Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

The View from Wendy's World: Football season off to rocky start for editor

Its football season yet again.

As the Wolves took the playing

field over the last two weeks in

preparation of the full-fledged

seasons, I noted that some things

havent changed. There are plenty

of familiar faces in the stands,

some claiming their particular

seats and unerringly lending

their support. Some voices that

can always be heard about the

roaring crowds, even on the field

- Stop that boy!

Im always amazed by the camaraderie

among the players. Its a

bit primitive - that coming from a

girl who missed out on that kind

of friendship as a child - but

enviable. Theres something

desirable about being part of that

team and I understand why

theres always a long roster of

players, young men of the district

who want to belong, even if

they dont excel at the sport.

And there are those who come

to know me by sight, speak to me

whenever and wherever we happen

to meet, and are always

polite.

I like all those things. I especially

like the way everyone gets

caught up in the moment. When

theres a play that brings fans to

their feet, Im usually hopping

around on the sidelines, struggling

to get into what I hope is a

good position to photograph the

next play and often yelling my

own encouragement to the players.

But there seems to be a negative

side to this sport and I witnessed

a display of that already

this season. A coach, apparently

not liking a particular reaction by

a Prescott player, called the

young man a name. It was posed

in the form of a question - Are

you a ? I was nearby and

heard the words clearly, as did

the player.

I thought about it for several

minutes, hoping that I could

think of some other meaning, but

it was pretty clear. And I would

love to say this is an isolated

incident, but there have been

many times Ive heard slang

words that have a very negative

connotation being hurled around

the sidelines, sometimes by players

and often by coaches.

I could stop here and say that

I have this concern and that concern,

and someone else would

point out that these arent little

boys on that field and that

theyve heard worse. I wont

even argue that point and will

even that I probably dont understand

the relationship between

coaches and players - and never

will.

Let me make it clear that I

believe Prescott has an awesome

coaching staff. The Prescott

Curley Wolves have treated me

to a trip to Little Rock to cover

finals. Ive noticed many of these

young men simply because they

are so polite in a world in which

teenage rudeness is expected.

The season didnt kick off

with the absolute best experience

for me but I know the Wolves

and Cubs will be out on the field

every Friday night throughout

the fall, playing their hearts out

and putting everything they have

into the game. Go Wolves!

(Wendy Ledbetter is editor of

the Nevada County Picayune)