One must be careful not to overgeneralize when characterizing groups of people. We should not draw hard core opinions based on particular experiences. This thought stated and established as a preface, the following may or may not hold any truth.
Several years ago, my wife and I were visiting our daughter and son-in law's home in a Chicago suburb. Actually, we were doting over grandchildren. One day during this visit, I was at a convenient store buying gasoline. I finished and went inside to pay. Standing near the counter was another customer talking with the cashier. As I completed my transaction and turned to leave, the gentleman spoke to me, "What's the difference between you and me?" Initially, I was caught off-guard with the comment when I suddenly realized that I was wearing a St. Louis Cardinals' jacket and my questioner was donned in a Chicago Cubs' windbreaker.
Perhaps with more time and a stronger inclination to dissect the question, I would have engaged an investigative conversation; instead I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Beats me, pal." The Cubs' fan parting remark, "I can't figure it out, your team gets to the playoffs, post-season, the World Series and my Cubs finish out of the money."
I personally knew many athletes from Chicago and a few from the East and West coasts. Obviously, I am most familiar with Mid-Western athletes. I have attended professional sports in the East, never in the West but of course, thousands of games in Mid-America. The following are random observations, which may or may not speak to the Chicago Cubs' fan's question posed several years earlier. I know that the general folkways of St. Louis tends to strongly sanction obnoxious and cocky behavior by athletes. The coastal fan attitude appears to find entertainment value in the showy, demonstrative and mouthy athletes. Cardinals fans 'see' such behavior as 'bush-league and call it out.
When listening to sports radio call-in shows in the Windy City, New York and Boston, I hear radio hosts advancing extreme criticism towards athletes and coaches and managers. This program format plays well with the callers who are also quick to ad criticism to the conversation. In the St. Louis market, I hear commentators holding performance to a high level of expectation without the personal attacks upon persons. I can only believe that many Chicago athletes feel brow-beaten (day-in-day-out) by arrogant fans spewing attack comments in jeering tones; this negatively impacts performance. Why is it that Jim Edmonds, Mark McGuire, Lance Berkman and Carlos Beltran reference St. Louis as 'Baseball Heaven?' Those words are not mine they belong to Edmonds, McGuire, Berkman and Beltran. Keep in mind that those guys played for 'other' teams before coming to St. Louis.
I do know that my coaching approach was simple and straight forward; 'Don't tell me what you're going to do...just show up everyday on time, pay attention and play hard.' That coaching philosophy was not taught at Illinois State University; I learned that from 'family.'
"About the time you start thinking you're all that boy, just look around and you'll see others who are doing more," said my father on the heels of some sport success. "Be humble and don't show your ass," was another frequent reminder.
All will embrace their respective ethnocentric feelings and beliefs; be that as it may. As for me? I recognize 'class' when I see it and shallow fools when the strut. Give me 'GO' over 'show,' every time!
No comments:
Post a Comment