I think it’s pretty well known that I check the ISU message boards from time to time. I check a lot of message boards, related to ISU and otherwise. For better or worse, it’s a snapshot on what some fans think. It’s part of the collegiate zeitgeist and they aren’t going away. That said, they must always be taken with a massive grain of salt.

A lot of folks at both ISU message boards read this blog, and some even plug it and offer compliments about what I write. For that, I am sincerely grateful and I’m glad the stuff that I write can inform.

However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some ridiculous, uninformed, taken-out-of-context “takes” that are contained within the posts on those boards. I’ve seen a million of them in my time here, and while most of the silly ones elicit a chuckle, one I read today did not.

Someone who goes by the pseudonym “Weave” on the Sycamore Hoop Forum decided to post the following after reading a Tyler Cutter quote in my ISU-DePaul game story published in the Tribune-Star on Sunday.

“I made a stupid mistake on a turnover that really cost us,” Cutter said. “Hopefully, I’ll learn from this and it won’t happen again.”

ISU players need to get over this “hopefully” crap and be more positively
ASSERTIVE. No if’s, and’s and butt’s in their game psyche!

Link to Hoop Forum thread

This is wrong on so many levels, and while I’m hesitant to fight a battle for Tyler Cutter, the fact is, he can’t fight it himself, so I will.

Before I explain why this post is light years past out-of-context, let’s first give Cutter some credit. He’s a freshman, a freshman who made a bad mistake when the game was on the line. He flat had the ball stolen from him when ISU was trying to get within a point or tie the game against a Big East opponent.

Given all that, Cutter deserves credit for manning up and facing the music after the game. We spoke one-on-one, and while he was clearly disappointed with the loss and his role in it, he answered questions with a lot more thought and insight than many players do in the best of circumstances.

If he was annoyed by the fact I wanted to speak with him after the game, and given the circumstances, it would be a natural reaction for anyone to feel that way, he never let on. There was no sense that our interview was the equivalent of having a root canal.

How do I know this? I never had to ask Cutter about the turnover, though I was prepared to do so, because it’s part of my job to sometimes ask unpleasant questions, just as much as it’s sometimes incumbent upon players and coaches to field those questions.

Before I could ask it, he segued from one point he was making to his turnover and I quoted him on what he said.

Which brings me to my original point. The anonymous Weave keyed on the word “hopefully” in the quote, surmising that Cutter might have been dismissive about his turnover, or, that he was expressing doubt or even a blase attitude about his own improvement.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

There was no doubt in Cutter when he said the word. Frankly, he said it in the same way one might use an “uh”, or, “well …” (one I drive people nuts with), it was used as a transition to get to the second part of his point.

I considered leaving it out, because it really didn’t add anything to the quote, but I wanted to quote him directly on an important part of the game, so I left it in. Had I known someone would use it to take a shot at Cutter, I would definitely have left the word out.

If I could figure out a way to post the audio on here, I would. You’d hear what I heard and realize much ado is being made about nothing.

It’s kind of infuriating to read that post, but it’s the way of the anonymous message board world.

People criticize the traditional media, often with plenty of cause, but I will say this. If I had extrapolated Cutter’s use of that word and turned it into a column calling his attitude into question, I’d rightfully get raked over the coals, both from within my profession and from those of you out there who read it. I’d get blasted for taking what would be, at best, a reach of an opinion based on one comment, or, at worst, a gratuitous cheap shot.

Anonymous message board denizens think those kinds of standards don’t apply to them. Maybe that’s true, that’s undoubtedly what makes most anonymous posters so big and brave behind fake names.

But that doesn’t make the words that are written any less ridiculous and it doesn’t forgive ignorance of context. You are what you write, so think about that next time you want to get on your anonymous horse and ride herd on those who aren’t lucky enough to be hidden by anonymity.