Be Nice

I love sports. I don’t talk about it much on this blog or on our Facebook because of our primary demographic, but I really never stop thinking about sports. I promise this post, while long, will mean something for everyone if you bare with me through the sports background of it.

Growing up in southern California, my family all watched the Lakers, so I became a basketball fan at a young age, watching Magic, Larry and Michael, knowing the sport like the back of my hand. I played games like Tecmo Bowl on the old Nintendo Entertainment System even though I wasn’t familiar with the professional athletes that represented the sport at the time. In fact, even though I enjoyed most sports, the only one I followed was the NBA. As a young teenager, I’d watch the annual Super Bowl but only knew names like Steve young, Jerry Rice, John Elway, Brett Favre, and Deion Sanders.

By the time I was in college, I still only knew the NBA, and while I found football entertaining, I never took the time to really follow it. That changed in the fall of 2002.

I had friends who went to “The” Ohio State University, and in November of 2002 a group of us friends went to Columbus, Ohio for a reunion of sorts. Now with all due respect to the state of Ohio, there’s really not much to do there, so football, particularly college football, is pretty much life in that part of the midwest. While we were there, I noticed nothing but Buckeye football really mattered, so on the Saturday we all gathered around the television to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes play the Purdue Boilermakers in Indiana.

Let me tell you, there is nothing like watching college football in a college football town.  Every play was cheered on like it would be the last. Even though we were watching the game in the basement of my friends’ house (there was a tornado warning), it felt like we were at a tailgate party around thousands of people.

By the end of the game, I couldn’t help but be a Buckeye fan. Coming home from the trip, I followed Ohio State football on ESPN through the rest of the year. They went undefeated that year, beating the University of Miami 31-24 in a double overtime National Championship game. I’ve been a Buckeye fan ever since, and now I can tell you as much about football, college *and* pro as I can about NBA basketball.

This past weekend was a really fun weekend for most college football fans. Number 2 ranked Auburn came back from a 24-0 deficit to beat Alabama. Number 4 ranked Boise State, who had won 24 straight games, lost in overtime to number 19 ranked Nevada. The game had a breath-taking ending.

With 2 seconds left in the game, Boise State had a chance to win on a 26-yard field goal kick attempt (a VERY short kick, in case you’re not familiar), but Boise State kicker Kyle Brotzman missed, allowing the game to go into overtime… where he missed another one at 29 yards out. Without getting into why, let’s just say this was a huge loss for Boise State, costing them, not only a chance at the national championship, but also millions of dollars in revenue.

As a sports fan, I understand the thrill and heartbreak of every win and loss. I know what it’s like to be excited about a new player, and frustrated with an existing player. I actually think sports is the perfect outlet for for a lot of these emotions, particularly the negative ones. You can’t always be negative in real life the way you can in sports. It would be frowned upon if you boo’d the person in front of you in line at the grocery store because they’re taking too long.

But sometimes fans can take it too far. This morning, the associated press reported that the Boise State kicker has received threats because of his missed field goals. I don’t know how serious the threats actually are, but all I have to say is – really? It’s a game. The guy’s just a college student. He missed the biggest kick of his life, isn’t that punishment enough? This is sports. One year’s loss will only make next year’s victory that much sweeter. Life goes on.

I write all this because I’ve worked quite a few years in customer service and and unfortunately I’ve had to see the worse in people. Amazing how having to wait a whole 90 seconds for a cup of coffee is somehow the end of the world, or how many customers seem to think that I somehow get to set all the prices on the menu.

My complaint wasn’t that I had complaints, it was *how* I was complained to. I understand that when someone pays $3-$4 for a drink they want to get what they ordered. We make hundreds of drinks a day, and if we messed up on one, just let us know and we’ll gladly take care of it; no need to treat us like we’re somehow less than you.

Here at Ramada Maingate at the Park, I get the fun job of introducing specials, posting trivia and interacting with friends on Facebook and Twitter. And I love it. But we also have a front desk staff that work very hard to ensure a positive experience. I’ve seen them juggle checking guests in, answering phones, booking reservations, checking guests out, answering questions, all while keeping a smile on their face. They work hard, be nice to them. That’s all I’m saying =)