Aug 27 2008
Life as an Unsuspecting Cover Girl
Maybe I should befriend Victoria Beckham. We would have plenty to talk about: our athletic husbands, oversized black sunglasses, and what it’s like to be on the cover of the tabloids.
Wait. Before you pass judgment, please know that while I chose the husband and the sunglasses, I became a member of the ‘ tabloid cover girl club’ most unwittingly.
At the time, I was living in Greece with my husband, who was a point guard for a European basketball club based in Athens. I was a sitting in the stands waiting for my husband after a game one evening when a respectable-looking Greek journalist approached me.
“I would just like to ask you a few questions,” he explained, his tone reassuring. “It won’t take long.”
The reporter explained that Goal, one of the major sport newspapers in Greece, occasionally runs profile stories on the wives of notable athletes. They found me to be of particular interest since my great-grandparents were born in Greece.
Though I was a bit hesitant, I agreed to do the interview. What harm could it do, right?
Interviewer: What does your husband like to do in his spare time?
Me: He sings, writes his own music and plays the Play-Station.
Interviewer: What sport does he play on Play-Station?
Me: He plays FIFA soccer, actually.
Interviewer: What do you like to do during your stay in Greece?
Me: I like to sightsee, shop, and hang out with the other wives.
Interviewer: What are your thoughts on the longstanding conflict between the Greeks and the Turks?
Me: (Pause) Um… I don’t have enough background information to offer an opinion on that subject.
Interviewer: Do you think you and your husband would ever move to Greece permanently?
Me: Our friends and family are in the United States so I’m pretty sure our home will always there. We would definitely come back to Greece for vacations though.
After a few more questions, a photographer took some pictures of me striking my best pose (head tilted, foot slightly forward, toothy smile) and sent me on my way.
After all of the interviews I’ve conducted as a journalist, it was an interesting role reversal to be the one answering the questions. I handled the interview pretty well, I thought. I dodged the loaded questions, and kept my answers brief but polite.
The following Sunday, I couldn’t wait to get to the news stand to pick up a copy of Goal. Standing on a quiet street in Athens, I stared in horror at what I saw: a full-color, full page smiling picture of me. Not in the newspaper, as had been promised, but smack dab on the front cover of a special tabloid insert called G Gossip that comes with the Sunday newspaper (similar to Parade but not nearly as classy).
The tabloid was basically comprised of scantily clad women, Greek celebrities, and a full, two-page article about me. To say I was shocked is a great understatement. Did my anecdote about my husband’s Play-Station habit really warrant two full pages? And did they really have to use so many silly-looking pictures of me?
Needless to say, I was horrified. I would never have agreed to the interview and pictures had I known how they would be used. Unfortunately, the article was written in Greek so I didn’t understand a word of it. A translator insisted that the write-up was actually well-done. Why, I wondered, couldn’t they have put it in the regular newspaper?
I found out later that it’s common practice in Greece to include tabloid inserts with the newspapers to help sell them. As shocked as I was, no one else seemed to think it was that big of a deal. The reporter who interviewed me even came up to me at one of the next games. He wanted to make sure I had seen the article and gave me some extra copies. It’s safe to say I won’t be handing them out.
I try to look for the lessons hidden deep within life’s humiliating experiences. From this one, I learned journalistic standards are different in other countries, and that I’ll be sticking to my day job. Seeing my name in print is so much more gratifying than seeing my face.
