Home Mailbag: Reader wonders why fans think they know how to coach better than the coach
Basketball

Mailbag: Reader wonders why fans think they know how to coach better than the coach

Chris Graham
uva tony bennett
Photo: Mike Ingalls/AFP

Could you write an article on why everyone knows more about lineups than Tony Bennett, and why more of them are not head coaches?   

– Stan


I don’t know that there’s a single fan base associated with any team in any sport on the globe that passively sits back and watches sports the way Stan seemsto think they should, at least based on the tone of that rhetorical question.

The reason college and pro coaches and pro athletes make millions of dollars per year is because the people who watch have decided that they care, for some reason.

Without people watching and caring, sports are nothing more than various people in silly clothing running around in circles chasing a ball like their lives depend on it, which, joke’s on them, nobody dies at the end, it’s just a game.

The fans are as much a part of the game as the coaches and the players.

The coaches coach, the players play, the fans commit their time and their attention, and it’s their money that makes it all possible.

I say, let ’em vent. Doesn’t hurt anybody.

Thanks for the email. You challenged me here to wax philosophical, which is good exercise for the ol’ noggin.

– Chris

 

 
 




Featured Video

 

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected]. Support AFP by signing up for our newsletter and/or powering our work with a one-time or monthly contribution.

Latest News

trick or treating
Local

Some dumba– is stealing Halloween decorations from our front yards

two faces of ben cline
Politics, Virginia

Reese Bull | Congressman Ben Cline is ambidextrous

In his email newsletter, Sixth District Congressman Ben Cline pats himself on the back with one hand, while with the other he puts lipstick on a pig. 

college football
Football

Buffalo Gap High School wins $250K football field upgrade in T-Mobile contest

T-Mobile announced today that Buffalo Gap High School is one of four schools nationwide that will get a $250,000 football field upgrade through the mobile carrier’s Friday Night 5G Lights competition.

lawyer attorney justice court hearing judge agreement
Politics, U.S. & World

Sylvia Ghazarian | Silenced by contract: How NDAs protect abusers, not survivors

constitution
Politics, U.S. & World

John Whitehead | Vote as if the Constitution depended on it

uva football tony elliott
Football, Go 'Hoos

UVA Football: The conventional wisdom that led us to Tony Elliott is what’s to blame

lacrosse
Go 'Hoos, Sports

UVA Lacrosse: Big-money donations finish off endowment of scholarships