Cue up the Waterworks
Posted by The Inside Line on Jul 20th 2021
photos by James Overstreet, courtesy of BASSMASTER.com
If there’s one thing that most of the top ten anglers at the Elite Series event at the St. Lawrence had in common, it’s that they weren’t afraid to cry on stage. Of course, they were mostly happy tears and sobs, but I haven’t seen that much crying on the big screen since Old Yeller died.
To be totally blunt, it’s a little bit jarring, certainly not because I don’t respect their open emotions, but rather because they’re so unexpected. In a sport full of purported he-man alpha dudes, I expect fist bumps, fist pumps, and maybe the occasional fisticuffs, but not sobs. That doesn’t mean we haven’t seen it before – Skeet cried plenty on camera, Faircloth too, and I once made Bill Lowen cry by asking him what a Classic win would mean to his family. Nevertheless, each time it happens I’m shocked again.
Men of my generation were often taught that tears are a sign of weakness, and emotions were frowned upon. Personally, I still have a hard time crying, regardless of whether the situation is super-sad, super-happy or somewhere in between. Seeing these guys who I admire so much let it flow made me jealous of their ability to be in touch with those emotions – I simply wish I had that ability. It would be remarkably freeing. I also wish I could catch 90 pounds of smallmouths. Maybe that’s what it takes.
