Born and raised in Chicago, Paul Ervin has an older brother and a younger sister. He went to Florida A&M University for college where he obtained his bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism while minoring in social work. After college, he moved back home and became an elementary school teacher/basketball coach for two years before moving to Bristol, CT and working as an associate producer for ESPN. After a little over a year at ESPN, he was offered the same position with Fox Sports Net and "The Best Damn Sports Show Period," a position he still holds. Music and sports are his passions, and he enjoys listening to music and playing video games in his spare time. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen decided to pass on his team's visit to the White House. Since then, he has taken a lot of unnecessary flack for his decision. Guillen made a very sound decision and there's a lot to be learned from it.
"I wake up, stare at the ceiling, I’m alive, what a beautiful feeling." – 50 Cent
Please excuse me for delving into 50 Cent’s book of rhymes, but I’m so happy to be alive today, to hear the birds chirping and to see the sun shining. Over the past week or so, I’ve been led to believe that the earth was going to end shortly after White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen decided to skip his team’s White House visit in order to spend more time with his family. So imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning and there was still life outside, still can’t believe it.
After Guillen let his intentions be known, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley started what seemed like the second-coming of The Great Chicago Fire by admitting he was "disappointed" in Guillen. Daley went on to say, "It’s a great honor to be invited to the White House. I don’t care who you are. Maybe you think you’re too important."
Sounds real nice, right? Let’s remember two things though: 1) Daley is a politician, and 2) Guillen is not.
Never missing out on an opportunity to stir the pot, the sports media jumped on Daley’s comments and began taking sides themselves. Since everyone seems to be so captivated with this story, allow me to play the part of Joe Friday and point out the facts, which in my opinion make "Ozzie-gate" a non-issue.
Originally, the White Sox were supposed to visit the Oval Office within the first couple of days in February, but it didn’t coincide with President Bush’s schedule, which is very understandable. Since then, the date has been changed a couple of times and didn’t become set in stone until late January. For a man who has shaken every hand, signed every autograph, and made every public appearance since guiding the White Sox to the championship in late October, when is enough, enough?
For all we know, Guillen changed his family’s vacation plans while the White House was figuring out when they could fit the White Sox in. Who’s to say Guillen didn’t alter his plans the first time President Bush and company changed the date? What we do know is that Guillen considered re-arranging his vacation plans to accommodate President Bush but changed his mind when told no wives or families were permitted to accompany the team.
Furthermore, Guillen already visited the White House in 2003, as a coach for the world champion Florida Marlins. If the argument is that no one should pass on a photo-op with our president, which is all this is, then it should be ended right there. Guillen has been there and done that. When does an honor stop being an "honor?" It’s not an honor and a pleasure every time you meet someone. After the initial meeting, it loses some of its luster, regardless of who the person is.
Since guiding the White Sox to the title, Guillen has done it all from parading the World Series trophy around his native Venezuela to appearing on Oprah. As recently as the last day in January, he was at SoxFest, meaning he has been going non-stop since the end of the season. With spring training less than a week away, isn’t it about time he stopped being "Ozzie" and started being "daddy?" In less than five days, Guillen will be in Arizona getting the troops ready to defend their crown. This is probably why he scheduled his family vacation on the eve of spring training, so he could take one elongated breath and go into the upcoming season fresh.
The White Sox finally made their White House appearance Monday and it went off without a hitch, believe it or not. President Bush even said he thought Ozzie should be on vacation and also didn’t think it was a big deal. Still, Guillen haters will undoubtedly bring this up in the future whenever they want to take a cheap-shot at him, despite Guillen’s boss calling it a "dead issue."
Before jumping on Guillen’s back for not taking advantage of something many others consider a privilege, we should remember that just as many people could not care less. Meeting the president and visiting the White House is not the end-all to everybody. We should also remember what Michael Jordan said when he skipped the Bulls’ White House visit in 1992, "I don’t care who the president is…I have to live my life the way I want to live it."