We have talked in the past about how professional bass fishing seems to hold to values that are becoming more and more rare in other
sports. Perhaps it’s just that the media can’t resist a story that pits one contestant against another both on and off the field of play. The drama that seems to have become the norm, with guys calling each other all manner of foul names and suggesting they do things that are physically impossible, has become mainstream fodder and seems to fill entire sports casts.
I don’t know about the rest of you but I get more than a little tired of hearing about the latest two-year-old tantrum or other stupidity committed by the newest rising star.
Yes, professional anglers are just as competitive and committed to their sport as any other elite athletes out there. No, it doesn’t require the same kind of physical dedication to a particular field of training as say baseball or basketball just to name a couple.
But it does require the same mental toughness, discipline and total immersion to become elite as any other sport. Due to these similarities, you would think that similar reprehensible behavior would be just as common place in the world of professional angling. Now I don’t mean to paint anything with too broad a brush but, in my opinion, there are more examples of day to day integrity and selflessness in the world of professional fishing than most other sports.
I think of several incidents of anglers, in the final days of a tournament where there is a lot of money on the line, stopping to help each other or other boaters who are in trouble. In more than one instance, a pro has probably saved the lives of some folks who were in deep trouble on the water. In most of these cases, they did indeed lose fishing time which could have cost them some serious change. And again, in most cases, they simply did what had to be done without fanfare and went about their business. I know for a fact that some of these incidents were only reported by the folks who were helped. Otherwise, there would be no record at all of what happened.
Furthermore, professional anglers often travel and room with a buddy to cut down on expenses and the agreements that come out of these arrangements, such as sharing information on a body of water, are strictly adhered to. Man is that refreshing in today’s world. People who say what they mean, and mean what they say no matter the consequences. Yes, there are still folks who are willing to help others as well as go to extremes to keep their word.
Toyota Trucks All-Star Weekend
Just the latest example of this was at the finals of the Toyota Trucks All-Star Week competition. The format for this tournament was winner take all. Yes, one guy was going to walk away with the $100,000 prize while everyone else got a handshake and a wave for participating. Most folks don’t know this but, there was an agreement between the final eight that whoever won would help the other seven with expenses. As it turned out, Ott Defoe, rookie of the year on the elite series, bested the field and won his first ever event.
Now he could have told the other guys to take a long walk off a short pier when he got the check but he didn’t. He wrote out seven, $2,000 checks to the rest of the final eight. Now I’m no accountant but when I heard this my mind started wondering, in real terms, what this would mean to Ott. With his prize money, he’s got to pay federal and state income taxes first. Then he writes those checks to his fellow competitors which leaves him, purely conjecture on my part, about half of the original check.
That’s a big chunk to give away simply because you gave your word. But then again, some would say it’s a small price to pay to keep your integrity. I don’t know about the rest of ya’ll, but given a choice, I prefer to hang out with folks who believe the latter.
See ya’ on the water …