Lose with dignity, win with zoom class

Emotionally spent - The weather report is brought to you by Calzones and AutoZone. October mid-80s temp, dead air with bugs, hot. Who wants to race three miles under those conditions? Who hasn’t run through the woods and smacked themselves in the face so hard in gnat defense they almost scored a technical knockout? Mostly nobody, that’s who. Cape’s twin one-point wins versus Caesar Rodney at Brecknock Park Oct. 21 were even hard to watch without an umbrella, a blue chair and a Dollar General mini-fan. The oddity about the suck-up-the-sweat team efforts from all runners was the absence of discernible emotions after the race was over and scores were tabulated. Coaches Mike Tucci of CR and Matt Lindell of Cape simply compared results. The athletes stood under trees and laughed about swatting or snorting bugs. Some hiked up their masks for protection while running. But unless someone told you who won, you would have no idea. Chill the celebration and win with class. I’ve never seen a runner dance through the finish chute. 

Miss magazine - It would be a good yearly supplement to the Cape Gazette sports section featuring missed and can’t-miss athletes. You see it all the time in professional sports, those late-round draft choices or non-drafted players who later snap beyond expectations. I don’t know how many athlete signing stories I’ve written, but I think at least half of the athletes stop playing while in college or actually never play. I always tell athletes, “No one can stop you from being an athlete but yourself. You don’t need to be canonized and certified by some coach. It’s an ideal, a lifestyle and standard that’s not easy to achieve over a lifetime.” The flip side of all this is trying to sell a kid to a college using words like “heart” and “character” and “fight in the dog” metaphors. We all get snookered and suckered into this game, and that’s why club sports and Division III multiple sports may be the best way to go. 

Football without fans - I always thought football players who liked contact in practice were Cro-Magnons in helmets. Take away game-day adrenaline which eases the pain, shut out the band, fans and cheerleaders, and you’re left with an abundance of testosterone in the trenches and growling guys hell-bent on proving manliness by crashing into each other. Cape at Central Friday night begins with Golden Knights’ Wing-T versus Cape’s Wing-D. I write Wing-D because the Vikings must secure the edges and turn this game over to the big dogs inside. And then we’ll all see what’s up. Coach George Glenn (current coach J.D. Maull is a Glenn disciple, which makes them Apostles) always says, “If they come out and start beating you in the knock-back game and you can’t stop them, you are in for a long night.” The bottom line is the game is not won by masterminds; it’s more of a blocking, tackling and execution story. 

Halls of history - It’s not the hall of fame, but the history it contains that has permanence. Robert B. Briggs of Milford gave me a heads-up that Joe Lank of Milford was on Dave Nelson’s 1951 Delaware football team and is a member of the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame and University of Delaware Hall of Fame. Here’s a link to Lank, https://bluehens.com/news/2015/9/30/210382888. Joe was a three-sport standout in football, baseball, and track and field. Joe was UD Senior Male Athlete of the Year in 1952. The article from 2015 says Joe currently resides in Lewes, and I punch myself and say, “How do I not know this guy?” I hope Joe is still on the planet. 

Snippets - I’m just happy that the athletes are playing, know what I’m saying? And I’m trying to be a good player, thankful for the privilege of access because I’ve earned the right to be there, but in a way, I realize I ain’t no better than anyone else who wishes they were there. I often said of the knee brace, “It doesn’t make the athlete slower, it just makes them look slower.” And I honestly think athletes wearing masks makes them look safer but doesn’t make them any more or less safe. Did you know there were undercover COVID cops at games? Sounds like an observation from a clinically paranoid person, except it’s true. Two words you don’t want to hear with a medical person standing over your prone body. One is “Clear!” The other is “Intubate.” Stay safe out there. Go on now, git!