Loser of the Week? It's only June, but this guy's a contender for Loser of the Year: 28-year-old Matt Starr of Sachse, Texas, who, according to the Associated Press and the Dallas Morning News, trampled and knocked a four-year-old boy against the seats at a Texas Rangers baseball game to grab a foul ball before the toddler could.
Fans started chanting for Starr to give the ball to the young boy. According to the AP, Starr shrugged and refused to. Texas Rangers announcer Tom Grieve voiced his opinion on television, calling Starr, "the biggest jerk in this park."
But here's the icing on the cake: Starr used to be a youth minister and a coach for his church women's softball team. The Dallas Morning News reports that at the Sachse Assembly of God Church, "friends of Mr. Starr stood in a circle and prayed for the truth to emerge about him."
What truth do they need other than the videotape showing Starr trampling a four-year-old kid? The truth already has emerged. And while I follow a different religion from Mr. Starr, I would humbly suggest that the video is God's way of showing the world what a dumbass he is.
When I was about 13, a baseball landed in my seat at a Baltimore Orioles game. I still have the ball. Every time I look at it, I remember that game. I hope Mr. Starr remembers this game for a long time to come... and the wave of national publicity exposing his stupidity. So far, he has been cowering inside, refusing to talk to the media. I hope he is having fun with his baseball.
Catching up on my reading....
Used to live in the mid-cities area between Fort Worth and Dallas so the ballpark was something of a close neighbor. I did not see it live but did catch it the following afternoon on ESPNs Pardon the Interruption. They roasted the guy. Then, the next day, our sports talk radio station http://www.theticket.com went on the air and asked listeners to rat him out - call and tell us who it was and where he lived. Within a few minutes they had several phone calls all with the same name and number.
Guy had to leave town for a few days. He's since said he owed the kid the ball and the family an apology. He was also going to give them tickets to a future Rangers game.
What a guy. But, you know he was a bigger jerk to the lady he flopped on - barely touched the kid who didn't have a clue to even what a foul ball was.
Life in the metroplex is never dull. Can't wait for the next gaff at Valley Ranch - where the Cowboys train and work out.
Posted by: Gary Potter | Tuesday, June 22, 2004 at 02:42 AM