I almost fell over in shock. It was so ironic that I actually burst out laughing when looking at our Pigskin Panel’s picks in advance of last Friday’s games.
Eight pigskin pickers on the panel (we’ll leave Flips McGee out of this one), and only one picked Bellarmine to defeat San Benito on the gridiron. One.
And guess who that was? Me. That’s right – the sports editor of the Hollister Free Lance – the one picker most familiar with the team, was the only one who predicted a Haybalers loss. And I correctly pegged that outcome, I might add, as the Bells went on to hand San Benito its first defeat in a thriller.
‘Traitor!’ you cry. ‘Where’s your loyalty?!’
‘How could you pick against ‘your’ team?!’ you exclaim.
Wait, wait, wait. Hear me out, Hollister fans, before you string me up.
Professional integrity aside, of course I have a soft spot in my heart for all things ‘Baler. Spend as much time around one high school – its athletes, coaches and parents – and it’s tough to not find yourself wishing its sports program well.
And don’t think my colleagues at the Gilroy Dispatch and Morgan Hill Times – other members of the South Valley Newspapers family – don’t feel the same way about ‘their’ teams.
The debates around our offices are legendary. Think water-cooler talk with insider knowledge. And keep in mind, sportswriters are often just as competitive as the athletes we cover.
‘How ’bout them ‘Balers?!’ is my familiar line after any big win for Hollister, but especially whenever that outcome hands a defeat to Gilroy or Live Oak. And when I really want to get under the skin of Comrades Durkin and David, I’ll stick in a ‘I wish we had a paper in Salinas so I could have some real competition up here.’
And it comes right back at me. The Mustangs cleaned the ‘Balers’ clocks in winter sports last year, and I still hear the Gilroy staff’s chirping in my head. Live Oak’s vaunted aquatics program brought a rivalry not only to the pool deck when San Benito was in town, but to our offices in the days surrounding any meet.
Fortunately for my bragging rights, the ‘Balers delivered a stellar spring season and are back at it with fast starts in the new school year. Which brings us back to the pigskin panel.
We spend so much time covering sports that we don’t have the traditional outlets for our competitive juices – I can’t even tell you the last time I picked up a mitt and ball or swung a golf club. So our little panel – matching wits with others in sports journalism – fills a bit of that void.
You can see just how nip-and-tuck the season standings are. With Durkin (56-24) taking a small lead this week behind correct picks for Carolina and Chicago in NFL swing games, the rest of us have to look for the smallest edge to stay within striking distance of the lead.
Put it this way. At 53-27, Nick Lovejoy is breathing down my neck for second place. Do you have any idea how much grief I’ll suffer if a photographer beats me out?
And that’s partly where the Bellarmine pick came in. If the heart says San Benito, but the gut says WCAL, WCAL, WCAL … well, you see how it turned out.
Mind you, with blind picking I didn’t know that everyone else would tab the ‘Balers. But San Benito’s 2005 CCS championship and 3-0 start this season offered compelling reasons to ride the hot hand. And I’m sure my jabbering about how Hollister fans were already clearing their schedules for the playoffs come November didn’t hurt either. Not that my colleagues will listen to me anymore.
But that’s OK. After tempting fate and the good graces of loyal Hollister readers by picking against ‘my’ team (I mean, can you imagine if I had been the only one pegging Bellarmine and I was wrong?!), I’m back on the ‘Baler train.
Maybe San Benito’s loss will leave a lasting impression on other pickers in coming weeks. Or if I’m really lucky, maybe some poor sap will target Alvarez as a team ripe to upset the ‘Balers.
Well, maybe not.
