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Paul Turner: Spokane family rivalries
There’s a little problem with the picture of Spokane as one big, happy family.
It isn’t a big deal, but it’s not something we usually admit.
The truth is, sometimes Gonzaga basketball fans and Washington State football fans get on each others’ nerves.
OK, I’m not saying it happens a lot or that it is the typical way these two groups relate to one another. But for certain diehard fans of either the Zags or the Cougs, the presence of these other sports partisans in our midst can be an unwelcome distraction.
The disenchantment is not always expressed out loud. But if you are at all adept at interpreting grumbles or faint praise, you know what I’m saying is true.
Now let’s be clear about one thing. Most area residents are not graduates of either Gonzaga or Washington State. So if you are inclined to care about college sports at all, not necessarily a given, chances are you have no trouble rooting for teams representing both schools. It’s the Spokane way.
Bowl games, NCAA tournament appearances … you know the list.
Go, teams, go!
Yes, we’ve all heard rumors that Eastern, the University of Idaho and Whitworth field athletic squads. Bless their hearts. But if you have failed to acknowledge that GU basketball and WSU football are the big kids on the block, you’re either in denial or impressively sheltered from mainstream local media.
Those two teams get most of the attention, most of the time. It’s a local fact of life.
For some fans of the Big 2 though, sharing the Inland Northwest spotlight isn’t always enough. They want ALL the attention focused on their favorite team. Or so it would seem.
No need to raise your hand if you’ve ever worked within earshot of some annoying person who simply never shut up about the Cougs/Zags. Especially if you yourself have been guilty of occasionally going on and on about the other team.
I’ve been hearing impassioned accounts of such scenarios for years. Funny thing. It’s always supporters of the other team who are the problem sports fans.
Now I’m not suggesting there is a significant number of backers of one team who actively root against the other. I’m sure that’s not the case. But it’s not unheard of for those with a certain obsession to regard with suspicion people who do not share this zealotry.
I won’t repeat some of the unflattering ways fans of one team have been known to characterize the other team’s school or student athletes. But sometimes the resentment is rather obvious and does us no credit.
You know what they say. No one can get under your skin like someone who knows you.
It’s almost as if at least a few Spokane sports fans had decided: “This town’s not big enough for both of us.”
Which, most might agree, is crazy.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with rivalry. It can bring out the best in all concerned.
Or it can more closely resemble jealousy. You could draw your own conclusions about what good usually comes of that.
To be sure, the majority of area sports fans have no trouble rooting for local schools, across the board, in most situations.
And it seems somewhat illogical for fans of a winning football team to experience friction with fans of a highly rated basketball team. But when you’re all in for one or the other, it’s tempting to think everyone ought to have the same priorities.
Guess what? They don’t.
Still, GU hoops and Cougar football get the biggest slices of the attention pie. That’s not going to change. Yes, it bugs a few spectators to have their teams share center stage when hopes are high for both.
But perhaps they ought to borrow a page from the playbook of those who simply do not care about either.
When faced with coverage of or discussions about the team you don’t really follow – tune it out.
I have been ranting against monkeying with the clock since the previous century.
And no, it’s not just because it drives me up the wall to hear people incorrectly refer to daylight savings time (there’s no “s” at the end, it’s not a banking institution).
It’s because I believe we could achieve the desired effects of the annual time change – whatever they are – by adjusting our individual schedules and leaving the clocks alone.
Moreover, we could thus avoid the embarrassing spectacle of a few people seeming to believe that fooling with the clock somehow produced more hours of sunlight.
If we put this to a vote, how do you think it would turn out?
Contact the writer at srpaulturner@spokesman.com.