A letter to some kickball buddies.

OP readers: remember when I told you that some kickball people discovered this weblog?  Apparently, at least one of them took exception to my last entry - to the point that one sent me a message about it.  I feel bad about that, so I'm posting my response here (with names redacted) for them to see:

Wow - I'm sorry to hear you are taking this personally.  From the tone of your note, it sounds like you read something completely different from what I wrote. 

First of all, I didn't even know who I was writing about when I wrote this entry.  I had no recollection of who officiated the game aside from the ump - I just knew that it was someone from your team because I remembered seeing someone in your team colors reffing third base.  Even when I was on third base, I was in so much pain from my sprained ankle that I didn't notice who the ref was.  I feel really bad sometimes about people who get intimidated by my teammates -- it's not the first time, and sadly it might not be the last.  Even my most frightening teammates don't really care as much as it might sound like they do.  Believe it or not, when your teammates argues calls, it doesn't seem like they are joking either.  And it can be just as intimidating as when we do it.

Secondly, my kickball entries aren't intended to be taken seriously.  I certainly don't -- it's just kickball.  I know very well that some of my teammates are a bit ridiculous.  I'm not nearly as serious.  I like to play hard and I enjoy winning, but I certainly don't take anything that happens on the field personally.  In my brief kickball life, I've had many calls go against my team.  I've been nailed in the head, I've had both teammates and others make bad mistakes...and sometimes I write about them. I write the kickball entries in a serious tone because I think it's funny to write about something so silly in such a serious way.  

You'll notice that I said IF it were true, that would be funny given your own team's intensity level.  Meaning that I accept the possibility that I could be completely wrong.  I also went out of my way to say how much I like everyone on your team.  When it comes down to it, all I really said was that your team is as intense as we are.  I'd hardly call that "mean." 

Anyway, I'm sorry if what I wrote annoyed or upset you or anyone else.  You are one of my favorite people on your team, and I really like every [team name] that I've spoken with.  I don't have beef with any of you.  I hope you (and/or your teammates) don't continue to take it personally, because it wasn't meant as a personal attack towards you or anyone else. 

People sometimes have unpredictable reactions to seeing themselves portrayed in print or online, even when their name isn't used -- and toeing that line isn't nearly as easy as you might think.  

Cheers,
jcabana

I'd also like to add that I hope this person continues to go to games and happy hours, and that they don't let anything I wrote -- or a couple of overly-aggressive players -- kill the fun for them.   And probably the biggest point to be taken  away is this: if I were to question someone's integrity, they would have to do something much more sketchy than make a close call in a kickball game. 

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