I sometimes forget how important we are ...

[Your Huckleberry]

I have to post this one, because this is the call of the year so far for us:

One of my prep writers became a father for the first time, his wife had a baby girl a couple of weeks ago. He had a good idea on when the due date was, so when I made out the schedule for that week, I had him down to cover some events that would be nice to cover, but they weren't the biggest events of the week. That way, if he had to take time off, we could still get everything covered that was truly important (conference track, etc.).

One night I get a call from the mother of a player on Big Local School's girls soccer team, bitching that we didn't cover a match they had the night before (her daughter had the only goal in a loss). Started complaining that we favored Local Catholic School more (I asked her if she wanted to come down and count stories and photos, she said she would. As of today, two weeks later, she hasn't shown up). Oh, and "this is the most talented team they've ever had." (They are barely above .500).

Anyway, I explain to her that spring is a busy sports time, we can't cover every event for every team. I then tell her that we would be at the game the next night, and that we would have been there for the other game, but the writer who was scheduled to be there was bringing his wife home from the hospital after they had their baby.

"So," she said. "He could have dropped them off and still come out there to cover the game."

"What?"

"There's no reason he shouldn't be back to work by now. What kind of place are you running? My husband went back to work a few hours after we had our children, and his job is tougher than yours."

I told her that I had to write that one down, because that was one of the most unbelievable statements I've ever heard.

That one left me speechless. Geez.

 

[Oz]

The stories posted here make me feel good to be sitting behind a desk while reporters take those calls.

 

[Tom Petty]

The stories posted here make me feel good to be sitting behind a desk while reporters take those calls.

but reporters know you love the blue bird of cocksuckery. evens things out.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

I have to post this one, because this is the call of the year so far for us:

One of my prep writers became a father for the first time, his wife had a baby girl a couple of weeks ago. He had a good idea on when the due date was, so when I made out the schedule for that week, I had him down to cover some events that would be nice to cover, but they weren't the biggest events of the week. That way, if he had to take time off, we could still get everything covered that was truly important (conference track, etc.).

One night I get a call from the mother of a player on Big Local School's girls soccer team, bitching that we didn't cover a match they had the night before (her daughter had the only goal in a loss). Started complaining that we favored Local Catholic School more (I asked her if she wanted to come down and count stories and photos, she said she would. As of today, two weeks later, she hasn't shown up). Oh, and "this is the most talented team they've ever had." (They are barely above .500).

Anyway, I explain to her that spring is a busy sports time, we can't cover every event for every team. I then tell her that we would be at the game the next night, and that we would have been there for the other game, but the writer who was scheduled to be there was bringing his wife home from the hospital after they had their baby.

"So," she said. "He could have dropped them off and still come out there to cover the game."

"What?"

"There's no reason he shouldn't be back to work by now. What kind of place are you running? My husband went back to work a few hours after we had our children, and his job is tougher than yours."

I told her that I had to write that one down, because that was one of the most unbelievable statements I've ever heard.

You should call her back and tell her that the new dad went back to work, and during his first game, his baby died. That should make her feel like she's made a difference in the world.

She probably won't object unless he was at the Catholic school game, though.

 

[JBHawkEye]

I have to post this one, because this is the call of the year so far for us:

One of my prep writers became a father for the first time, his wife had a baby girl a couple of weeks ago. He had a good idea on when the due date was, so when I made out the schedule for that week, I had him down to cover some events that would be nice to cover, but they weren't the biggest events of the week. That way, if he had to take time off, we could still get everything covered that was truly important (conference track, etc.).

One night I get a call from the mother of a player on Big Local School's girls soccer team, bitching that we didn't cover a match they had the night before (her daughter had the only goal in a loss). Started complaining that we favored Local Catholic School more (I asked her if she wanted to come down and count stories and photos, she said she would. As of today, two weeks later, she hasn't shown up). Oh, and "this is the most talented team they've ever had." (They are barely above .500).

Anyway, I explain to her that spring is a busy sports time, we can't cover every event for every team. I then tell her that we would be at the game the next night, and that we would have been there for the other game, but the writer who was scheduled to be there was bringing his wife home from the hospital after they had their baby.

"So," she said. "He could have dropped them off and still come out there to cover the game."

"What?"

"There's no reason he shouldn't be back to work by now. What kind of place are you running? My husband went back to work a few hours after we had our children, and his job is tougher than yours."

I told her that I had to write that one down, because that was one of the most unbelievable statements I've ever heard.

That one left me speechless. Geez.

It left me speechless as well. You get some stupid calls, but this was one of those wow-just-wow moments.

 

[alleyallen]

I love even more people who get so emotionally wrapped up in something when they DON'T EVEN HAVE CHILDREN INVOLVED!

Like the woman who said God was going to punish us because we hate the Dallas Cowboys, or the man who threatened to kill me because I wouldn't print that Michael Bishop sucked despite throwing five or six TDs in a losing effort in the Big 12 title game several years ago.

 

[bigugly]

Her daughter sounds like a whiny bench. She probably wasn't any good anyway ...

Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding....we have a winner. Lock it!

 

[TyWebb]

Has anyone snapped at a parent? Saw a kid do that once. All I heard was his side of the convo: "Well she should probably play better if she wants to be in the paper more." Then hung up on the mother/father.

He was given a long tounge-lashing by the ME and Exec Ed, but all us in the sports dept knew exactly where he was coming from.

 

[Ace]

Has anyone snapped at a parent? Saw a kid do that once. All I heard was his side of the convo: "Well she should probably play better if she wants to be in the paper more." Then hung up on the mother/father.

He was given a long tounge-lashing by the ME and Exec Ed, but all us in the sports dept knew exactly where he was coming from.

I don't snap at parents. I just exasperate them. It's more fun, really.

 

[pressmurphy]

Has anyone snapped at a parent? Saw a kid do that once. All I heard was his side of the convo: "Well she should probably play better if she wants to be in the paper more." Then hung up on the mother/father.

There's always this tried-and-true response for the parents of a player on the losing team: "You're just mad because my team won."

 

[Bud_Bundy]

I had a coach lay this one on me ... said good newspaper stories were very important for motivating the kids ... I didn't get the opportunity to tell him he must be doing a very bad job of motivating his kids if he's relying on me to do it.

Back when we used to do prep football picks, we had coaches ask us not to pick their team, so they could use that as motivation. We picked'em as we saw them, them dumped the picks a year or so later.

 

[zagoshe]

In my experience, if I had to rank which sports have the most insane parents, it woud be something like this (note, forget about the individual country club sports like tennis and golf -- those people are from another planet)....

1.) Softball -- The most thin-skinned and angry at the world by far....

2.) Basbeall --The most unrealistic and ridiculous in terms of delusional thoughts about how great their kids are.

3.) Swimming -- Mad at the world because nobody gives a shirt about their sport to begin with.

4.) Soccer -- Ridiculous football-envy clouds their better judgement in terms of complaining about coverage.

5.) Wrestling -- We never cover enough of it and when we do we send someone who just doesn't understand it.....