Parlor Spider...Step In, Little Fly

Insightful thoughts and/or rants from atop the soapbox from one who wishes to share the "right" opinion with everyone.

Monday, November 24, 2008

It Was the Best of Times...It Was the Worst of Times



A DISGRUNTLED FAN EXPRESSING DISPLEASURE


I just returned, as some of you may know, from a week-long hiatus with the UWGB men's basketball team. We were on a whirlwind trip from Gren Bay to Salt Lake City to Daytona Beach To Detroit and back during the past week. I admit that it's probably not a trip folks would vie for on "The Price is Right," but it was fascinating in many ways. My function was to make certain that four of my students did the homework required. To that end, I had students back in Green Bay recording lectures and sending class notes via email (ain't technology great?) so we could keep up in addition to completing essays and other class projects. Needless to say, the players tried to find places to hide when they saw me coming! The trip gave me an opportunity to see the real inside of college sports, both good and bad, and I made some observations which I will be happy to share with you since you've asked so nicely.

1. Road trips mean food. I packed in more food in seven days than I normally ingest in two weeks: active,young men need sustenance, and those of us not quite so active were involved as well. My diet consisted of great breakfasts every day of the eggs, bacon, fruit, juice, potatoes type that I don't normally eat but love. Lunch varied, but I ate a lot of subs and some pizza. Dinners were usually Olive Garden-type with the exception of one repast at Bubba Gump's Shrimp place, replete with a pushy waitress who insisted we answer every trivia question about the movie "Forest Gump" ("What was Lieutentant Danz' rank in the army?")when I just wanted to eat! The food was marginal, but the blueberry lemonade was amazing.

2. Road trips mean little sleep. Getting internet connections late at night (overloaded during the daytime)meant midnight was an early night. Sitting in on film study at times kept me up even later than that; early mornings meant checking email to work on essays for students back at school, breakfast, practice or walk-throughs (on game days) followed by a few hours of nap time before the game...for the players: I was synthesizing book chapters. Depending on the outcome, trying to get students to do homework was somewhat akin to steer wrestling. Being in a different time zone also contributed to sleepless pattern, even when the Atlantic Ocean was rhythmically crashing on the beach outside my window (although 12 floors down).

3. Road trips mean new sights. Temple Square in Salt Lake City was a marvel of stone, fountains, reflecting pools and hundreds of people who all seemed to be wearing black. I thought briefly that there was a Goth convention going on, but then I figured that Goths would not all be wearing American Flag lapel pins and walking determinedly toward any stranger slow enough to look interested; I subsequently deduced (mainly by the huge lettering chiseled on every building) that this was the center for the Latter Day Saints. I had to admit that I found it ironic that it was I who was coming to their door instead of the other way around! Awe-inspiring, I must say. The Daytona International Speedway was big and interesting, but not awe-inspiring, though Yvonne, the volleyball manager would correct me on that count. The moon rising over the Atlantic Ocean was no cooler than the moon rising over Lake Michigan though the water was somewhat warmer!

4. Sports road trips are roller coasters for emotions. Traveling with a team, I felt all of the ups and downs of cometition, and there were some very low depths and some soaring heights on this trip. Other than losing, the worst for me was the pseudo fan who sat behind me for a time. He would alternately scream, "Blow the damn whistle" and "This isn't elementary school. Let them play." Not just once ot twice, either, but constantly. The officials never looked his way, but in a gym with 300 spectators, they could not have missed it. At one point, he was actually cheering for his chosen team by yelling, "lockdown defense" over and over. When one of our guys got hammered to the floor just after he made that comment, I turned (in spite of my inner voice screaming "Don't do it!), and said to him, "Was that LOCK down or KNOCK down defense you were asking for?" I, of course, regretted it immediately, but then I figured I had a camera, and if he hit me, I could use the photo for "America's Most Wanted" and have my 15 minutes that way. Fortunately, he refused to take the bait except to say that it looked like a flop to him...and eventually, we just talked basketball like sane people. Crisis averted, but the bad feeling remained.

5. Road trips are exhausting. A week on the road sapped every ounce of energy I had remaining. The guys were comatose in the airports, on the planes and on the bus rides. I could barely get on my bike for the short ride home at 11:30 p.m. but we all made it to school today. Now, I'm going to bed. No more road trips for awhile. It almost makes one wish to be working as usual.

1 Comments:

At 12:03 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Nice to read your blog and respect of your thinking .....!!




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