Some People Need to Get a Grip
February 9th, 2010 by Will Stewart
Without a doubt, one of the most disturbing articles to come down the pike in some time is one that just ran in the Washington Post, titled Former Hokies quarterback Sean Glennon remains a target for fans. The article details how former Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon, one year removed from his playing days and now working as a mortgage consultant and loan officer, remains the target of bitter ire from many who have the gall to call themselves Hokie fans.
I’ll leave it to you to click the link in the opening paragraph and read the article yourself, but these four paragraphs sum up the situation:
Even now, as he focuses on his new life as a first-year mortgage consulting and loan officer with Home Savings and Trust Mortgage in Fairfax, Glennon’s critics continue to taunt him. The ugly anonymous calls to his cellphone prove it.
“People call me say they hate me and then hang up,” Glennon said.
Now that Glennon, 24, has graduated and spent the last six months in the business world, he had every reason to believe his critics might finally turn their attention elsewhere. But recently, Glennon learned he has been the subject of a number of defamatory chain e-mails. One of them, obtained by The Washington Post, includes vituperative comments aimed at smearing Glennon’s reputation in the business world:
“I’m going to start writing his phone number on bathroom walls,” one e-mailer wrote. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen,” read another.
Two words for anyone who has participated in this behavior: Grow up. Five more words: Quit calling yourselves Hokie fans. I’m a graduate of Virginia Tech, and as such, I’m proud to share my alumni status with, say, every name etched into the eight pylons at Virginia Tech’s War Memorial. Or the 32 names etched into the April 16 memorial, or everyone at Virginia Tech who carried themselves with grace and class in the aftermath of that terrible event.
I’m proud to share my alumni status with anyone who ever graduated from Virginia Tech, went out into the world, and excelled at their chosen profession. Virginia Tech has a remarkable propensity for turning out smart, talented, successful graduates. Many of them take the motto “Ut Prosim” (That I May Serve) to levels I can never hope to achieve.
But if you’re passing around emails about Sean Glennon, writing his phone number on bathroom walls (seriously? What are you, six years old?), or calling him, saying hateful things, and hanging up, then you need to get a life. You’re not one of the thousands upon thousands of Hokies who are geared to excel. You’re acting like a selfish, immature coward who has a long way to go before you’re equipped to succeed in life.
I sat in the stands for three seasons and listened to your garbage. I sat in the big money sections of Lane Stadium — Golden Hokies and up — and listened to sixty-year-old men spew venom at Glennon when he threw an incomplete pass (the horror!), yet sit in stony silence when he threw a touchdown pass. If that’s you, then you need to seriously get a grip on how you view life and how you treat people.
If you’re capable of that kind of behavior, I for one don’t consider you to be Hokies or Hokie fans. It’s one thing to have an emotional fit in the stands at a game — I blistered the refs at last Thursday’s Virginia Tech-UNC basketball game, and I wish I had controlled myself a little better — but to go out of your way to belittle and denigrate a guy who gave so much time and effort to a fan base that was largely unappreciative? That doesn’t make Sean Glennon look bad; it makes you look bad.
And it makes you the kind of person that I don’t consider to be a Hokie fan, and that I don’t want to be associated with. You embarrass me, you embarrass Virginia Tech, and you embarrass yourself.
I’m not beyond a little self-examination in this. Perhaps we at TechSideline.com played some sort of role in this. Maybe, during Sean’s career, we allowed posts to stay on our message boards that we should have deleted, helping contribute to this culture, this culture that says it’s okay to mistreat and verbally abuse athletes, even after their careers are over.
The bottom line is that the elements of the Tech fan base who think that kind of behavior is okay need to embark on some self-examination of their own. Take a look around you at the people who are successful in life, and I don’t mean athletes and entertainers, I mean those who have been successful in their personal relationships and their professional lives. People who are successful treat others with respect and dignity.
Virginia Tech is all about molding people to be successful in the world. The university is not about encouraging or condoning the type of behavior that Sean Glennon has been subjected to. Get a grip on yourself, because you’re not representing this university the way it should be done.
(Scroll down for comments on this blog entry)
February 9th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
That is so wrong.
February 9th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Sean is a good kid.
February 9th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Great article, Will. Even though Sean was sometimes inconsistent, no one can legitimately question his toughness or dedication to VT football. No one worked harder than Sean did. His performance won many games for the Hokies.
February 9th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
The people that harass Sean like this are the lowest of the low.
February 9th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
Very well said Will. People need to realize that regardless of how much money or how big college football (or athletics in general) get, these guys are still amateurs. They are NOT getting paid, they are not professionals. If you are a TRUE fan of VT or any other school then you need to support and cheer EVERY player on the field. If you cannot support every last one of them, take your ball and go home, the team is better off without any of your support. Thats just how I feel. I got so sick of sitting in the stands and hearing our fans boo a student athlete who was representing our university, sickening.
So, those of you who condone such activities, Morgantown is just right up they road; they would love some more ‘fans’ of your type.
February 9th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
I can’t believe this. Do you think these idiots were similarly outraged by former players that ACTUALLY embarrased the program, like Jimmy Williams and Marcus Vick? I mean, Sean Glennon was an ACC Championship Game MVP for crying out loud! He was benched in 2008 for a QB who threw TWO touchdown passes on the season. I’m not saying that Glennon was a saint or an All-American or anything, but I don’t think any player has been as unfairly treated since I’ve followed VT football.
February 9th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Yeah I read that article yesterday and was really pissed. It really sucks that these morons can use the internet to spread their ignorance to thousands of people. I am sure that these people are in the minority, and that most Tech fans truly appreciate Glennon’s hard work and contributions to the team.
I suggest we set up our own viral e-campaign to show Glennon respect and support from the true Hokie Nation. I don’t want to suggest that everyone should clog up his Inbox with positive e-mails, but could TSL please set up some kind of message board where we can post some encouraging words for the guy? It should be set up so that non-TSL members can post too, to enable everyone to participate.
And please, monitor the board and keep the idiots off of it!
February 9th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
I missed this on Washington Post but am really saddened to hear that people are still carrying on about Sean Glennon. He always was (and sounds like is) someone who makes me proud to be a Hokie. To talk about any individual play, particularly a guy as talented as Sean, is ridiculous… never forget who we are or where we came from. The way he handled his VT career in the face of an embarrassingly ignorant fan base showed a young man with real character. I hope an NFL franchise decides to give him a real look, because a guy like that cannot be underestimated. I agree with Coach O’Cain 100% and have said the same thing a hundred times… I’d take a guy with Sean’s abilities and characater over Matthew Stafford every time.
I wish we’d have been able to block for you Sean
February 9th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Wow. What an embarassing article for VT fans. I really can’t believe that. Who would stoop so low to trash the kid like that. I am embarassed for us.
People need to remember that he played QB for a major college football program and did a pretty good job at it. What have you done?
I echo vtcarter’s statement….”wish we could have blocked for you”.
February 10th, 2010 at 1:27 am
Overall, Sean’s treatment by Hokie fans was/is an embarrassment to all of us. This is why it did my heart good in the (FRIGID) Duke game in 2008. Tyrod was having serious turnover issues, and when Sean entered the game, the crowd cheered. I agree with other respondents that he was unduly maligned for deficiencies in the O-line during his time in Blacksburg. Sean was a stand-up guy, even in defeat. I’m proud to call him a fellow Hokie! Also, I often saw him signing autographs for kids after games; something some of our other “stars” don’t seem to find important.
February 11th, 2010 at 6:39 am
What more could any one ask from a young student athlete? Stayed and stuck it out under some of the toughest conditions in sports. Those that are still making such comments are the losers not a young man that was not given the opportunity to show his skill because of poor offensive line play. In the battles of life Lord please place young men like Sean on my team. Sean you are the winner and if you use the toughness in life shown at Tech your success has no bounds.
February 11th, 2010 at 11:07 am
So, do you think a young recruit after reading that Washington Post article would have the warm fuzzies about deciding to come to Tech?……sad. Great article Will, really a statement of the problem of how some college football fans view college athletics in general.
February 13th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
I created an account just so I could post to this article. I was shocked to hear of Glennon’s treatment. He truly worked hard, handled himself well in a tough situation, and was a great example for others to follow. I think he got a bit of a bum deal while in school and he deserves our respect. I hope that he realizes that the vast majority of fans fell this way and apreciate him. A few idiots can ruin our good reputation. Remember Hokie Respect.