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Blevins Needs a Break by Justin Waganer Senior Sports Columnist January 12, 2002
It appears as if all the negative fanfare from the "Stoops to Florida" situation has taken its toll on the state's most well-known sportscaster, Dean Blevins. One week to the day that Steve Spurrier announced his resignation from Florida and the widespread belief that Bob Stoops would become his predecessor began, Blevins took to the internet and bashed his constituency for their complaints of his coverage on the story.
"FYI, if you live outside the boundary of Oklahoma, please disregard. You see, an unknown percentage of the unwashed, uninformed and unremarkable citizens are reportedly throwing a full-fledged hissy fit about the reporting process of the Bob Stoops-to-Florida/OU story. Many of the hissy-fitters are fed via of the open-mic-live crowd, the pad and pencil bunch and the boob tube boobs. It is as if you are throwing raw meet in a dog kennel," Blevins said on his website DeanBlevins.com.
Surprised? You should be. Offended? You ought to be. I am just a student in this vast landscape of journalism and broadcasting, but I must say that I learned long ago that the cardinal sin is to throw all your readers/viewers into one bag and criticize their being. It's one thing to stand up for yourself and retort what you believe you did, which Blevins believes he did, but to insult the "citizens" of Oklahoma in one foul swoop is absurd.
Whether or not Blevins is correct about the way he broke the story or if he indeed "broke the story" is beside the point, but his reaction is pathetic. Recall this for an example of how to act in this situation. Remember when your teacher would reprimand the class for the actions of one trouble-maker and then say, "if you didn't do it then I'm not talking to you." Why is Blevins so upset if he believes in the way he reported the story?
Next, the way Blevins calls out his fans as the "open-mic-live crowd, the pad and pencil bunch and the boob tube boobs," is perplexing to me. Aren't those the three forums that he uses to get out his stories and thoughts? If it wasn't for these crowds, how would his ratings look? If Blevins truly feels this way about the citizens of Oklahoma then maybe he should stick to the old wise man's saying, "never argue with a fool, people may not know the difference?"
These statements have put Blevins into an unfortunate situation, a man who has had and is having a successful journalistic career is clouding his resume with shady statements about his listeners, readers, and viewers. Maybe KWTV should think about giving him a break, because his words have forever kept his fellow citizens from giving him one. To avoid getting into a "my dad could beat up your dad" or "he started it" kind of endless argument, I will live you with few thoughts:
"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength." -Eric Hoffer "Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever. "- Napoleon Bonaparte
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