the 4th star

Bob Irving (host): Steve, you’re on with Coach Kelly. Go ahead. Steve are you there…?

Steve (caller): Coach, you’re talking about how the loss is on you because you didn’t game plan properly or you got out-schemed or whatnot…well, Coach, you could have the greatest game plan in the world but if you have a quarterback you cannot compete at this level…

(Mike Kelly laughs)

…then what does it matter? And you can laugh, Coach. Bottom line: This guy had one good quarter against Hamilton in the pre-season and since then…It. Has. Been. Brutal.

Kelly (sarcasm): Really?

Steve (agitated): Now I’m going to hang up and you can sugarcoat it. Good luck on Friday.

(click)

Kelly (sarcasm): Thanks sweetheart. I’ll sugarcoat it for you.

Bob (to Kelly and looking for fire extinguisher): You haven’t lost any faith, if I might interject, in Stefan LeFors, have you?

Kelly (more sarcasm): No, and I’m sure the gentleman who just called has a wealth of knowledge about how to handle quarterbacks. He probably played quarterback for the St. James Rods or one of the other junior teams here in town and was just probably outstanding at it. But maybe if he read some things on the back of a Nerf box (ed note: huh?) he’d have a better understanding about what it takes to play quarterback at this level.

(sugarcoating commences)

—–

If someone emails or phones to complain/clarify/discuss the job I’m doing, or maybe they wish to offer a suggestion on how I can do my job a little better, and I treat the customer with contempt mixed with a healthy dose of sarcasm, chances are my bosses would be calling me into the office for a rather terse discussion on how bleak my future with the company looks. Part of the job. Smile, say thanks for reading, and move on. Insult the customer — even if the customer is out of line or off his or her rocker — and that means lost business. Lost business means less money. Less money means less profit. And then they’ll tell two friends. And so on, and so on, and so on…

Of course, this is standard operating procedure (after every loss). Or so it seems:

The folks who tune in to a CFL coach’s radio show at 7:00 pm on a Monday aren’t doing so because they’re bored, it’s because they care. And the people who actually call in to that show aren’t doing so because it gives them a kick to take a run at the coach, it’s because they’re passionate about the football team. These people are all fans, and more importantly, they’re paying customers.