“The moment…”
Dateline: Lake St. Clair AOY
“To be honest I’m disappointed in my performance this year.”
Garrett Paquette
Elite rookie
To Garrett Paquette, there is an old saying that old men know, old men who have seen it all, written it all, done good, done bad, old men who’ve spent more time in the sand than on the green, and that old man saying goes something like this: No pressure, no diamonds.
Welcome to the bigs.
But there’s this as well, I think you belong. Here’s why, any athlete who tells me he’s disappointed in his professional performance for the season while sitting in the mid-30s in the overall Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race with an almost certain golden ticket to the 50th Bassmaster Classic, that athlete in my book has got some chops.
Here’s the deal, young man, we old men have learned this along the way, sometimes when you swing for the fences you find out that the fences are a little further out there than you thought.
Know this too, may the fences you swing for always be a bit further out than you think. What makes a champion is the knowledge that the fences always move, and that the swings always get stronger with time.
“…you own it…”
“You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a 100 percent effort that you gave — win or lose.”
— Gordie Howe
NHL Hall of Fame
25 years with Detroit Red Wings
Paquette lives in a suburb of Detroit, grew up on the ice rinks throughout Michigan and “…all over the country and Canada. My father and his family played hockey so I grew up with it. I played left wing on a travel team that had a lot of success, played hockey all the way up until I was a junior in high school.”
The Detroit Red Wings, his favorite team, Brett Hull his favorite hockey player, and like me who suffers as a Buffalo Bills fan, “…I feel your pain db, I’m a Detroit Lions fan.”
A bonding moment.
An only child, his father is an engineer at Toyota, mom is a pharmacist. “You know, db that first launch, my first launch as an Elite angler down there in Florida, it was crazy. I was so excited but then it was also very emotional for me, you know. It took a lot of hard work to get there, lot of hard work, it sort of just hit me that first day, first launch.”
In my notes next to that quote this is exactly what I wrote down: “Never take it for granted.”
“…you better never let it go…”
“Forget about style; worry about results.”
— Bobby Orr
Forty-two of the Elite anglers fishing out on Lake St. Clair in this Angler of the Year gig, 42 out of the 50, will qualify to fish in the Bassmaster Classic being held next year in Birmingham, Ala.
And while all Classics are special and the greatest fishing tournament on the planet, this upcoming one is “…amazing, it’s the 50th Bassmaster Classic, the 50th, db.”
It is a celebration of B.A.S.S. heritage, a sport that in 50 years has now been handed down through three generations. Those young people at the first Classic are now grandparents, at the 25th Classic they brought their children. Those children are now bringing their children to the 50th…and Garrett is one of them, our third generation of fans.
I told Garrett this, “You know dude after the 50th the next big milestone is the 75th, you’ll be 50 years old then…”
“Uh huh” is all you get when asking a 25 year old to contemplate the ancient age of 50 years old, which to me 50 now seems actually kind of young. Not to mention I have slippers older than the young man on the other end of the phone.
Life fascinates, huh.
“…you only get one shot…”
“If things go wrong, don’t go with them.”
— Roger Babson
“Don’t get me wrong db, I’m thrilled to be where I’m sitting in the AOY race and knowing I have a real shot to make the 50th Bassmaster Classic but…”
At this point I’m just listening on my phone and eating M&Ms, let’s see what the young man has got.
“…but I’m still disappointed in myself. All year I seem to have been fighting myself. It was a huge struggle, shouldn’t be that way I’ve been fishing for a long time.”
I pick out four of the blue M&Ms and pop them into my mouth, time to jump in here to make this a learning experience for Garrett.
“Dude you have six, or eight, I don’t know how many tournaments, not many under your belt as a professional Elite angler driving all over the country, new places, new lakes, all sorts of conditions. Here you don’t get to park your truck and practice on the lake for a month or so, you’re in the bigs now, you are going to get your butt handed to you…”
“I know but it was so hard for me to be consistent. That killed me, it really did, and it’s not normally like that.”
Pick out four red M&Ms pop three into my mouth try to get to the one that landed on the floor before our dog does…I lost.
“…dude, you’ve got enough people to battle with out here, relax, the last thing you need to do is spin out of control.”
“I know, I know.”
“…do not miss your chance…”
“Life isn’t about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.”
— George Bernard Shaw
I like this kid, seems to be educated, polite, answered every question I asked, could hear the passion in his voice, know that he can take some hits along the way. Hockey prepared him for that. I feel good that he will make the 50th Classic, after all the AOY tourney is being played on his home lake, the same lake he guides on during the offseason.
Asked what he will do in the offseason (something I don’t buy into because as a professional I don’t believe you should ever have an “off” time, except maybe Christmas but every other day you best be out there training because it’s damn sure true that’s what the best of the best do). He said “…work on my business plan, get that all in order.”
For all of you anglers out there working on “your business plan” over the offseason here’s my advice: Be the one who catches the most fish the most amount of times and the business plan will come to you. Catch more fish.
But for Garrett I just popped a couple of brown M&Ms in my mouth and muttered, “Uh huh,” and petted the dog.
“to blow this opportunity…”
“I’ll let the racket do the talking.”
— John McEnroe
To Garrett and all the other Elite anglers out there on Lake St. Clair this week, congrats on having a good year. To the 42 of you who make the cut to fish in the 50th Bassmaster Classic, I’m jealous of how lucky you are to be able to step on the biggest fishing stage on one of its biggest days.
Props to you guys for having a great year.
But, yeah there’s always a but, but please know this…the goal isn’t to make the Classic, the goal is to win the Classic.
Win it.
There will only be one 50th Classic. You’ve made it in, now close it, seal the deal and win it. Your life will be changed the moment you raise that hardware that is the 50th Bassmaster Classic trophy.
Know also this, in now 30 years of covering professional sports at its highest level there is one question I’ve never asked, nor never will, and it is simply this:
“Who came in second place?”
db
“…comes once in a lifetime.”
Lose Yourself
Eminem
“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.”
— Jerry Rice