LAURINBURG — For the past week the only thing I’ve watched on TV is the 2016 Rio Olympics and they have not disappointed.
The women’s gymnastics team was thrilling to watch as they won team gold. Seeing Michael Phelps continue his legacy as the greatest Olympian in history is always something I look forward to — the 2020 Olympics won’t be the same without him.
I’ve also watched some Olympic events for the first time this year — rowing, water polo and road cycling. I was surprised at how invested I got in the women’s road cycling but I just don’t see the appeal of rowing and water polo.
Most of the country seems to be in the same boat — no pun intended — since only a handful of states have high school water polo programs. According to the announcers water polo is a mix of soccer, wrestling, basketball, and hockey — because that’s going to be so easy for people to understand.
The Olympics will wrap up on Tuesday and the world will patiently wait four more years for the next summer Olympics. Three days will give me just enough time to shift gears from focusing on the Olympics to focusing on football — since the Scots take the field for their first game on Aug. 19.
I have a tradition where before each football season I watch Remember The Titans to get me excited about the upcoming season.
For those who haven’t seen the movie — shame on you — it’s based on the true story of African American football coach Herman Boone, played by Denzel Washington, is named head coach of a newly integrated school in Alexandria, Virginia in 1971.
The school, T.C. Williams High School, is the only integrated school in the state which causes turmoil. Washington’s character perfectly describes how I felt the first time I stepped on the sidelines of a Friday night football game.
“This is my sanctuary right here. All this hatred and turmoil swirling around us, but this, this is always right. Struggling, survival, victory, and defeat. Its just a game Doc, but I love it.”
While that’s my favorite quote, Herman Boone wasn’t my favorite character in the movie. Sheryl Yoast, played by Hayden Panettiere, as the know-it-all coaches’ daughter was my favorite. Everyone assumed because she was a little girl she didn’t know anything about football — which is something I could and still can relate to.
It always surprises people the amount of football knowledge I have, simply because I’m a woman. I spent years on Saturdays and Sundays bothering my dad with endless questions about players, penalties and formations, because I didn’t just want to watch football, I wanted to understand the game itself.
I also wanted the other sports reporters to take me seriously — I didn’t want to be just another pretty face. In a profession that is dominated by middle-aged men in khaki cargo shorts I needed to be able to hold my own during interviews. The first time I asked one of the coaches in Ohio how he thought his defense, after losing their top cornerback to graduation, did against the spread offense he and the four male reporters all turned and looked at me — eyes big and mouths open. They couldn’t believe that I had used the correct terminology and asked the question everyone wanted answered.
So gentlemen, please don’t underestimate me because like William Shakespeare wrote in A Midsummer Night’s Dream — “Though she be but little, she is fierce!”
Amber Hatten can be reached at 910-506-3170.