Thank you cards from athletes

Got a strange piece of mail today. A prep athlete who just happens to be a kid that's going off to play Division I football sent our sports staff a thank you card. His high school has produced some of the most obnoxious fans in our coverage area and the kid was basically apologizing for them while thanking us for covering his high school. It was kind of strange. Anyone else ever had a prep athlete apologize for their nasty parents and fans via thank you card before?

 

His parents probably put him up to it. And they should have.

After all, you got their son into college!

 

Received a few cards, letters and e-mails like that, when I was covering preps and youth sports. It happens. No biggie. Be glad it wasn't a chew-you-out card instead.

 

I haven't had an athlete apologize for their fans behaviour, but I, and on occasion my editors, have received thank you notes for the work I have done as someone prepares to move on to college.

I think feeling appreciated gives you a good feeling inside. I know it did for me, since I was not in any way expecting those that sent in notes to do so.

 

I just felt bad because the kid felt like he needed to apologize for the behavior others. But the place where this kid played at is notorious for producing some rough fans. They can't even get along with each other.

 

Like others, I've gotten some thank you cards and e-mails. It's nice to be appreciated. Especially when donuts are attached.

 

I think that's always a tough environment for a kid to grow up and play in. But you should feel confident that he's going to be a damn good guy, and that he appreciates that which you and your paper did in covering him through his prep career.

 

Funny this topic was started because a few co-workers and myself were talking about this very thing last week. Every Sunday we run a community stars section where youth baseball teams or softball teams can send in team pictures from tournaments they won. Its cute and fills space in the summer time.
Well we got one from a high school cheerleading squad who some kind of award at a team camp. The funny thing was that on the same day we received a thank you letter from the team captain for running the photo, even though it had not ran yet. Sucking up may not get them much, but they were the first photo on the page. So maybe it counts for something.

 

A basketball player I wrote about once went out of his way after a baseball game his team lost to seek me out and thank me and he shook my hand. Any time I get bitter about the biz, I think of that guy.

 

In all my years in the newspaper business, I received one thank you card from a high school athlete after his/her prep career ended. He ended up playing in the NBA.

 

I got the best card ever ... girls basketball team had made a collage card with all the headlines and photos I had run on their team that season, then they all signed it. It was awesome.

 

I once got a college graduation invitation for a kid I covered extensively in high school.

I had moved to a bigger paper three hours away by that point, but the parents were apparently able to track me down anyway.