I was hoping you'd post here Dan. You are a rare breed indeed and I can believe you don't get mad at this silly crap. I too played ball as a kid. Football, and I never got to going good until I made myself mad at the guy in front of me. Once I was mad, I hit harder and went to the ball like a madman. For me it was a fight that must be won. I didn't ever play dirty or talk crap...But I did play harder.
I don't think I'm a poor sport and I hope others don't think I am. Have I mouthed off on 200 to let off some steam?..sure. Most of us have at one time or another. It's part of competition, don't you agree?
You mean to tell me you could go to the playground day after day getting your butt whipped and walk away with a smile on your face? How does that work? I went to school with a fella like that. He's either in the nut house or in politics by now.
You don't think a certain amount of anger is part of being competitive?
One of the things I remember from the ball playing days was that we always knew which guys on the other team would lose their cool. The second you got them out of their game, it was over.
I kinda figure the 200 trash talk is a bit like that. The last time I lost my cool over a game was a Little League game. Dad happened to be coach and he set me on the end of the bench and said until I learned to handle that, I could and would sit there. He clearly made an impression.
That being said, it didn't always fit with the high school coaches I played for. My junior year our basketball team was 15-2. After one of those two losses, the coach had guys crying. Another guy and I were sitting there stuffing towels in our mouths to stop from laughing at the silliness of it all. Coach saw it and I never left the bench after that
That was a long time ago. AH is the place I get to go to pretend to be a fighter pilot. Nothing is at stake. That doesn't mean I don't like to win a good dogfight. But it's not real life. It's my escape from having to be serious.
In AH CorkyJr is a 22 year old invincible P38G pilot, who despite his ineptitude has never once died, and who always has a plane waiting for him. He's got all his hair, drinks like a fish, has a cigarette dangling from his lower lip while wandering about in his battered A2 jacket and 50 mission crush officers cap.
No bills, no mortgage, no wife and kids to worry about, no job to get to. No responsibility.
How could I get angry about that?
