on press row for an ESPN game between the team I cover -- Big Conference U -- and its opponent -- Big Conference U's opponent. Now, I had a fairly good relationship with the players, but I had also reported on a ton of negative news that season. So I'd say my presence was neutral. Still, after the guard hits a game-winning shot, he's running around like crazy, jersey popping before it was popular, etc. Then he runs to the press table and swings his hand to slap me five. Totally bizarre. What could I do in a split second? I stuck my hand out a little and he slapped it, which must've looked awful.

The first thing I did was call my buddy to see if that made it on ESPN. Thank God, no.. But very weird. I kinda freaked out, I guess...

 

THREADJACK:
Was talking with a bkb coach during the state tourney and he told me the story of one of our occasional stringers covering the county basketball tourney a few weeks ago. I was working in the office on those nights, so I knew what was coming.

On the first night, the guy stepped on a nail in the parking lot; tried to get the school to pay for his medical bills, they told him he had to take it up with the County School system.
Second night, he can't get his laptop to work, so he has to write everything out and fax it in. Leaves, then comes back pounding on the door. "Coach, I lost my cell phone. Can you help me look for it?" So they dig in the gym and find it -- IN HIS COAT.
Third night, the walking disaster walks in climbs to his usual spot in the far upper corner of the bleachers. Puts his stuff down, takes off his coat, sets it on his stuff. Decides he needs his stuff, pulls it out, coat falls to the foot row of the bleachers, cell phone falls out of the coat, hits the floor and shatters.
"HEY COACH," said the stringer to the nearby coach, who has witnessed three days of this trainwreck. "DIDJA SEE MY CELL PHONE DOWN THERE?"
"Ummm, I think so," said the coach. "Is it in the one in a thousand pieces at my feet?"

 

That's great, slappy.

 

Anyone who's been around Indiana knows of the legendary homerism of the Bloomington Herald-Times. Some of the cheering I've personally seen borders on sad.

It's starting to fade, but there's still a few guys ...

 

I once covered an NCAA tournament game with a co-worker who attended one of the schools involved. The guy was so fucked up that he couldn't cover the school, which is a basketball power house, without being objective. Nor could he cover it without cheering.
At this NCAA tournament game, his alma mater one by a point and wouldn't you know it, the ass hole stood up at the end of the game, raised both fists in the air and said "Yes!!!!"

 

She probably would have hugged you if you had put your pants on.

 

I don't see anything wrong with that at all. It's almost along the lines of common courtesy IMO. If I'm doing interviews for a preview before a team has a big name it just seems natural to wish them luck in the game. Doesn't mean I'm rooting for them, but it's almost akin to saying "have a good day."

Just because I don't hug the people I cover that doesn't mean you can't have a congenial relationship with them.

 

Yeah, I always considered it a matter of course to wish a coach luck at the end of an interview. Nothing wrong with that.