Before Ann can succeed in boring the girls to tears, Bull mercifully cuts her short to get us to the point of this little history lesson. But the former coach will not be dismissed, and we find out what she’s got in that shoulder bag she’s been fiercely clutching.
Tag: Keisha
In the Beginning
Yup, things were tough back then. “All right, girls, we’ll create a basketball program for you…but you can’t use the gym for practice. You can practice in the cafeteria…but don’t expect us to move the tables or clean the floor!” Hey, do you suppose that when that player slipped on the fishstick, the whole cafeteria heard her knee pop?
Fairgood Ol' Days
Great opening, Ann. Nothing grabs the attention of a bunch of kids like beginning a sentence with “When I was in school“. “Coach Fairgood” recalls her days as a Popeye-legged teen, when Westview’s girls’ sports program consisted solely of archery, croquet and lawn bowling.
You da' Ann
Are we to assume from Miss Ponytail’s panel 1 wisecrack that the She-Goats are now 0-3? Time for Bull to unveil his secret weapon: the ever-youthening Ann Fairgood!
Half Step
Why must Summer refer to Darin as “my half-brother” to her soon-to-be stepsister? Wouldn’t Keisha know who Summer was talking about? I was sure TB was engaging in more retconning regarding Darin’s “adoptive mom”, but according to the Unofficial Funky Winkerbean Fan Page, in addition to being one of Les’s teachers, Ann Fairgood in fact also coached the girls’ basketball team.
Longtime snarker and Ohio resident Redbird was kind enough to scan and send the Tom Batiuk article from this month’s Ohio Magazine. If you’ve read any of the TB interviews I’ve referenced before, well, it’s pretty standard stuff, but it also contains a Tom Batiuk self-portrait, and, from March of 1972, the very first Funky Winkerbean strip (pardon the quality; I lifted it from a PDF):
Wonder whatever happened to “Roland” and “Livinia”…You can download the complete article here:
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/3406272/ohiomag-batiuk-interview-pdf-january-3-2012-8-53-pm-1-2-meg
Son of Stuck Funky 