Fanview: September 17, 2016

Joe T.

Joe T. Let’s Go Mets!

By Joe Torosian

“Did I ever tell you, that the first time I saw you I felt like I had seen you before?”
—- Joe Banks

Kick it!

Right off the Top: Remember that time you working really hard and were so tired you were about to quit…and then somebody gave you a bottle of Powerade and all your passion returned?

Yeah, I don’t either.

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I can appreciate someone being thrust into a position they weren’t expecting to be in…Kind of like T.J. Rubley a few decades ago…but you don’t have to be a jackwagon about it.

Word’s been coming in from multiple locations that attendants working the gates of football stadiums across the SGV are giving a lot of attitude.

(Are stadium gates run by TSA?)

First, if you’re an athletic director…make sure the people working your gate know what a CIF press credential is…But what’s even more preposterous is when the gate-keeper gets a god-complex.

Note to Gate-Keepers: Ask for help if you don’t know what to do about a press credential…Oh, and be polite.

Even "The Devils Herd" at South El Monte wants to see what the Mets are doing. (Photo by Joe T.)

Even “The Devils Herd” at South El Monte wants to see what the Mets are doing. (Photo by Joe T.)

I truly believe the Mt. View resurgence was setback two years because an individual with a god-complex told me after I produced a credential and identification, that I needed to stand in line–during the homecoming game–and show it to the ticket booth.

The Vikings lost that night…and it has cost Coach Victor Ambruso several free taco meals to get right in regards to Mid Valley Sports karma…

Also, we’ve had several programs complain about not being included in our Top 50 coverage area…If you are on the outside looking in, the best advice we can give you is to have somebody working the gate who knows what they are doing.

Thank you…We now resume this regularly scheduled column.

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Duarte’s 3-0?

Say what!

I said Duarte is 3-0.

Did you know the average size of the quarterbacks listed on the Falcons roster is six-foot-three and a half?…That’s Arcadia tall…

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I just added Los Altos running back Tyler Nevens to my fantasy team.

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Joe T.'s High School football novel is available through Amazon.com “A literary snapshot of what goes on over the course of a high school football season…an awesome read and a story that truly will transcend time.”—Jim Singiser, AD/HC Arroyo Knights Football “Thrill, dread, anxiety, love, agony, success, and failure; basically all the emotions you feel as a football player/coach as you do in life, all wrapped up in a single book.”—Marc Paramo, HC Rosemead Panthers Football “I read the book and really enjoyed it a great deal. I would think coaches and parents could Learn a lot.”—John “Coach” Kentera, former sports talk host at Mighty 690 & Mighty 1090

Joe T.’s High School football novel is available through Amazon.com
“A literary snapshot of what goes on over the course of a high school football season…an awesome read and a story that truly will transcend time.”—Jim Singiser, AD/HC Arroyo Knights Football
“Thrill, dread, anxiety, love, agony, success, and failure; basically all the emotions you feel as a football player/coach as you do in life, all wrapped up in a single book.”—Marc Paramo, HC Rosemead Panthers Football
“I read the book and really enjoyed it a great deal. I would think coaches and parents could Learn a lot.”—John “Coach” Kentera, former sports talk host at Mighty 690 & Mighty 1090

When I was raised by one parent, I was pro-parent. I was pro-parent before becoming a parent…I’m always pro-parent…I’m especially pro good-parent…but, wow, in relation to my world it was a bad week for sports parents.

And the only thing that helps me put it in perspective is the concept pertaining to “The Theology of You Suck”…

The first account I heard was a football player crying because a coach was too hard on him verbally…parent complains…the administration tells the head coach to pass on to his assistant coach that he needs to be nicer…

My response was; “Your kid (16-year-old biological boy) shouldn’t be playing football or doing anything competitive…And you suck as a parent…” (True)…Don’t allow them to be exposed to the world if you are going to try and control and course-correct every feeling they have, and/or justify all of their emotions by declaring someone else is always at fault for them feeling bad.

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The first time the Los Angeles Rams played the Seattle Seahawks at the Coliseum was on Halloween in 1976…I was there…They shot the Olympics scene of Michael Landon’s movie “The Loneliest Runner” at halftime…The crowd started laughing when they were using a spray bottle on him before the shot to look like he was sweating…They had him come out of the tunnel and everyone stood and cheered…Funny, but I still haven’t been paid for being an extra in that movie.

(I’m thinking I’ve got some dough coming to me for that effort…with interest.)

Rams beat the expansion Seahawks, 45-6. James Harris threw two touchdown passes, one to Ron Jessie and the other to Harold Jackson. Pat Haden threw a scoring pass to Tom Geredine (the only catch of his Ram career). Lawrence McCutcheon and Rob Scribner rushed for touchdowns. Monte Jackson had a 41-yard pick-six.

I like the Rams tomorrow…I’ll like them on Monday (unless they sign a deal with Time Warner)…I just don’t know if they’re going to win on Sunday.

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“Theology of You Suck Part Two”:
Second account I heard was a complaint because not enough people were talking about the positives of their team that lost by 60 points.

“The boys on our team work hard, and no one tries harder, and they never quit…people shouldn’t just be talking about them losing. They should stay positive.”

I didn’t get to directly respond to this one but I did say…the team sucks. It has nothing to do with them trying hard, they just suck. It has nothing to do with yearbook spirit, pride, and yada yada yada…they just suck. And it’s okay to suck…

I wrote a book that was 100,000 words long…I edited it countless times…a professional editor edited it twice…I also used spell-check and Grammarly…I worked hard, I showed spirit getting up at five in the morning to work on it…and I still used “temporally” when I meant to use “temporarily”…It’s crushing…it hurts…I pray no one every notices it or brings it up to me ever again…but I sucked…I blew it…and I have to own it…You suck as a parent when you don’t let your kids own their defeats…

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Art Carrington...the Get-Back Coach all other Get-Back Coaches are compared to. (Photo by Joe T.)

Art Carrington…the Get-Back Coach all other Get-Back Coaches are compared to. (Photo by Joe T.)

I was asked if last night’s 75-7 loss to South Hills was the worst in Temple City history…yes, it is.

In fact, I hear Tommy Lasorda has an opinion of the performance…

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Sal Tovar? Yeah, that dude’s alright.

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“The Theology of You Suck Part Three”:
The third account, I fielded questions on a football coach in our coverage area…The parent said the coach sucked…I said, “Why? Because he runs a spread instead of single-wing…you don’t like his base defense?”

“There’s nothing special going on and we’re always losing.”

“Have you done anything to help make things special?” I asked.

No answer.

Maybe instead of complaining about what the coach should be doing, perhaps parents should be asking what they can do for the coach and his staff. What can they do to make things easier for his family? What little show of support can they provide? What stand will they seriously take when a clueless administrator (Not all administrators are clueless) is making things rough for him and the program?

In these cases…you suck if you’re parent. It doesn’t matter how much you care, how much you want the team to win, you suck if you are constantly trying to undermine the person doing the job you, yourself, are incapable of doing.

Like I said, it was a bad week…Most of the time, 90% of the time, parents are aces…I am pro-parent, but there are times we all suck…no matter our intentions.

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Speaking of Duarte: On September 25, 1992, Johnnie Shelton rushed for 110 yards, scoring on a 49-yard touchdown run, and quarterback Greg Ainsworth (father of Geovontray) was dominant in the Falcons 27-21 victory over Workman…What does that have to do with the price of lettuce 24 years later?…That win improved Duarte to 3-0 on the season…which was the last time it started a season 3-0 until this year…The 1992 schedule would end with the Falcons as Mission Valley League champs, a perfect 9-0 during the regular season, and advancing to the CIF finals before falling to Valencia 23-15 (at Citrus College).

It also earned them the old heave-ho from the MVL…

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Sometimes I think former Cal High HC, Jim Arnold arranges La Serna’s football schedule…Tesoro next week? St. Francis last night? The Israeli Defense Forces in Week Five?

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Speakes2Midbits (same as ‘Tidbits’)
Midbits: I’m feeling a little bit better about not having Muir in my Top 20 a week ago…

Midbits: Did you know that Eric Dickerson failed to rush for 100 yards in his first three NFL games?

Midbits: Can I interest anybody in a free human air conditioner? It’s called a “Jay Bruce” and it never stops circulating the air because it never stops fanning.

Midbits: I don’t know why people complain…I like the expansion of the MLB rosters in September.

Midbits: “Paul Hackett Has Risen From The Football Grave”…Also known as USC football 2016.

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MLB GAMES JOE T. HAS WATCHED THIS SEASON (Minimum 5-innings)
New York Mets: 109
Los Angeles Dodgers: 17
San Francisco Giants: 14
Los Angeles Angels: 8
Quick Pitch (Watney/Ryan): 84

The Dude abides…

638

Psalm 131

Contact Joe at joe@midvalleysports.com

Author of “Tangent Dreams: A High School Football Novel” available through amazon.com …and “The Dead Bug Tales” available this fall.

Follow Joe on Twitter @joet13b

“Joe T.’s Scoreboard” is found at www.midvalleynews.com every Wednesday & in the hard copy of the Mid Valley News, published every Wednesday.

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