I walk out of the gym and wait for my mom to pick me up from practice. As soon as she shows up, I got into the car and we talked about how practice went. All of the sudden, I see a figure approach—a familiar parent who I thought had a question about practice. She knocks on my mom’s window and asks why my mom would ever allow me to wear the shirt I chose to wear on that fine Wednesday.
You’ve seen them all around the Chicagoland area. Those pieces of fabric promoting the good ole Chicago Cubs. Those blue pieces of cotton projecting the outline of eye glasses. Those blue t-shirts simply stating, “Try Not to Suck.”
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What are they sucking? This mom had the nerve to ask what type of “sucking activity” I was promoting by wearing this Cubs shirt. Yes, you read that right…a CHICAGO CUBS shirt.
I guess if your mind is in the gutter all the time and have no sense of the world of sports, you would automatically think that this shirt advocates promiscuous behavior, but you’re missing the key word, “not.”
Try NOT to suck. Try NOT to suck. Try NOT to suck.
If anything, it’s NOT promoting promiscuous behavior. I sat there completely appalled by the way this woman could not comprehend or even allow me to get a word in that this shirt was INDEED a Cubs t-shirt and actually supports children in the inner city to promote betterment. She was so focused on what she thought the shirt was for and didn’t take the time to listen to what I had to say about the shirt I was wearing.
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In no way was I trying to offend anyone by what I choose to wear, so I apologized to her; but she wouldn’t let it go. When I bought the shirt, I never thought that it was going to create such a stir that it would lead me to having to defend or apologize for purchasing and wearing it.
If you didn’t know, Joe Maddon coined the phrase, “try not to suck,” after telling Javier Baez this as he was going out to play. Little did he know that this phrase would be the “motto” of the Chicago Cubs and raise money to support his charity, Respect 90, which seeks for the betterment of the inner cities of Chicago.
This phrase isn’t meant to be vulgar in any sort of means. It’s not about sucking anything. It’s meant to pump up athletes and get them ready to bring their A-game. It’s about giving everything you have and leaving it out on the field.
So what am I getting at here with this little story? All people should go out and buy these shirts?
No.
It’s a little more than just a t-shirt. It’s about closemindedness—the tuning out and not listening to another’s point of view. It’s about how quickly judgements can curb an overall opinion about someone simply by clothing, speaking or actions. It’s about the absurd entitlement, which has been bestowed upon people who will go out of their way to prove that you are wrong and make you feel like you’re not good enough.
Here’s to all of you who have felt judged for whatever reason. Here’s to all of you who have been belittled for whatever it is that you did to offend someone. Here’s to all of you because you matter and are worth more than what anyone has to say.
So let’s try not to suck and be the respectable adults we’ve all been raised to be.
