Truly "old school" journalist discovers volleyball, likes it.
The Durant Daily Democrat -- Gateway to Lake Texoma, don't you know -- has a columnist named Harold Harmon who apparently is just discovering women's volleyball. So enamored was he of Monday night's showdown between the University of Central Oklahoma and Southeastern Oklahoma State that he took pen to paper to describe the amazing sights he witnessed.
"Sports fans just never know when they will see -- or not see -- an absolute gem. That's why we go to the games."
Right there you know we're not dealing with some uptight sports nerd who sees the Durant Daily Democrat as a gateway to ESPN instead of Lake Texoma. Harold would like you to kick back in your easy chair and listen to the crickets outside your window as a cool autumn breeze rolls in off the lake.
"Southeastern should be selling indigestion pills at the game because this went five rounds."
Indigestion pills! God I love this guy. Last time I heard anyone say "indigestion pills" was at one of those awful frontier settlement reenactment places. But Harold is no reenactment.
"Most of us, at one time or another, have batted a volleyball over a net. Maybe we should say most of us have tried to bat a volleyball over a net. This is not the game we knew on the elementary playground at recess."
Are they playing volleyball on the elementary playgrounds in Oklahoma? Does Santiago know about this?
"(Volleyball) is played by athletes, some of whom are better than others, but who do not necessarily work harder at the game."
Whoa, don't go gettin' all preachy on me Harold. Let's get back to folksy idioms.
"First, this disclaimer: I know as much about volleyball as I know about women. I do know something about effort, hard work and desire to win."
Way to bury the lede, Harold! This goes up front. But crap I love the "aw shucks" of that sentence.
"Volleyball is a relatively late arrival on the local scene. Our Bryan County high schools do not play the game."
Note to self - email Neil Mason re: new opportunities in and around Bryan County.
"Our playground goal was to knock the dadgum ball back over the net as soon as possible."
DADGUM. It's official: I want this guy to have a podcast I can listen to ASAP. I don't even care if it's about volleyball.
"That mindset causes one to wonder if these gals are just a teeny bit goofy when the ball is right at the net and they will slap it to someone else on their own team instead of hitting it over. I think it's called a game plan."
Yeah, no one really understands setters. Best to learn that now, Harold.
"Yes, (the players) bounce. Yes, they get right back up. Yes, it has to hurt. Yes, they will make the same dive the next time it seems necessary."
A lot has changed since Babe Didrikson.
"Officiating the game is also weird."
Testify, my brother. How about those line judges?
"Sometimes, one flag will point down, the other up."
And sometimes, they're both wrong.
"It takes lots of time and lots of dedication to learn how to score volleyball."
OH GOD. Don't let volleyball broadcasters hear you say that. That'll just reinforce the need for those stupid rule reviews during each broadcast.
"Don't sweat it. Just watch the referees point to one side or the other. That will be the team getting the point."
See?! Do you hear that, volleyball announcers? Harold is JUST NOW seeing the game in all its glory, but he understands already how the game is played and scored. Harold. From the Durant Daily Democrat.
"It can get frustrating, trying to follow the action. Our gals jump up and knock the ball to the floor on the other side of the net, clearly within the lines. The referee gives the point to the other team. It will do no good to ask the person on either side of you because they have no idea why our team didn't get the point."
Oh, well...maybe I spoke too soon.
"This is not your grandmother's volleyball. That's not a knock on your grandmother."
Harold does not cotton to slandering grandmothers.
"It's just a way of saying that this game has come a long way, baby."
Virginia Slims! Smoking! Oh, remember the good ol' days when you could smoke? Even the women? That was progress.
"Volleyball is a heck of a game. You should visit the gym and check it out for yourself."
Next vacation I get, I want to sit in a gym somewhere in Oklahoma and watch a match with Harold.
posted by dotter @ 2:19 PM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
We'd love to have you here at Bloomer Sullivan Gymnasium in good ole Durant,OK. We'll sit you next to Harold Harmon at which point he'll reach into his pocket and pull out a couple of Tootsie Rolls and hand them to you because that's how he rolls. Lol!! He's a great man and SE Athletics is blessed to have his support...thanks for recognizing his work.
This is Jenn Corkum, Head Coach at Southeastern Oklahoma State. Harold Harmon is an amazing person and I am so lucky to see him at every home match and have his support!
And SE.ATC isn't lying, come on out to Durant and enjoy the show!
I really loved his column. Just great stuff. The Tootsie Rolls just completes the picture for me.
Thank you for your acknowledgement of Mr. Harold Harmons' article on our recent VB match. He is truly a one of a kind individual, a joy to be around and a blessing for SE Athletics. I would say there is no other person who knows more about the history of athletics at SE or who has more love for the department and student-athletes than Harold. We have been blesssed many many years by his unique style of describing the thousands of contests he has attends, usually at his own expense.
Last fall Harold was inducted into our Athletic Hall of Fame, the first non-athlete to be inducted, that's a representation of the impact he has made on hundreds of lives.
I could go on and on about this gentleman but I will stop and simply say if you are ever in the area of southern Oklahoma or Dallas it would be worth your time to look up the tootsie roll bandit and get a perspective on sports and whatever else you might want to discuss, like you've never seen.
Keith Baxter
Director of Athletics
Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
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