Monday, December 29, 2008

Van Brimmer Responds

Here is Adam Van Brimmer's response to my letter:

Snuffy:

I meant no disrespect to BC. Seems all the BC folks in this town are a little too sensitive. Fact is, BC has 400 boys in the school, which is comparable to the number of boys in the public school. Calvary has about a quarter that many. The fact that Calvary is competitive -- and getting markedly better year by year -- after being nowhere near so just five years ago is what prompted the column.

Thanks for reading and taking the time to write. It seems whenever I write a prep column, I get emails from folks at other schools who feel slighted or that they didn't get their just desserts. I've gotten a dozen responses to this column now, and all of them came from either BC or Savannah Christian folks. Not one from the public schools, which is the audience you would think might take exception to the column. Take a step back and get some perspective. I'm not taking a shot at BC, SCPS, Country Day or anybody else just because I wrote a Calvary column.

Thanks again and have a good holiday,
Adam


And here is my retort:

Adam,

Thank you for your reply. I know that it is a dogfight among the private schools for press coverage and that each school wants to have every headline. However, some of your facts are still off the mark. BC only has about 300 boys, compared to about 175 at Calvary. I agree that over the past 4 years, Calvary has had the best private school basketball program, even though they suffered a losing season last year. My main argument is that the column should have never been written. It would have made more sense had it been published two years ago, after Calvary's back-to-back state quarterfinal runs. I just don't think a 13-point loss to Windsor Forest, after losing by 14 earlier in the season and coming off a losing season, warrants a headline about how Calvary is gaining ground on the public schools.

Now, one more thing and I'll leave you alone. I do not know the last time BC made the state playoffs in basketball. It may have been 1990; it may even be beyond that. If the Cadets make the playoffs, I want them to get the same type of coverage that Johnson did for making the state playoffs in football this season for the first time since 1992.

Thanks again for your reply,
Snuffy

3 comments:

Barstool69 said...

This is quality blogging.

Also, I would have pointed out to Adam Van Deutschebag that the reason he doesn't hear from public schools is the same reason that for the most part, their sports teams sucks. Nobody cares or takes pride in their school. Maybe CHM is changing this at Johnson.

BCSAV said...

The fact of the matter is that Calvary has a solid program but BC beats public school teams every year and Calvary has beaten a handful in the past couple years. Snuffy you are absolutly right in stating that the column should have never been written. Give them credit for the success they have experienced in the state playoffs but don't say they are infringing on the public schools turf, because they're not. BC is 3-0 against fellow Savannah private schools in basketball the past 5 years and that speaks for itself. Those were below average BC teams as well. But to give Van Brimmer some credit I also think he might look at BC as having always been on the level with the public schools that Calvary is so-called infringing on.

Carrel_Fan said...

well played sir