I find it very unfortunate that our very own Jeff Garcia is on
the prestigious cover of Sports Illustrated and all we have from
you is the negative regarding some so-called SI Jinx.
Why focus on the jinx?
I find it very unfortunate that our very own Jeff Garcia is on the prestigious cover of Sports Illustrated and all we have from you is the negative regarding some so-called SI Jinx. As a longtime resident of Gilroy it is very disappointing to open our local paper to find such an amazing photo of Jeff Garcia followed by a not so amazing write up. Why is it that the Gilroy Dispatch downplays what Garcia has done not only in his professional life but what he has done for our community? Donating to Gilroy High, Gavilan College, Make A Wish Foundation, not to mention many, many more that he doesn’t declare. I really wish you would give credit where credit is due and write an article that we the people could really get pumped up about. Like Garcia being in the playoffs after everyone thought the Eagles were as good as dead. I don’t think you realize how many people in this town are talking about the REVIVAL of GARCIA and what he has done in the last five weeks. It’s just too bad that our very own paper doesn’t even realize what we the people of Gilroy really want to read about, that being our local hero, Jeff Garcia!
Green PhoneOne can only assume that this came from a first-time reader. Otherwise, the individual would have realized that there have been Jeff Garcia stories almost weekly chronicling how well Garcia has performed this season. For example, there was an editorial written Jan. 5 entitled, “Jeff Garcia, Back in the Saddle.” There was a story “Through His Father’s Eyes,” that ran Dec. 27. There was a column in the Dec. 19 Dispatch talking about Garcia’s leadership. The lead story Dec. 6 was entitled “Garcia Silences Critics. And in the Dec. 21 section Garcia was among the top 10 stories of the year.
Additionally, the story had everything to do what has happened to many athletes who graced the cover of SI and nothing to do with what would happen to Garcia. There wasn’t any mention that Garcia would fall victim to any jinx. In fact, if you had read the jump page, you would have seen a former teammate saying he thought Garcia was too focused to be affected by a jinx. Maybe you should go back and read past sections of the Dispatch before you say the newspaper downplays Garcia’s achievements.
Same GHS players in all pictures
I noticed again in the sports section today that you running the same girls – Vanessa Wilkins and Amanda Spellman – love ’em both. They are great people and good players. But I was just wondering if you guys could focus on spreading the wealth. There are five girls playing at one time and many other girls sitting on the bench but also participating in the game when they can. It would be nice to see their pictures too. She was in there a lot for volleyball as well. The kids all work very hard, and it would be nice to have recognition in the local paper.
Green PhoneUnfortunately, especially in basketball where there are only five players on the court at a time, the focus tends to go toward the leaders. We realize this and do try to make a conscious effort to focus on other players by highlighting other players in box scores and as athlete of the week. When we select the athletes, we often pick a player that wasn’t the star on the team but played a critical support role in the team’s success. The photographers also try to shoot a wide variety of players throughout the season. For games that are on the road, we try to feature head shots of the players who had a good game. in addition to the photos of Amanda Spellman and Vanessa Wilkins, we have also run photos of Erin MaGill, Russhelle Preeshl, Amanda Silveria, Megan McAvoy and Dana Schoeneman this year.
