2008 Woodie Awards
Violent movies and diaper bags
Hillary Gieseman
Issue date: 2/27/06 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
I find myself reeling from my experience at the Overland Park Racquet Club on Saturday afternoon. I can usually handle athletes being crude and oftentimes disgusting, but the behavior of the men's tennis team has embarrassed me today.
I was looking forward to seeing the team, hoping they would be able to react well to a new coaching staff.
But today, all I really want to know is, "What the hell were you thinking?"
Several members of our tennis team put John McEnroe to shame with hissy fits my seven-year-old cousin would envy. The foul language made me feel so disgusting, I thought I should go home and watch "Scarface" to clean myself.
I know it is not easy being an athlete. These guys are competitors. They want to win. But on Saturday, they were toddlers dressed up as college athletes. I am actually mad at them for embarrassing this school.
It was that bad.
I'll admit, when a few of them started to fray at the edges I got a little giddy knowing I had found an interesting point to my story. But after a few minutes and glances at some of the other observers, I realized the players were not just embarrassing themselves.
They were embarrassing me.
I almost wanted to throw on a Creighton jacket and hand out water to the players. I just couldn't find one quickly enough.
The worst part is, this really is a good team. They have talent. They won the match. They just have zero self control and zero self respect.
Of course, there are some really great guys on the team. They were not all acting like spoiled brats that afternoon. But enough of them did. Enough to say I hope this is a learning experience.
Maybe the guys on the team who acted professionally and represented our school well can pull their bad-attitude teammates' heads from you know where.
While I cannot stress enough how nice a few of our guys are, I also cannot describe in words how sick the others made me.
It is funny how great talent is most often eclipsed by great attitude. Grant Gelina, Jon Ghani, Justin Ghani and Joe Kane are talented, but useless until they learn to control their aggression.
If they cannot fix their issues, they will again be beaten by less talented players.
If a chain is only as strong as its weakest point, the UMKC men's tennis team does not need to worry about talent. They should worry about being outclassed by players who are still in junior high.
As for me, I'll catch a few more matches - hopefully something will change over the season. Just in case, though, I'll remember to bring "Scarface" for myself and baby bottles for the team.
hgieseman@unews.com
I was looking forward to seeing the team, hoping they would be able to react well to a new coaching staff.
But today, all I really want to know is, "What the hell were you thinking?"
Several members of our tennis team put John McEnroe to shame with hissy fits my seven-year-old cousin would envy. The foul language made me feel so disgusting, I thought I should go home and watch "Scarface" to clean myself.
I know it is not easy being an athlete. These guys are competitors. They want to win. But on Saturday, they were toddlers dressed up as college athletes. I am actually mad at them for embarrassing this school.
It was that bad.
I'll admit, when a few of them started to fray at the edges I got a little giddy knowing I had found an interesting point to my story. But after a few minutes and glances at some of the other observers, I realized the players were not just embarrassing themselves.
They were embarrassing me.
I almost wanted to throw on a Creighton jacket and hand out water to the players. I just couldn't find one quickly enough.
The worst part is, this really is a good team. They have talent. They won the match. They just have zero self control and zero self respect.
Of course, there are some really great guys on the team. They were not all acting like spoiled brats that afternoon. But enough of them did. Enough to say I hope this is a learning experience.
Maybe the guys on the team who acted professionally and represented our school well can pull their bad-attitude teammates' heads from you know where.
While I cannot stress enough how nice a few of our guys are, I also cannot describe in words how sick the others made me.
It is funny how great talent is most often eclipsed by great attitude. Grant Gelina, Jon Ghani, Justin Ghani and Joe Kane are talented, but useless until they learn to control their aggression.
If they cannot fix their issues, they will again be beaten by less talented players.
If a chain is only as strong as its weakest point, the UMKC men's tennis team does not need to worry about talent. They should worry about being outclassed by players who are still in junior high.
As for me, I'll catch a few more matches - hopefully something will change over the season. Just in case, though, I'll remember to bring "Scarface" for myself and baby bottles for the team.
hgieseman@unews.com
