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Flash’s Yael Averbuch unintentionally offends Orchard Parkers

blog by S.J. Velasquez • June 09, 2011 @ 3:03pm

Yael Averbuch has made a home of Orchard Park, but the WNY Flash midfielder is a little less than excited about her southtowns living arrangement. What better way to express one’s feelings of utter monotony in her new stomping grounds than to write a New York Times blog post about it?

Averbuch, originally from New Jersey (I know—LOOK WHO’S TALKING, JERSEY), is a contributor to the Times’ Goal blog. In a June 3 entry, she describes the nearby driving range and movie theater as Orchard Park’s “main attractions,” adding that she and her teammates reside in “obscure apartment complexes” in an “overcast and sullen area.” Averbuch goes on to explain that her neighbors are “elderly” and unaware of the “caliber of athlete” living among them. Oh, those ignorant old bags.

In Averbuch’s defense, she’s right that her team is full of some of the world’s best soccer players. There’s no denying the talent on that team, and that such a gem is sorely under-appreciated by not only Western New Yorkers, but Americans in general. What’s dodgy is her description of Orchard Park as the very antithesis of her celebrity-status-deserving team. And her digs at O.P. go on for paragraphs at a time. Still, I know, she’s not a journalist—I’m not aware of a professional writing background, anyway—and she probably just got too carried away with making the contrast between her new home and her fabulous team so dramatically apparent.

Well, Averbuch’s tone apparently didn’t go over well with Western New Yorkers. She issued this apology Thursday morning in a new blog post:

In no way did I intend to disparage the Buffalo area or anyone who lives here. I apologize if you found my wording to have been offensive. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here, and although living in a new place can be a challenge, I really feel that Orchard Park has become my home. I hope that the true message of my blog comes across loud and clear: my devotion to the Western N.Y. Flash and the longevity of W.P.S.

TAGGED: sahlen's soccer, soccer, western new york flash, western new york soccer, wny flash, yael averbuch

Comments

Philip L. Wiggle June 10, 2011 @ 6:35am

Hey Quaker

The apartment is where you sleep.
The soccor field is where you put the rest of us to sleep.
The ski slopes are where you test your athletic ability.
Big Ben June 10, 2011 @ 9:03am

Granted, OP is not exactly Vegas, but the WPS isn’t really big-time either. You’re getting paid to play a sport! Stop big-leaguing us in the New York Times, soccer snob.
Beth Dewey June 10, 2011 @ 10:15am

right on, wiggle.
hayve June 10, 2011 @ 8:02pm

Ha Ha, caliber of athlete. The sport who’s only attendees are their family. OP football attracts more attention , rightfully so.