Dear dimwit on the phone

Yeah, that came in the second e-mail. Oh, then send the information to xxxxxxxxxxx next week.

 

Had that happen years ago at the small-town daily I worked for. (Maybe I told this story earlier in this thread, I don't remember through 69 (huh, huh) pages of it).

Local small school girls basketball team clinches league title by beating second place team for the second time that season to go up two games in the standings with two games remaining. I write it and put that they clinched the league title with the tie breaker. Big headline and all that.

Next game, I skip to cover something else (figuring also that I'll be covering the team more come playoff time). Get the call from the irate parent the next day:

"Why weren't you at the game? We clinched the championship, and had a whole big celebration afterwards?"

"Actually, your team clinched the title the previous game on the tiebreaker, and I did a story on that."

"Oh, um, well, we didn't have the big celebration after that. THat's why should have been there."

"Nobody called me to tell me anything about a celebration. It might have made a difference in my deciding on who to cover for that night."

"Well, we kinda planned it at the last minute ..."

"So how was I supposed to know that there was a last-minute celebration? I'm not a mind reader ...."

And so on.

 

Are the gates good...? I might be mistaken, but the school I cover, I think they make some money even when the program isn't doing well.

 

Someone called the other day to ask if we had an instruction manual on how to use their mop.

 

Must be one hell of a mop.

 

@ greenwell...no, these "play-in" games are sparsely attended for the most part, especially in our area. Still, I'm expected my voicemail to have at least a few "Hey idiot, why didn't you cover our playoff game?" messages...to which I'll respond "Because the playoffs begin this coming Friday."

 

M'am, your team didn't care enough to call in after its playoff win on the road. Don't yell at me.

 

My fiance just asked if that was me who called you

 

Those 1-8 and 2-7 teams work hard, that's why.

 

Always consider the source when you get those nasty phone calls/emails.

Last year, I had this dad email everyone in our office complaining that we were ignoring his daughter's volleyball team, and he tried to get in the publisher's ear to make sure his complaint was heard. The best part, his daughter was a freshman, so I've got 4 years of this guy

Well fast-forward one year to this season's playoffs...I'm covering a second-round match between area rivals (one being this guy's school). Midway through the second set, he finds his way down to the court and stands about 10 feet off to my side. He doesn't say anything to me, but instead spends the rest of the match screaming at the officials every chance he gets. One of those guys that every time the other team scores, the official must have missed something.

I was surprised he didn't get tossed at one point near the end...yes, his team lost in five.

Anyway, point being, we aren't the only ones dealing with this irrational people. Some people are just whiners/complainers/agitators...pick your adjective. Just keep doing your job and be confidence in the decisions you are making.

 

This. And I take comfort in something that happened to me the other night. Had to cover water polo and volleyball back-to-back because of a Thursday night football game. Walked into the gym and found a seat just as the second set was starting (after the obligatory hellos to the school principals). Between the second and third sets someone sat down next to me while I was talking to the other writer. When I was done, the man said he just wanted to thank us for the stories on his daughter, who plays at a NAIA school a few towns over. So we ended up talking volleyball and how hard the SID at that school works to get me the information.

So, there is hope.

 

Yup, HanSenSE. For every coach or parent that complains, there's more that are thankful that we're there. Whenever I'm out covering water polo or cross country, a coach or parent usually thanks me for getting their sport some ink. It's easy to forget those people and focus on the assholes who give this thread life.