About This Web Site & Its Author
Why?
It is believed that the Rhodes College Women's Soccer Team and Program
deserves positive attention from the community. Efforts to get local
mainstream news/sports publications to provide coverage of the team and
program have been futile, thus far. It is hoped that somehow this web
site and whatever viewing it gets will somehow get the attention of
those mainstream publications and lead to some coverage. If that fails,
it is hoped that the players, coaches, parents, siblings, and
spectators of the Rhodes College Women's Soccer Team and Program will
get some enjoyment from its pages.That these women are students at a rigorous academic institution and choose to play on its women's soccer team because they enjoy the sport, the comradery, the competition, the sacrifice, without compensation is impressive. They get no athletic scholarships (they aren't allowed by the NCAA in Division III play), they are not likely to get any or any significant name-image-likeness money from their participation on the team, and despite the time and effort of the sport typically most are cited among the league's academic honors. They play for the joy of the game and it shows.
To me, this is what college sports are, or should be, about.
Who? My name is Ken. I am just enthusiastic spectator of Rhodes College Women's Soccer. Please forgive any faux pas I commit in these articles. I really don’t know very much about soccer. I never played it in a very organized manner. Long, long ago, during track and football off season, our high school track coach threw a soccer ball onto the (American) football field and said, “play,” and left us on our own. As kids in the United States of America in the ‘60s, we didn’t know much about the game. On that field we knew where the out-of-bounds lines were, we knew to score a goal we needed to kick the ball through the lower portion of the (American) football goal, and we knew we weren’t supposed to use our hands. Those were the only rules we knew. There were no fouls – and plenty of hard contact. One of the track team members seemed to take a liking to the game and for a few years organized pick up soccer games during the summer, with about the same limited rule set, in which I was invited to play. (He went on to coach high school soccer, cross country, and other sports). So, that’s my first-hand experience with soccer other than in recent years watching matches.
So, please forgive any faux pas.
How? Once upon a time, along about 2018 or 2019, I decided a good form of entertainment would be to attend Rhodes College athletic events. After all, they are free, parking one's automobile isn't usually a terrible experience, these are talented athletes attending a highly respected academic institution, who play because they love their game. In years past, I had gone to two or three Lynx football games. As soon as I watched a Women's Soccer game I was hooked. Other than the informal and pick up games mentioned above, I had no particular fondness for soccer but I did have that memory of the game. The style of play of the women and the joy they exhibit in playing the game was captivating. College is primarily an academic pursuit, so I am also very much impressed with these athletes' educational achievements.
Ethics: I have a background in broadcast journalism. I still adhere to the concepts of journalistic ethics (whether current day journalists do or not is debatable). I am also a hard news guy. My interest in journalism was and is serious and consequential events. I continue to keep up with public affairs, I have attended or now watch via the internet hundreds of local public meetings and events, mostly of governmental bodies. Part of good objective journalism is not expressing one's personal opinion in the reporting and not to let one's personal opinions sway the reporting. If you read the articles on this web site you will see some opinion, some personal comments, from me. This comports with my idea that sporting event coverage is generally not hard news, it's really not news, it's entertainment. So it is my thought that those elements of journalism ethics I cited here do not apply and it is fair to provide some commentary. Still, I try to present the facts, will not ignore significant negative events should they occur, and while a happy supporter of Rhodes College Women's Soccer and will let that show in these articles, I will try not to be overly enthusiastic, or as often described, a "homer."
Corrections: As a "hard news journalist" venturing into sports reporting with this web site, I believe in correcting errors. You will see corrections in bold font and usually dated. If you see an error, please let me know.
A note about grammar. I know I mix tenses when describing the play, an English teacher would find that objectionable and I acknowledge it isn't grammaticality correct. I do it, however, because in some instances it lends immediacy and a sense of action to the description, which I think is more communicative of the event.
Ken
ken@lynxwomenssoccer.com