Last Tuesday I spoke with Brandon Smith and Holly Wilson down to the Liquid Café complex. Both these individuals are crazy good athletes, but what struck me was the fire in their eyes when they are standing still. Active listeners, it is not about them. I told Holly I was a bad reporter because I was more of a conversationalist. She leaned forward and said, “Good.”
And so we talked running and track and connections and Brandon likes talking Eagles and asked for some of my insights. It was so strange because so many athletes I encounter use self-importance in place of importance. Think of the point guard who would rather score than dish off. Think of gunners in any sport, the athlete who checks the scorebook after the game. Perhaps humbleness comes with confidence. You know, work hard and play harder and I don’t mean in bars.
ARCHIVES - IF you are a Cape athlete from the last 15 years and want to have some fun go to capegazette.com and click on the archives box. Then put your name in the search window and click the bubble using the narrowest criteria and have fun reading about yourself and your teammates. If you don’t know how to do this, sign up for a computer class with the Roadrunners at Delaware Tech. Meep! Meep!
I HAVE A DREAM - I do have a recurring dream where it is the end of my life and everybody I know is in a Hall of Fame but me and, in fact, I’ve even been stripped of my Food Lion MVP card and rejected at the door of Sam’s Club.
Inductions into honorary societies are on the rise and in many ways I find the focus odd and, even if deserved, what does it matter as people endure real struggles while others give acceptance speeches. I do not take this position because of personal rejections. Heck, I could write criteria for a hall where only I would qualify. When the Delaware Hall of Fame seeks nominations 100 names show up.
Some years ago Delaware Today listed me as one of the top 10 funniest people in Delaware. The interviewer asked me if I knew any other funny people downstate and I responded, “You mean funny, ha ha.” But really most people are not funny, including me. They just wanted to send me a plaque for $35 but I refused to bite cause ain’t nothing more pathetic that a plaque-hanging, self-proclaimed funny man. How did I end up here?
BRENNAN IS MY BOY - I would like to thank coach Sean Brennan, known in his own house as Gator, for seeking out the three Milford football players for Athletes of the Week and getting their pictures, writing the text and sending it back to me all in a few hours of turnaround time. I knew Brennan had journalistic talents and interests and would be instantly motivated to celebrate Milford athletes during game week prior to Friday’s state title game appearance.
Speaking of bulldogs and barking, all downstate fans should parade through Newark, New Castle and Wilmington and bark like pound dogs because we own this tournament and you all get to stay home doing whatever you all do up there. But seriously, there is nothing like game week and game day of a state championship event.
And what are Milford athletes doing in your hometown paper? To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”
TRUMP CARD - In the world of athletics I call it holding the trump card. If a person tells you a story of personal accomplishment but you are holding a better card, do you throw it down or simply listen and say, “Good for you, that is great.” I guess that depends on your own needs and personality.
SNIPPETS - I guess this is Black Friday which means I’m off to Surf Bagel to buy gift cards for my friends or a month’s membership to a gym, if it is a special person in your life and fat. A perfect stocking stuffer is the card with no money pegged to it.
Cape kids gave me one a few years back and when it was swiped at Wawa and the truth was out patrons sighed in sympathy. But I thought it was so funny and the dogs didn’t need doughnuts anyway.
