So, the Belmont baseball team fell today to Gardner-Webb and its season is over.
I feel bad for the players and coaches and the support staff that puts a lot of effort towards making the team a success. It’s been fun traveling with them and having the chance to interact with them. I’m not happy or sad that the guys lost the game. I’m not disappointed in them and proud of them more than anything.
The thing about it is that if they lost two straight games here at the Tournament or won the entire thing, I would have had the same emotions I have now.
The main reason for this is that I had no control over what happens. My biggest and I mean biggest pet peeve is when fans or people who work for a team use “we.” When someone asks me a question about the Belmont baseball team, it’s always “they.” Do I throw any pitches? No. Do I hit any balls? Absolutely not.
I hate when people say that we need to win some games when you’re sitting in the stands. You’re not a part of the team. That goes for everyone. Unless you’re a coach of the team or actually playing on the team, don’t use “we.”
This also ties into the times that people come to me and say who my favorite player is on Belmont? The answer, everyone. Who do I want to pitch in a tough situation? Anyone.
Do I have a favorite player? Of course I do. Do I think that some pitchers are better than others? Definitely. You can’t watch a team for an entire season and not develop opinions. However, trying to get that out of me isn’t happening.
I do love each guy on the team, but as a knowledgeable sports fan, I know who’s good and isn’t.
Some may think that I’m cold with my emotions when it comes to the teams that I cover. Some think that I don’t care whether they win or lose. In some ways that’s true, because I’m the same after a win or a loss.
My job entails as an SID that I practice neutrality even though I work for an athletic department. I must be a statistician for the games and show no favoritism to anybody. I must operate press boxes and press rows where cheering isn’t allowed because we have to be respectful of representatives from the visiting school at the games.
The funny thing is that I’ve always been this way, even as a kid. I always had my favorite teams like the NY Giants, Knicks, NY Rangers, the Mets and I still care for those teams. However, the one type of fan I hated was the ignorant fans. I hated those people who would only follow the local teams and know nothing about the rest of the league. Yeah, I love the Giants, but what about the Broncos or the Rams. The Knicks are cool, but I want to learn more about the Nuggets or Clippers.
That’s why I hate watching ESPN and all they talk about are the Red Sox, Yankees and Mets for baseball. I like the Mets, but tell me more about the Orioles, Rays, Pirates and Rockies, seriously.
So as a kid, with the advice of my mother, I made sure that I knew everything about every sport. Hockey game, I’m watching. Tennis match, I’m looking. Soccer, I’m all over it. That’s the way that I operated and became a fan of the game just as much as the teams.
Long story short, I learned to detach myself from being an ignorant and narrow-minded fan of my teams and became a studier of the sport. That’s why I could and still can tell you just as much about the Tigers just as much as a Met, or break down the Giants just as well as the Dolphins. That’s how I roll and challenge anybody to take me on.
How does this relate to being an SID? In my current position, I will always cheer for Belmont teams to win because I like the coaches, the players and honestly, it’s easier to write a story about a win than a loss. However, the tasks and responsibilities of my job force me to be neutral, an arbiter if you will, for the operation of my events. I think growing up following sports like I did made me prepared for this job.
I think that’s why I do my job well.
However, I sometimes miss being a fan of a team and living and dying with every one of the games they play. The Mets are losing a lot of games now and my reaction is whatever. The Giants won the Super Bowl and I smiled for a little bit and went to bed and went to work the next day like nothing happened.
I have to stay detached from Belmont sports and even my favorite teams for that matter because they will lose and I have to be a professional. I have to be a professional and do my job just as well if Belmont loses a game in the last minute or if they win the national title. That’s what a good SID does.
So, when Belmont lost to Gardner-Webb today, I wrote my story, posted the stats and moved about my day as if they won a chance to play in the College World Series. It’s just the way that I’m trained.
I will miss traveling with the guys though, but life is full of disappointment and random happy moments that you have to embrace. Working with the baseball team was one of those happy moments.
I feel bad for the players and coaches and the support staff that puts a lot of effort towards making the team a success. It’s been fun traveling with them and having the chance to interact with them. I’m not happy or sad that the guys lost the game. I’m not disappointed in them and proud of them more than anything.
The thing about it is that if they lost two straight games here at the Tournament or won the entire thing, I would have had the same emotions I have now.
The main reason for this is that I had no control over what happens. My biggest and I mean biggest pet peeve is when fans or people who work for a team use “we.” When someone asks me a question about the Belmont baseball team, it’s always “they.” Do I throw any pitches? No. Do I hit any balls? Absolutely not.
I hate when people say that we need to win some games when you’re sitting in the stands. You’re not a part of the team. That goes for everyone. Unless you’re a coach of the team or actually playing on the team, don’t use “we.”
This also ties into the times that people come to me and say who my favorite player is on Belmont? The answer, everyone. Who do I want to pitch in a tough situation? Anyone.
Do I have a favorite player? Of course I do. Do I think that some pitchers are better than others? Definitely. You can’t watch a team for an entire season and not develop opinions. However, trying to get that out of me isn’t happening.
I do love each guy on the team, but as a knowledgeable sports fan, I know who’s good and isn’t.
Some may think that I’m cold with my emotions when it comes to the teams that I cover. Some think that I don’t care whether they win or lose. In some ways that’s true, because I’m the same after a win or a loss.
My job entails as an SID that I practice neutrality even though I work for an athletic department. I must be a statistician for the games and show no favoritism to anybody. I must operate press boxes and press rows where cheering isn’t allowed because we have to be respectful of representatives from the visiting school at the games.
The funny thing is that I’ve always been this way, even as a kid. I always had my favorite teams like the NY Giants, Knicks, NY Rangers, the Mets and I still care for those teams. However, the one type of fan I hated was the ignorant fans. I hated those people who would only follow the local teams and know nothing about the rest of the league. Yeah, I love the Giants, but what about the Broncos or the Rams. The Knicks are cool, but I want to learn more about the Nuggets or Clippers.
That’s why I hate watching ESPN and all they talk about are the Red Sox, Yankees and Mets for baseball. I like the Mets, but tell me more about the Orioles, Rays, Pirates and Rockies, seriously.
So as a kid, with the advice of my mother, I made sure that I knew everything about every sport. Hockey game, I’m watching. Tennis match, I’m looking. Soccer, I’m all over it. That’s the way that I operated and became a fan of the game just as much as the teams.
Long story short, I learned to detach myself from being an ignorant and narrow-minded fan of my teams and became a studier of the sport. That’s why I could and still can tell you just as much about the Tigers just as much as a Met, or break down the Giants just as well as the Dolphins. That’s how I roll and challenge anybody to take me on.
How does this relate to being an SID? In my current position, I will always cheer for Belmont teams to win because I like the coaches, the players and honestly, it’s easier to write a story about a win than a loss. However, the tasks and responsibilities of my job force me to be neutral, an arbiter if you will, for the operation of my events. I think growing up following sports like I did made me prepared for this job.
I think that’s why I do my job well.
However, I sometimes miss being a fan of a team and living and dying with every one of the games they play. The Mets are losing a lot of games now and my reaction is whatever. The Giants won the Super Bowl and I smiled for a little bit and went to bed and went to work the next day like nothing happened.
I have to stay detached from Belmont sports and even my favorite teams for that matter because they will lose and I have to be a professional. I have to be a professional and do my job just as well if Belmont loses a game in the last minute or if they win the national title. That’s what a good SID does.
So, when Belmont lost to Gardner-Webb today, I wrote my story, posted the stats and moved about my day as if they won a chance to play in the College World Series. It’s just the way that I’m trained.
I will miss traveling with the guys though, but life is full of disappointment and random happy moments that you have to embrace. Working with the baseball team was one of those happy moments.
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