Any true reporter yearns for the chance to cover an important issue or an emerging controversy. I missed my chance last week because of unfortunate timing.
Virginia freshman center Deidra Chatman received national attention last week when she turned away from the flag during the national anthem before the Cavaliers' March 2 game against North Carolina in protest of U.S. foreign policy.
Chatman issued a statement the following day saying that in the future she will acknowledge the flag because she "would much rather have the attention focused on our team." New York Times columnist William Rhoden, in the March 5 issue of the paper, criticized Chatman for backing down from her beliefs and condemned the University of Virginia for encouraging her to do so.
Because spring break fell last week and the Cavalier Daily was out of print until today, I did not have a chance to cover this breaking story that received significant coverage in the national media last week. At this point, the story is nothing but old news.
I was so disappointed that I missed out on this story, I made it my prerogative to sniff out the next big controversy during this past weekend's ACC women's basketball tournament. Here are some of the issues that emerged:
Mascot Letdown:
The mascot situation during the game between the Wolfpack and the Cavaliers was borderline disgraceful.
The N.C. State mascot was a wolf in a skirt, which seemed a little out of place. Unless you are talking about the antagonist in the tale of Little Red Riding Hood, a wolf in a dress doesn't make much sense.
I guess the idea is to have a female mascot for the women's games, but the "wolf" really looked more like some sort of rat. Imagine the skinny singing mouse from Cinderella on steroids and dressed in drag, and you get an idea of what the N.C. State mascot looked like.
While Virginia's Cav Man is not nearly as freakish, the dark circular blotches on his face are a little strange. The guy does a great job, but come on, when it looks like your mascot has come down with a case of leprosy, I think it's time for a new costume.
Unfortunately, it would be a stretch to call this mascot situation a controversy worthy of national attention, so I turned my attention to the happenings on the court.
Height Exaggerations
Junior guard Anna Prillaman, one of the Virginia's smallest players, managed to earn her first career double-double on Saturday against N.C. State, pulling down a game-high 10 boards.
"I never thought I would have a double-double," Prillaman said. "I'm a 5-foot-9 white girl who can't really jump that high."
The Virginia media guide has Prillaman listed at 5 foot 10 and, although one inch isn't much of a difference, this proves that Todd Billet isn't the only Virginia basketball player whose height is embellished in the program.
An inch here or there really doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, so this really would not qualify as a controversy either.
I wasn't getting anywhere at this point, but then I heard some music to the right of my seat at press row and found hope that an issue still could emerge.
When all else fails...
The Pep Band, a group that managed to offend the entire state of West Virginia during their halftime performance at the Continental Tire Bowl, made the trip to Greensboro to perform during Virginia's games last weekend.
It seemed inevitable that these musicians would find a way upset somebody during the weekend, but there were no offensive jokes or routines and the most controversial thing the Pep Band did was play Eminem's "Without Me."
So, in the end, my search for controversy proved fruitless. I was unable to find a breaking story of importance during my weekend in Greensboro and experience the thrill of covering an issue of national importance.
For now I'll just have to settle for making fun of mascots.
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