Okay, friends, I need your help on this one. In my life, I go through phases of running my mouth, shutting my mouth, running my mouth and on and on. As I have gotten older, I tend to shush more than talk and I like it.
Until this happens, and I am trying hard not to be that person. You know, the one that corrects a story when you know it is wrong or the facts don’t all add up. I am not sure I can do it anymore.
Example—-A guy was talking to a few people about the tornado that came through Nashville in 1998. He said it was an F5 and 30 people lost their lives, in Nashville. That was wrong and only one person lost his life, which is one too many. I couldn’t take it anymore so I had to step in. The guy immediately fact checked me and said, “oh, my bad.” They all looked at me and I said, “Y’all have a good day.” The guy I corrected kept giving me dirty looks the rest of the night, but I did not care.
Then, it happened a few days after that. This time some was talking about the Tennessee Titans and a few games and players and it was all completely wrong. I tried y’all, I really tried but the more he talked, the bigger the hole he was digging. “Excuse me, sorry, but I think that might be wrong,” I interjected and he stood there with his mouth agape. I explained calmly and softly and he said, “Oh yeah, I was way off. Thank you.”
What do you do when you know a story is completely wrong, and not just wrong, but so wrong that it just hurts your head? Do you step in say something? Do you let it go? Do you tell the person alone and try not to embarrass him? It is driving me crazy that I can’t keep my mouth shut anymore but I can’t in my good conscience let it go.
Every weekday, I co-host a sports talk show on ESPN 102.5 The Game from 9-11. We have callers all the time and if they are wrong, I don’t hesitate to correct them. I have no problem doing that but in person, it is much different. It is not just for sports, but pop culture, politics, and other things that I can’t just sit back anymore if the person is wrong.
I asked a friend about this and he said you might come off as a ‘topper.’ A ‘topper’ is one that when you tell a story, his story is better than yours in every way possible. Toppers are everywhere; this is not that. I am merely making the story accurate so all can enjoy.
Caveat though when you do all of this. You better be correct in your correction. You better know that the person’s story is wrong, so wrong, that you don’t come off looking foolish, too. I can accomplish looking foolish very easy so I make sure I don’t in this situation.
I am sure at some point this will get me in trouble, if not already. Until then, I will be in the corner listening closer than google.
