Publisher column: Rooting for the story

By Randy Capps

Sometimes, neutrality is best.

Last month, this part of the world was swept up in March Madness — particularly the Final Four clash between Duke and North Carolina.

I have many friends on both sides of that fence, and there was plenty of commentary after the Tar Heels knocked Duke out of the tournament in Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final game.

Me? I’m a neutral when it comes to Tobacco Road’s basketball teams.

Or, as I told a caller to the sports desk in my newspaper days, “I’m from South Carolina. I don’t like any of them.”

The caller, a N.C. State fan angry with me about my column about the hiring of Sidney Lowe, was highly amused. But, as a lifelong Clemson fan and a graduate of Gardner-Webb, my collegiate loyalties are already spoken for.

That made the fervor surrounding the game all the more interesting. Aside from the fact that our local ABC affiliate decided to preempt “Jeopardy,” hampering our household’s nightly dinner viewing, I was able to enjoy a thrilling game between two North Carolina-based blue bloods (and the subsequent national championship win by Kansas over the Tar Heels) without the angst experienced by most folks around here.

A couple of decades of not cheering in press boxes has blunted my ability to experience fandom anyway. Honestly, as a writer, the only thing I root for is the story.

I remember one dull high school football game in Shelby, I said aloud in the press box, to no one in particular, “Come on guys, I need one paragraph.”

It drew blank stares from the PA guy and scoreboard operator, but as I explained, I had everything I needed to write the story, but I needed one paragraph I could devote to the losing team.

As I recall, there was a good hit and fumble recovery that ended up fitting the bill, and I pretty much had that piece written before the game was over.

That Duke/UNC game was far more interesting than that, and I enjoyed watching it as a neutral.

Because frankly, you guys looked stressed out.