FanSpeak 1/4/04

More Tiger support

I JUST wanted to comment on how much I enjoyed the Christmas tournament game between Cape and Jackson. I am a die- hard Central fan, so the loss was very upsetting, but the guys should still be very proud of themselves. I was (as always) impressed with the number of Jackson fans that came out to support their boys. They always come in great numbers -- no matter what the event and are loud and seem to be very proud of their school. I was disappointed that there weren't as many Central fans there as there should have been. Central is an excellent school, and we've got a great ball club. As a community, we should be supportive across the board, whether it's basketball, football, soccer or whatever -- there is a lot to be proud of. I hope to see more community members out showing their support in the future. Wear your orange and black with pride. I do.

The jury is out

I KNOW the season is just half over, but can we take a poll of what team is more overrated, Southeast football or Southeast women's basketball?

Jackson on a roll

THREE FOR three. Congratulations to the Indians, Lady Indians and Indian wrestling teams for winning the Tiger Classic, the girls Christmas tournament and the boys Christmas tournament. Way to go, Jackson, and I hope you keep up the good work the rest of the year.

A Jackson sweep

I WANT to congratulate the boys and girls teams from Jackson for winning the Christmas tournaments. The boys had a lot of heart and the win is well-deserved. I hope the community gets behind these guys and gets our facilities fixed. It's too bad that we can never host districts because our facilities are so poor. Congratulations again to the teams. And community, let's get behind our teams.

My one call

REGARDING MARTY'S sad saga of SEMO's trip to Depaul: "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, oh what a party we'd have!" If I ever get arrested, I think I'll call Marty Mishow first. He'd make a great defense lawyer.

Poor sportsmanship

IF I were from Charleston I would be incredibly embarrassed about the performance of my basketball team. First, you have the players getting in a brawl with another team. Then, you have a student athlete acting like a 5-year-old on several occasions -- in one instance possibly costing his team the game. In all of these instances I did not one time witness the coaching staff apply discipline to these student-athletes. I would be very embarrassed and would ask myself, "Why isn't anything being done to make us a more respectable representation of our school system?"

A Martz basher

PERTAINING TO Sunday's St. Louis Rams game: They were out-played. The coach didn't know what to call half the time. He couldn't figure out the defense. I think that was about the lousiest game I've ever seen them play.

For the record

MATT STROUP held the scoring record for the tournament with 119. Do your job, for heaven's sake. Is anything ever written in this paper ever researched, or just what the writers think. Pathetic!

No official tournament records are kept by the tournament organizers. We were going off information that other media outlets were using. This call initiated a look into our archives, where we found that Matt Stroup did indeed score 119 points for Chaffee in the 2000 University High Christmas Tournament. The record was eclipsed this year by Dominitrix Johnson of Bell City with 127. Our apologies to Matt and our readers.

The Central character

FOR THE announcers on 1220, this is not the Tiger tournament, and they're not the host team. You kept saying "We're here watching Tiger basketball." No, you were here watching the Southeast Missourian Tournament, and you weren't sponsored by the Tigers this time, and you weren't there just to cover the Tigers. I think the sponsors from out of town -- like Perryville, Marble Hill and down south -- ought to remember that next year and not support you all during this program. Let you get all of your sponsors from Cape and see how far that gets you.

Bringing in the ringer

I THINK it's pretty sad when a coach resorts to such low means that he has to add a player on Saturday in order to beat a team. He needs to look at the rest of his team and realize that he had a good thing going.

Poor sports in the stands

MY HUSBAND and I attend the Christmas tournament almost every year as part of our family tradition. We and the kids go and enjoy all the games and this year was no exception. But I did want to comment that it's an absolute shame that one of the worst examples of sportsmanship we saw came from the only Christian school in the tournament. We're not affiliated with Central, Notre Dame or Jackson. We're from out of town. You always hear about Notre Dame with their Christian standards and principles and yet their fans and parents have some of the worst sportsmanship and language that I've heard at any sporting event, and that's really shocking.

Rooting for more material

JUST LOOKING at the Jackson cheerleaders I think someone needs to add a couple of inches to their skirts or make some of them who are hiking the skirts up wear them a little bit longer. After having been a cheerleader myself, I know what it's about. It's about enjoying being the center of attention and showing off.

Keith, it's time

I THINK ABC's Keith Jackson needs to hang it up. Aside from his cynical Pac-10 bias, I don't think he can see anymore!

Increase tournament's size

THE ANNUAL basketball Christmas tournament is a very good and exciting tournament, but it is not the best one in the state. The Springfield Blue and Gold Tournament is the best. Me and my friends went to the tournament and saw some very exciting and close ball games. Yes, there was some blow outs, but not like the ones here. The teams are more evenly matched and there are 32 teams in it, which is very good to have. We saw several people we knew from around Southeast Missouri there, and they were also very impressed. So, come on Southeast Missouri, get 32 teams in your tournament and make it more interesting.