The grass isn't always greener
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
With sports, and high school sports especially, there are usually times no matter how well an individual does, the doubters and naysayers will more than likely try to put their two cents in, and eventually in the end … more often than not, use their pull to get what they want, no matter how it gets done.
To the folks who fit into that category, all I can honestly say is this … the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
You could say I'm anti-bullying, so to speak.
What I call politicking in high school athletics (it’s no secret ... we all know it happens), others might call patting people on the back or complaining about others who do a job well just for the sake of complaining.
I don't go to Starbucks to order decaf, and I don't like to see others, who do a job well, get pushed around for no reason at all. My point … neither one of those statements makes much common sense in the real world, and even the Scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz" can understand that, and he was looking for a brain.
I'm not talking about one particular case (yet), but I've seen it happen on a few occasions, and I'm particularly tired of seeing it.
It's happened in a few counties, probably most counties in recent years, but wouldn't you get tired of seeing folks put in numerous hours, days, months and years of time and dedication, only to be basically told … hit the bricks, or have others try to turn someone's position into a three-ring circus?
It could be happening and has happened to people who were in the process of building a program, and it's happened to people who have built a program that will be remembered. Heck, with the ol' politicking, I've seen it happen to people who have won a state title.
Well, it completely irks me to no end, and I say that with 100-percent certainty.
Honestly, nothing surprises me anymore … nothing.
Even in professional sports, it's happened … where a coach (see: former Dallas Cowboys head football coach Jimmy Johnson) wins a championship, only to resign for undisclosed reasons, when we all fully knew it was the man in charge of the team who didn't want him there anymore because of who got what credit.
When I look back at those good-and-bad times of my favorite football team, I only can imagine (not the way John Lennon would "Imagine") what could have been with that team. Yes, I know they won one more Super Bowl title after Coach Johnson left, but it had the capability of being better than how it turned out.
Nothing like a good old-fashioned tug-o-war power struggle to ruin a good situation, huh?
There is an underlying question that remains anytime a situation like this happens … though I'm not saying that it is or isn't happening. This is just a "reference piece for the future," for the question … why do people want to put an end, force an end or make a person or persons make a decision to end a situation just to keep the setting respectable and civil in the first place?
I respect the person who looks out for the good of a student-athlete … the person who makes the sacrifice to give up something they truly, without a doubt, care very greatly about.
On the other hand, I lose some respect for people who use their weight to ruin a perfectly good situation just because they can, but I've never been in a peeing-for-distance contest either, so I don't know what others think when it comes to such bullying antics. (If I had to have a favorite bully quote though, I'll look no further than the movie "Billy Madison," where the family of bullies likes to yell … "O'Doyle rules!" repeatedly. Didn't those folks slip on a banana peel near the end of that movie?)
Like I've stated earlier, nothing surprises me anymore … not the good, especially not the bad … nothing, and the sad part of any situation that has occurred in the past is that it will always happen again.
My advice to those who have the attitude of "the grass is always greener on the other side" is … one bad drought can cause the green grass to turn crabby.
To those people who have been slighted for a job well done, remember: One person’s – or school’s – loss is often another person’s or – school’s – gain.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor[[In-content Ad]]
To the folks who fit into that category, all I can honestly say is this … the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
You could say I'm anti-bullying, so to speak.
What I call politicking in high school athletics (it’s no secret ... we all know it happens), others might call patting people on the back or complaining about others who do a job well just for the sake of complaining.
I don't go to Starbucks to order decaf, and I don't like to see others, who do a job well, get pushed around for no reason at all. My point … neither one of those statements makes much common sense in the real world, and even the Scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz" can understand that, and he was looking for a brain.
I'm not talking about one particular case (yet), but I've seen it happen on a few occasions, and I'm particularly tired of seeing it.
It's happened in a few counties, probably most counties in recent years, but wouldn't you get tired of seeing folks put in numerous hours, days, months and years of time and dedication, only to be basically told … hit the bricks, or have others try to turn someone's position into a three-ring circus?
It could be happening and has happened to people who were in the process of building a program, and it's happened to people who have built a program that will be remembered. Heck, with the ol' politicking, I've seen it happen to people who have won a state title.
Well, it completely irks me to no end, and I say that with 100-percent certainty.
Honestly, nothing surprises me anymore … nothing.
Even in professional sports, it's happened … where a coach (see: former Dallas Cowboys head football coach Jimmy Johnson) wins a championship, only to resign for undisclosed reasons, when we all fully knew it was the man in charge of the team who didn't want him there anymore because of who got what credit.
When I look back at those good-and-bad times of my favorite football team, I only can imagine (not the way John Lennon would "Imagine") what could have been with that team. Yes, I know they won one more Super Bowl title after Coach Johnson left, but it had the capability of being better than how it turned out.
Nothing like a good old-fashioned tug-o-war power struggle to ruin a good situation, huh?
There is an underlying question that remains anytime a situation like this happens … though I'm not saying that it is or isn't happening. This is just a "reference piece for the future," for the question … why do people want to put an end, force an end or make a person or persons make a decision to end a situation just to keep the setting respectable and civil in the first place?
I respect the person who looks out for the good of a student-athlete … the person who makes the sacrifice to give up something they truly, without a doubt, care very greatly about.
On the other hand, I lose some respect for people who use their weight to ruin a perfectly good situation just because they can, but I've never been in a peeing-for-distance contest either, so I don't know what others think when it comes to such bullying antics. (If I had to have a favorite bully quote though, I'll look no further than the movie "Billy Madison," where the family of bullies likes to yell … "O'Doyle rules!" repeatedly. Didn't those folks slip on a banana peel near the end of that movie?)
Like I've stated earlier, nothing surprises me anymore … not the good, especially not the bad … nothing, and the sad part of any situation that has occurred in the past is that it will always happen again.
My advice to those who have the attitude of "the grass is always greener on the other side" is … one bad drought can cause the green grass to turn crabby.
To those people who have been slighted for a job well done, remember: One person’s – or school’s – loss is often another person’s or – school’s – gain.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor[[In-content Ad]]