WayBack Then and Now

BobLee
July11/ 2013

“Every ill wind blows someones’ sails” is, like most “old sayings”, truer more often than not.   The Great Unpleasantness, like Duke Lacrosse six years ago, has made my job here almost too easy.   Pierce is enjoying the same benefits from Bully Barber’s Sideshow.   Human Foolishness on Steroids has become a constant circa 2013.    Almost as bountiful as the headline issues are the side bars that keep bubbling up……

Lets hop aboard The Wayback Machine with Mr Peabody and his adopted boy Sherman:   This website is coming up on fifteen years and 1,600 incredibly insightful columns.  It was birthed by a certain clueless twerp’s purchase of GoHeels.com from VilCom in order to silence “people like me” and my GoodSports’ buddy Chansky.

As I recall, it took 28 seconds after the purchase before notorious UNC spokesman Steve Kirschner notified me that I probably was not going to fit into their plans for the new direction of the website.  Say it ain’t so Kirschy!

It then took three days for this website to be up and running.  That was, as noted, about 1,600 columns ago.   It has been quite a fun ride ever since.   Some days more funner than others but always fun.

In about our 2nd or 3rd month, I wrote something that superglued me to the Enemies List of a certain boutique message board composed of enthusiastic partisans of a certain area sports program.  Long forgot whatever set’em off.  It wouldn’t matter.

I did not come up with the term “Board Monkey” but I guess I am responsible for it now being in Funk & Wagnall’s.  They were / are dedicated “BCS Before I Die; No Matter What”  types.  When you see a thread entitled “Should we firebomb Dave Huxtable’s house?”  you know you are dealing with some loco looloos.

Several wrote to say what a terrible human being I was.   In the ensuing years I would on occasion, on the concourse of an area stadium or arena, feel dark little eyes boring into me and catch a sneered lip on a passerby.  That was about it.

At about the five year mark there was another flare-up that resulted in a few more “you’re a terrible human being” emails but it was short-lived.   I soon forgot all but three names and even forgot the name of their cyber clubhouse.

So, this week I heard from one of’em.  That Faust column contained a 5-word sentence that upset a local loonie.   I get 3 or Crazy-foil-hat-guy-with-crazy-foil-hat-cat4 “…. will be hearing from my attorney” messages a year.  For that reason I retain two able barristers – P Coleman Buck and Christian Stiegemeyer.  One I use when I might have “crossed a line”.  The other I consult when I’m dealing with known sociopaths.  The latter knows people who know people (wink, wink).

Their advice ranges from (1) get a conceal carry permit …. (2) buy an attack dog …. (3) TTTGAL – “Tell Them To Get A Life”.  #3 is the usual strategy.

I resolved this one sans counsel.   Every BLSays column has 4-5 offensive references purposely inserted.  “Being provocative” means being provocative.  Duh!   The sentence of concern was a throw-away line so I immediately threw it away…. zap.   I so notified the offendee.  The comment had been up about 20 minutes.

The easiest battles to win are often the ones you simply avoid.   It took me a long time to learn that lesson.  From 15 years of experience I knew this would not end so easily.   He had not yet told me what a terrible human being I am.   Gotta get that in.

I had this pegged as a four email joust.   It may end up at just three.   Maybe I’m getting better (or worse) with these.  So he told me how awful I am and how “nobody I know reads your crap any more” .  YIKES!

I showed this to Pierce.  He reminded me of the story of the Upper East Side dowagers on election night 1980 when Reagan took 44 states to the limo libs amazement because “no one I know voted for him”.

The readership of this site has never been higher.  The Faust column is already a Top Ten-viewed column.

Thanking him for his market research, I asked him to give my regards to whatstheirnames at that boutique fan forum.   An hour later I checked my site analytics and VOILA….. I had 17 links from him and his buddies.   Am I good or what?

I truly did not intend to offend him at all.  Rather than debate the offensiveness of it just delete it.   He gets to impress his buddies about “telling BobLee off” and I get half of a column telling you about it.   Win – Win.

I meant to ask him if they still had a bounty on Dave Huxtable’s head since Dave is now in Raleigh…. but I decided not to.

***

As I added to the Faust column….. I DO agree with the text and tone of Bubba’s public comment on Wednesday.   I’ve checked with a dozen or so reasonable adults with experiences in executive decision-making.  They also agree.

This is a ring-tailed mess of semi-epic proportions viewed in the context of the past three years.  Until “they” are confident this current situation has bottomed out…. withhold final judgment.   If this were in-season a much more timely resolution would be necessary.

I won’t hypothesize how this mess might be resolved.  Once it is I may / may not agree but, for now, another week or so to reach a verdict is acceptable.   Saying “something” was, however, important.  Bubba did that.

Placating the ABC lynch mob should never be a consideration.  THAT will never happen.

Of my focus group of a dozen experienced executives…. eight added the comment – “Can you imagine the greater disaster this would be if Baddour were still around?”   The other four thought it but did not say it.

The central question I am hearing among my level-headed UNCers is:  “Was Roy aware of Fats Thomas’ proximity to his program BEFORE the original traffic stop in early June?  If not….. he certainly should have been.  If he WAS, what logical steps could he / should he have taken to cut Fats off from his players some time ago?  The Fats Thomases are a grim reality for any big-time basketball program.

Butch dummying up and “playing Sgt Schultz” about what his best friend Blake was up to got Butch canned.   Roy not fulfilling his “in loco parentis” responsibilities is equally concerning.

Drip…. drip….. drip.

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