Jimx29
09-21-2007, 10:24 PM
Wade Boggs Hasn't Mellowed With Age
What separates most professional athletes from the common man isn't just superior physical ability but also a burning competitive drive. Wade Boggs had that drive when he was playing, and it seems it still has it now that he's retired. He participated in a fishing tournament last weekend, and when it came to a close he was tied for first place in the celebrity division:
Boggs, master of ceremonies for the event, had caught a bonefish and permit on spin over the two days and Mark Cooper, an ex-Denver Bronco, caught a bonefish on fly, matching Boggs' point total of 200.
[The event organizer Capt. Gary] Ellis made the call to award the celebrity-champion trophy based on time, or who caught his fish first. The title went to Cooper.
Boggs did not take the news gently.
At the awards ceremony at the Westin Key West, when hearing the news, Boggs was quoted as saying, "I caught two fish and you caught one and you win?" He then grabbed the trophy and ran out of the room.
Was it all a big joke or did his competitive side take over? No one seems to know for sure because, well, Boggs never came back to return the trophy. As it happens, Ellis later realized Boggs was actually right -- catching two fishes did in fact make Boggs the winner -- but since he was nowhere to be found he had to be informed by phone. Kind of a confusing story, isn't it? I had a hard time simply trying to picture Boggs in a fishing boat -- I thought he only ate chicken?
Linkage (http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/09/13/wade-boggs-hasnt-mellowed-with-age/)
What separates most professional athletes from the common man isn't just superior physical ability but also a burning competitive drive. Wade Boggs had that drive when he was playing, and it seems it still has it now that he's retired. He participated in a fishing tournament last weekend, and when it came to a close he was tied for first place in the celebrity division:
Boggs, master of ceremonies for the event, had caught a bonefish and permit on spin over the two days and Mark Cooper, an ex-Denver Bronco, caught a bonefish on fly, matching Boggs' point total of 200.
[The event organizer Capt. Gary] Ellis made the call to award the celebrity-champion trophy based on time, or who caught his fish first. The title went to Cooper.
Boggs did not take the news gently.
At the awards ceremony at the Westin Key West, when hearing the news, Boggs was quoted as saying, "I caught two fish and you caught one and you win?" He then grabbed the trophy and ran out of the room.
Was it all a big joke or did his competitive side take over? No one seems to know for sure because, well, Boggs never came back to return the trophy. As it happens, Ellis later realized Boggs was actually right -- catching two fishes did in fact make Boggs the winner -- but since he was nowhere to be found he had to be informed by phone. Kind of a confusing story, isn't it? I had a hard time simply trying to picture Boggs in a fishing boat -- I thought he only ate chicken?
Linkage (http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/09/13/wade-boggs-hasnt-mellowed-with-age/)