from yesterdays mercury...
Mercury photos of KSU
women are ‘unbecoming’
To the Editor:
Basketball, by anybody’s definition,
is a strenuous sport. During a
game, the players are not all that
concerned with looking pretty.
Even so, following our 59-50 win
over those dregs of the earth, the
Kansas Jayhawks, the close-ups in
The Mercury of KSU players Marlies
Gipson and Ashley Sweat were
pretty unbecoming. The first thing
my wife, Inger, said was that those
were terrible pictures of our girls.
I have to agree.
There must be plenty of pictures
of action during the game showing
some of the KSU players scoring or
in defensive actions — pictures
that are both impressive and flattering.
Why the photos that were
published were chosen I cannot
imagine. I know the New York
Times and the Washington Post
like to show anything negative on
their front pages, but that should
not be the standard for our hometown
paper, The Mercury.
Our team and our girls are probably
more photogenic than any
other team in the country. Let’s
face facts, they are not only the best
team in the country, they are also
the best looking group of girls in
the country.
I am not talking about just the
’08-’09 team. but all of the KSU
women’s basketball teams for the
past six years. (That’s how long we
have been back in Manhattan and
watching the women’s games.)
My wife gives me a hard time
every fall, accusing me of falling in
love with every girl of every KSU
basketball team. Why not? They all
are drop-dead gorgeous as well as
super basketball players.
What is my point? Simply this:
other papers may print unflattering
pictures of our girls (Mercury
pictures are unlikely to end up in
any personal scrapbooks), but I
expect the Mercury to show us in
our best light.
From now on, how about showing
some great pictures of a great
bunch of girls in their best light. If
the editor has to sort through a
dozen or so pictures to do so, well,
that’s part of his, or her (equal
opportunity concession recognized)
job.
In any case, my secret is out.
Every one of the girls on the KSU
basketball team is my sweetheart.
Ole Olsen
1532 Williamsburg Drive
