Tears and Laughter: Water boy purpose, and etiquette

All of us, no one excluded, are born into this world where we succeed in life to some extent by having attitudes of servitude. We are innately designed with purpose. Or as some might would say, we fearfully and wonderfully made. And we are here to serve one another. We all work individually in harmony together in order to maintain a civil society.

There have been countless books, sermons, discussions, and seminars on the subject of purpose as it relates to happiness. The short of it seems to be that if a person seeks to be authentically happy, they should pursue their true purpose.

Sometimes purpose can be as simple as being in a position to help. Like dropping by a casserole or a pound cake to someone who is sick, and then sitting with them for a while, not to necessarily talk, but to be near.

Purpose can be a talent. It can be a skill. It can be the ability to teach, encourage, calm, or inspire. Even the purpose of parenthood is a position of service. Practically every occupation and career choice offers service in some capacity.

Some people may only serve a single purpose while others are charged with many. One often leads to another, which leads still to others, and yet it is in a sense like the Yellow Brick Road. It is the path to a well-lived life.

So I am all about serving and giving back to the overall good of the whole. And I guess the kinder you are, the closer to heaven you will be…but these water boys – both males and females – on the sidelines at college football games who are squirting Gatorade into player’s mouth are taking servitude one step too far. It’s just tacky. No matter what team or which player, it doesn’t look good. It’s gross. Chances are a 350 pound football player doesn’t want to come off as being rude to the poor little water boy with his squirt bottle, but he probably does not want or need that kind of assistance.

These players have been well-trained by teams of coaches and fitness experts. They are some of the strongest, most physically fit athletes in the country. They have been taught the importance of hydration, and they can squirt their own Gatorade.

It’s not like they have to run across the field to drink water out of the hose – which they would likely do if it came down to it – but there are huge coolers of Gatorade sitting on the bench beside them along with stacks of cups. It doesn’t appear to be too much of an inconvenience to grab a sip or two between plays.

If there is ever a player staggering along the sideline who isn’t able to focus enough to remember how to lift hand to mouth and drink when he is thirsty, then he is going to need more than a quick shot of Gatorade from the water boy anyway.

There is an honorable purpose for having a water boy. I don’t know all of the job requirements of the position but I assume they include mixing the stuff right and not forgetting the ice. And yes, it is a very nice and polite service to offer. All I’m saying is that maybe just handing out Gatorade would work as effectively as the running around squirting method. And it would look so much better on camera.

Amanda Walker is a columnist with The West Alabama Watchman, Al.com, The Thomasville Times, and The Wilcox Progressive Era. For more information, visit her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AmandaWalker.Columnist.