Ever feel like you're being stalked?

Just a random thing from a baseball game the other night. I go up to the out-of-town team's coach -- who I've never met or even heard of before this -- and introduce myself before launching into the postgame interview. He says, "Yeah, I know. We've been keeping up with you on the internet."
It's a small thing, and nice that they were reading our paper. But it was still a little creepy on some level. Anybody else get this?

 

A little... it's strange that so many people know me but I don't know them. Guess it comes with being published. I imagine it's worse with people who write personal information.

 

People recognizing you -- and thinking they know you well, based on what they read -- comes with the territory.

Stalking, or people seeking out information on you personally, is a bit different. Freshen up your bullshit detector and keep your eyes open, if you're worried about it.

But it sounds like the coach just meant that he'd been reading your stuff, or keeping up with "your" team -- a soon-to-be opponent.

 

I once walked into my local comcast office to pay my Cable bill ... the woman behind the counter didn't ask for my name, my number, my address or my account number ... just looked into the computer and said Hi Mr. Write-Brained, your bill is XXX.

Never seen the woman in my life.

Reporters aren't celebrities but outsiders note who we are in case they ever need us ... it can be a little spooky but it happens.

 

if you write a weekly column and inject even a bit of personality into it, people think they know you. it's not a bad thing; embrace it even if it seems strange because nothing you do -- other than hiding -- will make it go away.

 

Alright, something's fishy here. A coach using the internet? You gotta be shittin' me!

 

yeah ... nothing worse than settling in for a six-hour flight across the country, two stories to write, and before wheels-up the guy next to me has a big grin on his face and is a huge fan and the questions start coming ...

Do you actually get to MEET the players?
So, do you go to all the games?
Do you call your story in after the game or fax it?
Don't you fly with the team?

etc.

ok, only 5 1/2 hours to go ...

 

Not to diminish the fact you thought it was a bit creepy, Batman, but I'd find it nothing but flattering that this guy knew you because he'd read your work on the Web.

 

A lot of coaches I covered in southern Vermont say they keep up with my stuff on-line because teams I cover now play their teams. It's strange (and cool) to cover my teams now against coaches I used to cover then.

 

One of our female newswriters was being stalked by a guy from a rival daily one time. Cops had to give him a special "talking to" about it. He was following her home after meetings.

 

I wish i was being stalked ...

Actually I had a roommate once was being stalked by some girl. It got to the point where she started fucking up his car, which made me nervous because we had similar cars and it would be easy enough to get them mixed up. Cops got involved and eventually was all sorted out.

I've dealt with people coming up and talking to me like I know them for the better part of my life. My dad is a minister and has carted us all over the country growing up. It seems rare when a week goes by and I don't run into at least three people who I have no fucking clue who they are and they start asking me about how things are going, etc, etc., all because they knew who my dad was from like 20 years ago.

Other than that, I know most opposing team coaches read our website regularly just to keep tabs on what's going on with the team. especially in some of the sports where we are a bit isolated from the rest of the league. I have had several coaches who I meet for the first time tell me 'it's nice to finally put a face to the name' or something along those lines.

 

A sports director at a TV station I interned for told me this story -- He was out covering a high school football game. His wife is at home. Phone rings at their home, his wife answers, and a creepy voice says, "Your husband dies tonight." Then the guy hung up. Nothing ever happened, but my boss was a little startled when like a dozen cop cars all the sudden showed up at the local high schoool and surrounded the press box.