The Barometer Online

Issue date: 5/15/09 Section: Sports

As an athlete, you are constantly being watched. If you're wearing your team's athletic gear, then you better be on your best behavior. It's one thing to represent yourself, but as athletes, we are representing our sport and our school as well.

To add to the magnifying glass that we are already under, Corvallis is a very small town, and people love to talk. It's probably because there's not much else to do here for college students. I mean, there's only so many times you can go bowling and to Carmike. So instead, people talk, which means for us athletes, staying on our best behavior is probably a good idea.

You can't do anything out of the 'social norm' without people finding out. If you're an athlete and fall down some stairs, you can count on people talking about it. It's kind of scary when I think about it. My coach knows EVERYTHING. I'm not even kidding. She could probably tell me what I did on the weekend if I asked her!

I can't imagine what it's like to be one of the Rodgers brothers. I feel like the whole student body knows who they are and what they look like. No matter where they go in Corvallis, they have eyes upon them. It's probably paper-worthy if one of them fell down some stairs.

But not only does the public talk about us athletes, but athletes gossip about other athletes. When I first came to OSU, I was introduced to an environment where athletes love talking about athletes from other sports. I was told what teams were 'hot' and what teams I should stay away from, and when someone's name was brought up, I was given a whole background story on that athlete.

Each sport seems to have a reputation. I can't name what I was told because it's typically bad - not that the team is bad, but everyone focuses on the worst things. The naughtier the gossip, the juicier it is! It's just humanity - people generally want to hear and spread gossip that's scandalous.

But things always get changed in the lines of talking and gossiping. It's just like the game 'telephone,' or as I called it in Australia, 'Chinese whispers.' It's when one person whispers something to next person and so on until the last person says out load what he or she heard. If the gossip travels far, the gossip can become a little twisted, and that's when people get into trouble. Gossip in life is like that. It's sad, but it's one of many guilty pleasures society can't help but indulge in.

So the best thing athletes can do is simply try to stay out of trouble. It's not always easy. I mean c'mon, we're in college. But that's our catch. We are representing things greater than ourselves, and these are the guidelines we try to follow.

Olivia Vivian, OSU gymnastics

sports@dailybarometer.com

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