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GREAT write up by Roger Gonzales

Trevor:

It is of course understandable that you would appreciate this column. But from my (Riverheads) perspective, he should have left well enough alone. Now that the football season is over, and most people don't follow other sports as intensely, this situation would have died down on its own. Instead his column and now your post on here will only keep it burning that much more.

Not only that, but no matter how hard Roger tried to say that it was only one person that he was holding accountable, the perception will still be that all Riverheads fans are like the one he has described.

Finally I am not sure that Roger himself is entirely innocent in this little discussion. I have heard rumors that he simply does not care for Riverheads and he appeared to make that abundantly clear in his recent column when he graded their UNBEATEN regular season and 11-1 overall record a C just because they lost earlier than expected in the playoffs by one point to a quality team. In that same column, he graded Buffalo Gap's season a B-, even though they finished only 5-6 and Riverheads beat them on their own field 28-0.

These fan chat boards can be fun but yes they can get out of hand. Sometimes the best thing to do is to just let the other person have the last word. Human nature being what it is, a great deal of what we say and do in this world is designed to get a reaction out of someone, and if you don't give that reaction, then you take away that person's satisfaction. In other words, the sure fire way to deal with someone that is annoying you is to simply ignore them.
 
I am a neutral observer. I didn't get that perception at all from the article.
 
Assuming you are referring to the "all of them are like that" aspect, as I said Roger did zero in on just one person. But I still think that whenever you read something like that and people then start to talk about what they have read, the next thing you know all fans from that school are being blamed. Same situation as lots of other things in life. Takes one rotten apple to spoil the barrel.
 
This same reporter stated in his article that the user of the Twitter account decided to "have a go of it" with Wilson students on Twitter.

Well guess who is "having a go of it" with people on Twitter responding to his article. Very professional!!

Yea, there are fans of local teams that are jerks. Their from Riverheads, Wilson, Buffalo Gap, etc. However, what this reporter failed to mentioned was that the were several Riverheads' fans sitting on Wilson side on Saturday cheering for their rivals to bring back a State Championship to Augusta County.

Maybe, Mr. Gonzalez should "Take a Step Back" himself!!
 
I think that over the course of this season, I have saw and heard a lot of things that make me wonder what else could be done to promote better sportsmanship and respect, not only on the field but off as well. Not only in football but any sport. Kids might learn that real winners aren't decided by scoreboards but rather how you behave when you think no one is looking. Imagine that.
 
Some of the best football conversations I have throughout the year are with Riverheads posters.

He clearly states in the article how it's one bad seed. He also mentions how every team has a bad seed
 
Trevor, for you to even title this thread "Great write up by Roger Gonzales", speaks volumes of what kind of person you are! I found this article to be disgusting, just as Roger stated about the twitter comments from the ONE Riverheads fan. How do you make a news story out of something like this?! If that were the case, then where was Roger when all of Wilson fans cheered at the news of the loss for Riverheads against King William, but apparently that was ok?! Don't we put that into the same category of unsportsmanlike?

I was so disgusted by the article I called News Virginian. Had to leave Roger lengthy message and spoke with others on how and why they would allow this to be printed! Told them that they must of really been short on some REAL news.

I can say to the Riverheads community this was a low blow and I hope we don't waste our time or money on News Va. ever again! If that's how they feel and what they support, we as a community, need to ban them from our homes, businesses and schools. I find it sad, of all the people from Riverheads that supported wilson and this is the THANKS you get!
 
Trevor, for you to even title this thread "Great write up by Roger Gonzales", speaks volumes of what kind of person you are! I found this article to be disgusting, just as Roger stated about the twitter comments from the ONE Riverheads fan. How do you make a news story out of something like this?! If that were the case, then where was Roger when all of Wilson fans cheered at the news of the loss for Riverheads against King William, but apparently that was ok?! Don't we put that into the same category of unsportsmanlike?

I was so disgusted by the article I called News Virginian. Had to leave Roger lengthy message and spoke with others on how and why they would allow this to be printed! Told them that they must of really been short on some REAL news.

I can say to the Riverheads community this was a low blow and I hope we don't waste our time or money on News Va. ever again! If that's how they feel and what they support, we as a community, need to ban them from our homes, businesses and schools. I find it sad, of all the people from Riverheads that supported wilson and this is the THANKS you get!
 
I would have to say it is definitely directed more so to Riverheads! Yes, we all have bad seeds but the way he wrote that article it gave the impression all of Riverheads were unsportsmanlike and I do believe you take pleasure in that!

You posting that on here doesn't surprise me but News Virginian writing that trash does surprise me!

My boys are friends with a lot of the Wilson football players and this Riverheads family took offense to that article. Don't take a handful of bad apples and smear a whole community!
 
There are things I agree and disagree with in his article...

I think high school sports are much more important than college and professional, and we'll just say I disagree with his stances that he mentions in paragraph 4. Why should the Red Sox/Yankees game be more important to us than a rivalry in our own backyard--in a state that doesn't have a professional sports team I might add; we do have the VT/UVA rivalry in NCAA, but that's kind of lame lately...

Neither here nor there I suppose, now onto the meat and potatoes of the article: I don't feel like the Riverheads community should feel as though they were hit with a low blow as he singles out 1 guy, and puts his fan title in quotations, to show us that he is not your typical riverheads fan, but rather a guy who rubbed salt in the wounds of the hornet faithful. Social media has allowed these types of folks to be seen/heard much more as they are able to broadcast their thoughts to more people. I'm pretty sure I know who the writer is referring to in the article, and the "fan" is a guy who loves stirring the pot and has a great time doing it on twitter (and on our forum if it is the same guy I think it is lol). Once again, I didn't take the article as the Riverheads faithful being jerks.

One more thing to add, I was very pleased with our local coverage this year in SAW as the Newsleader, News Virginian, Telemedia Productions, ESPN 1240, and WHSV-Endzone did a great job providing us with iinfo on the local teams. I hope this kind of coverage continues for our area! I respect Casto's rule on not allowing his players to communicate with the media, but I do wish he would drop it occasionally for in depth stories on his players (like we are able to get from other area schools). We may never see a Roll Giants (Gladiators in their case) Roll type story (that the NL did on waynesboro this year) in Greenville, but I think it would be interesting to read. Anyway thatnks to the local news coverage this year!
 
Don't have a twitter but was able to read Roger Gonzales recent comments on this article. Apparently he finds this very funny and Trevor calls him a hero!? Longtimerhsfan stated he had heard Roger was not a big Riverheads fan and character like that I'm thankful! Read his twitter and it says it all!
 
Not sure how much you can take from a reporter who says on Twitter "I don't think I've laughed this much in a while, hahaha. I weep for the future."
 
It was a column which is an opinion based story...

I said he was my hero for how he handled the backlash since everyone is so worried about my Twitter comments
 
Harvey Updyke is a prime example

Of how ONE fan can ruin things for a community.

Maybe instead of pointing fingers at Roger you guys should point fingers at the ADULT fan who decided to personally mock the kids. How bout you guys talk to him and straighten him out instead of placing blame on someone who had to do it for you in an opinion column..
 
Like we know who that one fan is and do you base your article off of one twitter account to write this crap? I can promise you I wasn't worried about your twitter, I have kids that showed me Roger Gonzales Twitter and how unprofessional this person seems to be!
 
Really???

I am Leland McCray and I provide color commentary on ESPN 1240 for High School Football and Basketball. That is who I am.

I found it shocking that The News Virginian would publish an article that critiques Twitter comments especially in such a one sided way. The "News" Virginian has now, in print, analyzed comments form one of the lowest forms of communication on earth and attempted to give those comments validity. So, one of two things has happened; either Twitter is now on the level of print news paper, or the Waynesboro paper is now at the level of Twitter. Either way, Wikipedia should be excited as their website has moved up the ladder of validity.

Trevor, buddy, I have read you comments on the message board for a couple years now and have usually avoided responding to any of the ignorant statements you have made. (I have responded to you once before when you erroneously claimed our radio station chose not to cover a Wilson playoff game, which you only reacted to only on twitter) I find it strange how you think this article is in your favor. On many occasions you have made outrageous comments on this board, and at a higher rate, you have said unbelievable things on your Twitter. Here are two examples from just last weekend:

@TCash176
On Dec 12 you posted F****(I edited for the ability to post) I'm drunk. I think I need a dd
On Dec 13 you posted "Yall starting a war you don't want in Greenville. We will bomb on yall right now best believe that"



I also read on the night f Dec 13, which you have at least showed a little sense and since deleted, a tweet to the effect of I'm gonna find this xcross guy and hurt him

This has been ongoing on your twitter and there is countless examples from the past of you talking trash about Riverheads, posting thoughts I wouldn't feel comfortable repeating, and boasting about behavior I would feel embarrassed to take part in. You have all the right to post whatever you feel is appropriate, but please don't pretend this article shouldn't have thrown you right alongside the "fan" mentioned. I would also recommend not talking about message board users on twitter as that might be the weakest behavior possible in the social media world.

I am not hiding behind my keyboard. I would welcome an in person conversation next time you see our station covering a game you are attending. Actually Trevor, I introduced myself to you once before at BW3 in Waynesboro. Please feel free to come talk to me and share with me your thought process on all of this, because the more I read your posts, the less I understand your opinions.
 
Re: Really???

I deleted every single one of those posts as well. At least I thought I did because after posting them I said to myself you know what, this isn't the right thing to do or say.

I know I'm not perfect and I don't claim to be. But I also don't argue with students. I do it with adults. Which is the entire point of this article. Why is that so hard to figure out?

This post was edited on 12/18 8:45 AM by Trevor_Cash
 
Re: Really???

No, the entire point of the article is NOT about "arguing with students" on Twitter as you seem to think it is. It is about individuals reveling in someone else's misery, primarily high school athletes' anguish after a loss in this case.

You jumped at the opportunity AGAIN to call out a certain fan base and/or school simply because you were drawn to certain words in the article, the most important for you being "Riverheads". You continued to peruse through the article and realized the article had negative connotations toward that particular school's fan base. Furthermore, you believed the article justified the way you feel about Riverheads and felt a great deal of satisfaction posting it on this board for others to see and read, sort of like a "see there, told you so" or "in your face" type of reaction.

I believe you should be concerned about the "bad seed" comment included in the article. You like to point the finger at the bad seeds here and on Twitter, but you may want to look in the mirror and decide if you are becoming just that for your fan base. Or maybe you already are.



This post was edited on 12/18 10:01 AM by fuerunt circa obstructionum
 
Re: Really???


Holy cow, everyone needs to step back and calm down. Nobody outside of riverheads fans themselves believes this was an attempt to slam riverheads - in the words of Aaron Rodgers - Relax. I went back and read the article again to see if I missed something and still didn't come away with what many of you are saying.
 
Re: Really???

It's not just the article. It's the irreverence after being confronted about it as evidenced by the quote Gtown mentions above. The article was accusatory and very inflammatory. As an ardent supporter of Riverheads I was offended. And let's be real, the only things I seen directed at Wilson was a picture of a youth team labeled "Wilson's starters" or something to that affect. A "Breaking News: Fishersvile pharmacy out of tissues and baby wipes". And finally a "Wilson Football 2011-2014 RIP". The reply back to the breaking news was a female wilson student that used some colorful language and got one reply and that was not even from the original poster. Was the tweets in bad taste considering? Yeah, were they as bad as having a gladiator hung in effigy of the 250 overpass? No. It's social media and you can easily limit what you see. Why do all those kids/people/ accounts follow each other? To talk trash and see what trash the other one is talking. The student section at volleyball and basketball games have become a real spectical for most of the area teams. It is a fun time for these kids and as long is it doesn't cross the line, I think it's great. I don't care how much you want to tie this to sportsmanship, it doesn't fit. There are no participation trophies, there is a winner and a loser. Losing should motivate you to do more, try harder, go do the extra things that the winner obviously did to win. Too many times we are looking a this from utopian point of view. In a perfect world when my team lost I would be joyfull watching another team play and win. Let's be honest, we aren't and that's ok. I have/had no ill will towards Wilson but I also did not want them to win the state title. Sorry, that's just real. I think they had an amazing group of athletes and I give them a lot of credit public and privately but I didn want them to win. Does that make me a horrible person? By Gonzalez standard it does, because I didn't get behind them and root for them. I have talked to Trevor on here and Twitter both. Was I offended by his rants right after losing? Maybe but I can choose not to react to his comments. I got rely offended whe. I seen the article and immediately fired back at Gonzalez on Twitter. Some of it was just spur of the moment comments but he responded to a few of them. I have no problem with him personally and overall the media has been great this year. That at all said, I am a Riverheads football fan. As in fanatic. Not a local HS football fan. I do follow the other teams but you won't see me "supporting" them as they make playoff runs. I do not wish anything bad on any of these young men but I just have a different view of what being a fan is. REDPRIDENATION
 
Re: Really???

Nope, live in Pulaski. Just read it a 3rd time - is there another article somewhere that I'm not seeing? I truly am puzzled? The article I read is pretty short (about 13 short paragraphs) and referenced one riverheads tweeter? Is this the same article that has you all so upset? If it is, then trust me - there are more and worse things out there in the world to be upset about.
If it isn't then can someone post the rest of the article?
This post was edited on 12/18 2:07 PM by dringtuoti
 
Amen to that!

I will respond to you but not those (adjacent) devoid of sense. First off, I was involved in public relations for many years and can say that the column was NOT great and another prime example of sensational (tabloid) journalism, fanning the flames of ignorance perpetrated by a few, falsely in the name of many members of one group.

This post was edited on 12/18 2:20 PM by DiamondDude
 
I too believe this story did not have to be written even though the concerns expressed are also my own. Twitter is a bad place for kids, and sadly, the internet is a dangerous place for most of us. But the writer said this issue makes him question humanity? I've had concerns about that for years. It's called a declining society and the longer that fact is ignored the worse humanity will get. Life in this nation today does not resemble life in the 60s, and to be short, life then was cleaner, simpler, more pure, and had a great deal less vulgarity, crime, weird lifestyles, and criminal activity. Why are these things so different today I'll let each of you contemplate that.
 
Yep life was much cleaner and simpler and more pure. BS. Every decade has had its issues but now technology has made everything "in the moment" & every donkey with a twitter and cell phone is a "journalist." Oh how I long for the days of the Jim Crow era, or the harshness suffered by many during the civil rights movement, or the LSD and heroin of the 70s, etc.. Point is - every era has had its issues and problems and each generation must deal with them. I do not long for the days of yesteryear but choose to look forward to the next one and whatever joys and pains that the new day brings.

Here's to hoping that 2015 brings everyone, including blue bomber, joy.

There was actually a report that came out a day or two ago that stated that people (in general) throughout the world are living better off than any other era in human history.
 
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