The "Homer" sports writer

I ... just ... wouldn't ... think ... about ... it ... that ... much.

 

OK.

 

i only take the free food when i'm there.

 

I've begun taking the free food when I'm not there. It impresses my friends and colleagues.

 

What about taking a hat, shirt etc at the end of the season? You now some people have a special place for shit like that so you can remember your time covering that school, team etc?

 

I've got more of a problem with that than if you were just handed something informally during the season. You're not there to fill your scrapbook.

It just kind of smacks of "My, how I've enjoyed my time with you fine people."

 

Here's one solution to being given hats, T-shirts, etc.: Donate them to Goodwill.

 

you know buck, this may sound stupid, but when i was fresh to the biz, i refused a T and a hat from a coach and he never forgot that ... not in a good way, either.

if anyone offers me something nowadays, i always ask "how much do i owe you?" they never want any money, of course, but at least the effort was there. i always take the shirt, sweatshirt, whatever, home and throw it in the back of my closet until i move out of state.

i'll then wear the cool ones and let my daughters use the others for nighties.

i'd rather take a T and not wear it rather than piss a source off by coming across as superior.

 

I was just asking because I was given this team specific apparel and all I could do was look around to see who else took the shirt and thank the pr guy. I will never wear it during my time covering the team, but sometimes its a nice little souvenir.

I remember my time in the video game industry they gave us hats shirts and other kinda swag and nobody said anything at all. The same goes for the movie industry.

Why is sports so different if in reality your a beat writer dedicated to that specific team? I am still a rookie, so I have a lot to learn.

 

I'm still waiting for you to learn the difference between "your" and "you're"

 

Agreed. I didn't mean to imply that he should be impolite if someone wants to give him something. By all means, take it and say thank you. In the situation he described in his last post, he really doesn't have a choice except to accept. That's OK. Give it to your kids, give it to Goodwill, wear it around the house, etc. No problem.

But if he's going out of his way to obtain a T-shirt as a "memory" of his time on the beat ... that's a little much, IMO.

 

Earlier this week, I covered a game next to a "reporter" from one of the recruiting sites. Dressed head to toe in the school's colors, with a laptop background of the school's fucking fight song lyrics. He left in the second half when things got tight, presumably to the stands, where he could cheer.

Of course, I'm sure this guy NEVER attempts to steer a recruit to State U. Probably NEVER reports news back to the coaches, either.

Most schools do a decent job shuffling those fuckers away from the print folk, but no such luck this week.

He stayed quiet but pulled his hair at some iffy whistles.