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Show is 10 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 2000 GYMNASTICS Stock Boy Warner Wasift a Bad Thing continued from page 9 made of some tough stuff." Wolf is an example of the tough stuff of which Utah is concocted. After struggling in her first attempt against BYU, she came back with a score of 39 425, tying with teammate Denise Jones for second competition. place in the Wolf had a pair of 9.9s on vault and beam and scored a 9.825 and 9.800 on floor and bars, respectively. "Theresa is a key for us. She looks more confident now than she has at any other time in her career," Mars-de- n said. "Hopefully, she can continue this and we can keep getting better." Graham continued to emerge as the star of this group. After Theresa Kulikowski went down for the seaGrson, Marsdcn anointed local-giahamfrom Tooele, Utah - ;.!ie queen of the team. Monday i;ight. she proved herself again by winning the with a 39.450, edging out both Wolf and Jones by .025 of a s' -- Chronicle Sports Columnist Watching S'portsCenter the other day, I sat through yet another report on the incredible journey of Rams quarterback Kurt Warner. In case you've been living in a drawer for ihe last nine months, Warner is the guy who spent five years in college, worked in a grocery store, played in Arena Football, played in NFL Europe, and wasn't taken seriously until he won the NFL's MVP award. It is a touching story really; so touching, it's been rehashed on every station, in every magazine and in bars ail ever St. Louis this season. So I was watching yet another "Isn't Kurt Warner Great?" story, and they got to the part where Warner, a guy who spent five years in college, took a job rl f Jy ' ' fjf ' mm point. She was so good, in fact, that a Utah State fan raced down the stairs to shake her hand as the Utcs walked up one of the arena tunnels. "I just try to stay aggressive," Gra- ham said. "I come out here and do each routine like I have in practice and go for the gusto. I don't hold anything back." Because of that, the judges have been holding very little back when they decide on her scores. "Deidra Sets her personality show when she's competing; that's something not a lot of gymnasts do," Mars-de- n said. "She's a natural star for us." As great as the Utcs were, they could probably use some rest today. After a tight meet with BYU on Friday and another competition on Monday, the Utah gymnasts probably have so many knots in their muscles they could earn a merit badge from lO, L. a lifetime not working at its dream job. And you know what? People manage to be happy, even if they don't play pro sports for a living. As for Warner's hardship in the Arena League and then NFL Europe, give me a break. 1? 1 STERLING Wi CLIFFORD The Utes had their best performance of the season on the beam against the Boy Scouts. "Having a couple of meets in a weekend hurts sometimes," Wolf said. "We could probabiy use some rest." Luckily, UCLA doesn't come to town until next Monday. But when the Bruins get to Salt Lake City, they'll packing some dynamite with them. USU. talented team, and they will challenge us," Marsden said. "The meet will be on the line with every event. That's what this team needs right now is to be challenged like that." So far, Utah has met all challengers with brass knuckles. Don't be surprised if the Bruins are the next obstacle to get KO'd. "UCLA is a Then poor Kurt struggled through Arena League football, only making a few hundred dollars per week. Then he had t spend a year playing football for a living in Europe. It was tough, but he toughed it out. thought, yeah, what a great story. Then I thought, how insulting to everybody who First, ' - j shelves grocery-stor- e stocking for minimum wage and dreamed about making the NFL. Warner was at the bottom, they said, and look how far he" came. I works for a living. Varner was at the bottom? 1 "NV.. V4fe Js "f Warner had a real job. Lots of people have real jobs. What about all the people who still work at the grocery store that Varner came from? Could their iives not get any worse? Sure, it's not anybody's dream job, but most of America spends True, Arena League players don't make nearly the money folks in the NFL do. But they still get paid for playing football, which beats working for a Jiving. If you polled the general population, I think you'd be hard pressed to find anybody that wouldn't count themselves lucky to play Arena Football for money. It seems to me that if you had been working nights and struggling to pay bills the way most people do, NFL Europe would be Christmas everyday. Let's see, I get, to live in Europe, see places most people never get to go, play football every week, and I get paid for it? I wouldn't even give my boss two weeks notice if you came to me with an offer like that People say all the time that athletes have a sense of entitlement, and they do. But the public has that same sense on '!!"' -- '"5?5"" ' For a lot of people, a free lege education would have been enough to get in return for playing a game. An education, by the way, Varner could have taken advantage of, but didn't. It shouldn't be remarkable that a quarterback wasn't an instant star. Warner is not special because he worked for what he has. That makes him just like everybody else. True, Warner seems to have a fair amount of determination; he stuck with football even when it seemed like it would never get nim anywhere. Lucky for him, it did, but col- Warner isn't a better person now than he was when he was working in a grocery store. Who Could Resist Working With This?! The Chrony is seeking news writers, Applications available at Union 240 Making a difference ha& always Ixsen a matter of applying 3QurseL RexVa where Mow tmx .r? e vi3 A.Vn$( U to appXy. fco u & Ail PEACE COUPS Co:ntR6t u Vvh. 7 & !. 8, 0 .t rtiv,.p!Knr.Of or Information Table!: am - 4 pm, Olpin Union, Lower Level 7 & R, Film. 8hcrvn: Noon, Oipin Union. Room 312 |
