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I have been called discourteous, egotistical, profane, caustic, condesending — and worse. And that's just by Carl!
But no one has ever called me "boring."
And that is the key.
I am much like that one instructor at every five-week professional camp whom all students hate or fear. I can accept either emotion.
Why?
Because you can't touch me. You can't compete with me. I may not always be right. But I am never wrong!
See, I don't care about "how" people take me. I tell it like it is and let the chips fall. "Where they may" to finish the cliché.
On the internet everyone is brave in front of a keyboard. I have offered time and time again to fly to someone's hometown and settle face-to-face ... all have decided to run, to hide when I make that offer.
But that is expected since the plain truth is that all umpires overrate their abilities, and internet umpires, on the average, are worse than average umpires.
"Tee, why can't you be nice?"
I am caustic by nature. I heard Carl just mutter in the background, "No kidding!"
I manage millions of dollars of projects every day. I can't take a moment to be weak, and the same goes for when I umpire.
I am not a "group hug" guy.
I want to be measured in each game I umpire, each project I run, each business decision I make. I lay it on the line every day.
That is why I don't have much attention span for poorly trained umpires.
Notice I did not say "Little League umpires" or "new" umpires.
There are idiots who post on the internet and prove they are little more than a dolts.
Again, I'll say it:
"People can't touch me."
There are few 'internet umpires" with the experience, umpire resume, abiity to umpire, and talent to write that story as well as I.
You might ask: "Gee, isn't that quite an egotistical statement?"
It would be if anyone could disprove it.
See my issue is: I work hard at everything I do.
I work hard at writing an informative and entertaining column. I work hard at preparing for the umpire classes I teach. I work hard at each post I make.
So, I ask: "why do you expect to get ripped?"
You feel that in your ultimate wisdom that you have stumbled on what's wrong on this site.
You have that right.
You just need to recognize that not all people are boring and mundane, not all answers need to be uplifting and warm and each poster can establish his verisimilitude by his complete body of work.
Regards,
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