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Intershame On: Jeff Potrykus |
Wisconsin Badger Football Sportswriter
10/08/2009
Today's Intershame comes from Bucky1 who writes:
Q: Mark, Minneapolis - Great victory for the Badgers. What was the deal with that 3rd and 1 towards the end of the first half where the Badgers looked they were trying to catch the Gophs off-guard and Tolzien missed on the pass? Shouldn't they just have run the ball to pick up the first down?
A: Jeff Potrykus - The deal? They were trying to get a first down and move down the field for a FG or TD.
Q: The REAL Shanghai Badger - Jeff, Not sure if you saw, but when Decker scored for Minny, he pretended to be chopping wiht an axe. All I could think of was, pretty early (1st quarter) to be pulling something like that. Did UW notice?
A: Jeff Potrykus - I saw it on the replay. I'm sure the UW players in the area noticed. Did I ask them? Nope. Was scrambling around the interview room asking them about more pertinent topics.
Q: Tom, Saint Paul - Did you see us waving at you from section 202? How did you like the new stadium - how would you compare the atmosphere to other Big Ten venues?
A: Jeff Potrykus - Only way I had seen you would have been if you were on the field in a uni.
Q: Tom, Saint Paul - Noticed Ball had a few carries in the game. I thought Coach B had talked about redshirting him - did he give an explanation for the change in plans? After all the talk about Minney's 300+ lb defensive tackles, the Wisconsin rushing offense sure looked good in the 2nd half.
A: Jeff Potrykus - Yes, he talked about it last Thursday night after practice. I wrote about it then and wrote a story for the Monday paper after talking to Settle.
Q: TJ, Destin, FL - Is it time to fire the specials teams coach?
A: Jeff Potrykus - No. But it's time to stop asking that question, particularly since they are at the NCAA max for assistants and said assistants are involved in special teams.
Q: Gary, Cleveland, OH - Jeff, WOW - Who is 44 on Defense? He always seems to be in the right place making plays. I don't remember reading or hearing much about him this summer.
A: Jeff Potrykus - Gary: If you didn't read about Borland during the preseason you didn't read what many were writing. It was clear in camp and in NC play that the kid is a player.
At first, I admit, I wasn't sure Bucky1's argument had much merit. Sure, Mr Potrykus comes across as short, but are his responses really that shameful? I was about to dismiss the notion of shaming him... and then it hit me. Mr. Potrykus is answering questions from people who would do pretty much anything to be in his situation. This sportswriter has nearly unlimited access to the football team these people follow with nearly limitless enthusiasm. These fans will take an hour out of their Monday nights to sit in front of their computer screen fervently waiting for the moment that Mr. Potrykus maybe, just maybe will address their question about the team they love. And when Mr. Potrykus finally does, he often treats the them with a level of contempt usually reserved for a strangers unruly child.
Mr. Potrykus is very lucky the subject he's covering already has an ingrained, passionate and loyal fanbase because it's unlikely he'd be able to win many readers over with his personality. That he has readers is the sole reason he's able to write for a living. His seemingly unappreciative attitude towards those people is indeed worthy of Intershame.
I'm an avid (Wisconsin) Badger (Football) fan so I follow the team pretty closely. The best source of information during the season is Milwaukee Journal Sentinal writer Jeff Potrykus and his coverage of the team. His articles are pretty good, but every Monday he does an online chat an he comes off as a total ass.
Jeff Potrykus. Kind of a dick.
Bucky1 was kind enough to send us a link to Jeff's most recent chat transcript and, sure enough, he's kind of a dick. After reading through about half of the chat log, I noticed a fairly predictable pattern: if somebody asked a question containing any sort of opinion, Mr. Potrykus replied with some level of snark. I pulled out some examples for your enjoyment...Q: Mark, Minneapolis - Great victory for the Badgers. What was the deal with that 3rd and 1 towards the end of the first half where the Badgers looked they were trying to catch the Gophs off-guard and Tolzien missed on the pass? Shouldn't they just have run the ball to pick up the first down?
A: Jeff Potrykus - The deal? They were trying to get a first down and move down the field for a FG or TD.
Q: The REAL Shanghai Badger - Jeff, Not sure if you saw, but when Decker scored for Minny, he pretended to be chopping wiht an axe. All I could think of was, pretty early (1st quarter) to be pulling something like that. Did UW notice?
A: Jeff Potrykus - I saw it on the replay. I'm sure the UW players in the area noticed. Did I ask them? Nope. Was scrambling around the interview room asking them about more pertinent topics.
Q: Tom, Saint Paul - Did you see us waving at you from section 202? How did you like the new stadium - how would you compare the atmosphere to other Big Ten venues?
A: Jeff Potrykus - Only way I had seen you would have been if you were on the field in a uni.
Q: Tom, Saint Paul - Noticed Ball had a few carries in the game. I thought Coach B had talked about redshirting him - did he give an explanation for the change in plans? After all the talk about Minney's 300+ lb defensive tackles, the Wisconsin rushing offense sure looked good in the 2nd half.
A: Jeff Potrykus - Yes, he talked about it last Thursday night after practice. I wrote about it then and wrote a story for the Monday paper after talking to Settle.
Q: TJ, Destin, FL - Is it time to fire the specials teams coach?
A: Jeff Potrykus - No. But it's time to stop asking that question, particularly since they are at the NCAA max for assistants and said assistants are involved in special teams.
Q: Gary, Cleveland, OH - Jeff, WOW - Who is 44 on Defense? He always seems to be in the right place making plays. I don't remember reading or hearing much about him this summer.
A: Jeff Potrykus - Gary: If you didn't read about Borland during the preseason you didn't read what many were writing. It was clear in camp and in NC play that the kid is a player.
At first, I admit, I wasn't sure Bucky1's argument had much merit. Sure, Mr Potrykus comes across as short, but are his responses really that shameful? I was about to dismiss the notion of shaming him... and then it hit me. Mr. Potrykus is answering questions from people who would do pretty much anything to be in his situation. This sportswriter has nearly unlimited access to the football team these people follow with nearly limitless enthusiasm. These fans will take an hour out of their Monday nights to sit in front of their computer screen fervently waiting for the moment that Mr. Potrykus maybe, just maybe will address their question about the team they love. And when Mr. Potrykus finally does, he often treats the them with a level of contempt usually reserved for a strangers unruly child.
Mr. Potrykus is very lucky the subject he's covering already has an ingrained, passionate and loyal fanbase because it's unlikely he'd be able to win many readers over with his personality. That he has readers is the sole reason he's able to write for a living. His seemingly unappreciative attitude towards those people is indeed worthy of Intershame.
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