Cape students are back to make noise and support their teams

Talent must meet opportunity for success to occur. I see that happen in sports all the time when sometimes the people who play and the positions they play are different from what I would do with them were I the coach. I have often had athletes come to me and say, ”I don’t understand what’s going on and why I don’t play.”

I always tell them, “Talk to the coach. It’s not my place to coach your team - but if I did, you would play, and those whose playing time was cut would know why - it’s all about communication.” Speaking of communication, which is my business, in today’s world it is less about talent and intelligence and more about image and marketing hype.

There are analysts on national broadcasts who talk with a mouthful of marbles, misuse the English language and make big money.

I heard John Madden on Sirius satellite radio respond to the question “Do you think the Chicago Bears are for real?”

Madden said, “If they stick to running the ball and Jay Cutler doesn’t throw too many interceptions - you know, if they don’t let the dish run away with the spoon, so to speak.”
Madden makes $7 million a year for that type of insight and we like the guy because he is like our daffy uncle.

Baseline bums
Back in 1985 a group of Cape students organized by Jerry Adkins became the baseline bums for basketball games while across the gym another group loosely organized by Illia Waples and Claude McCrea became the dog pound. The more inventive the bums became, the more rules were thrown on them because unsportsmanlike craziness by fans is tolerated in college but not high school. The dogs were great. I loved the cadence of stomping feet to the rhythm of “Wuff wuff,” and the spontaneous freestyle after a blocked shot or dunk where it was every dog for itself. But then the edict came down from the district office, ”No barking at Cape basketball games!” And I had to answer the question, “Fredman, we got a no-barking rule. Can you imagine being thrown out of a game or arrested for violating the no-barking rule?”

The sixth man
And so in 2010 the Cape students are back, packed together to make noise and support their basketball teams. It’s all good; just follow rule one and stay away from the court. And realize that some fouls called against your team actually occurred and so what if the ref prances when he runs? Let’s check you out on the elliptical orbiter for latent tendencies.

Family!
How long has it been that athletic teams co-opted the family model, put it on the back of T-shirts and used it as a rallying cry before entering battle? ”One-two-three family!” Let’s face it; families are the resting place and clearing house for most dysfunctional behaviors. Sure, all the good stuff too. The Cape students do a great job having each others’ backs. I find it remarkable and inspiring. Young people are not as catty and secretly snippy in the shadows as more experienced folks. Kadijah Doughty, Dee Dah to those in close, almost needed oxygen in the first quarter against Smyrna last Friday night while battling Division One-bound players Betnijah Laney and Crystal Ross. And in the second quarter Dee Dah fouled Laney hard then got tangled up with her 6-foot-2 cousin Ross, and before referee John Krietzer could say “double technical,” Dee Dah left the court drawing a second technical and automatic game ejection. The question on the table: “Can you eject a player you have self-ejected?” Kadijah, a sophomore, is a super kid in the classroom and was a star last spring in track and all Cape fans want her back on the court. She got lost in the heat of the moment, which shows real passion, which is easier to harness than detached nonchalance.

Snippets
Jacalyn Jenkins, a Smyrna senior, is a slightly built wisp of a girl who seems to throw sharp daggers at the heart of the Cape defense from the deep right corner. Last Friday night she had a pair of 4-point plays in the first half, and out in the open court during a frenzied second half of bad decisions and hard collisions she rolled with the flow. Just a cool kid, is what I’m trying to say. CrossFit Rehoboth will be offering classes for youth this winter beginning Jan. 3. There will be a class for kids 7-13 and another for high school all-stars. Call 227-3636 or go to crossfitrehoboth.com for more information. That’s it. I stay fit and inflexible, don’t drink or smoke, take no medications and play my music too loud! How do you like me now?