Hi Jake,
I appreciate your response.
I will say that it is my experience that we often don’t know what a person feels self-conscious about or what they find most disturbing about their appearance. You may well be right and it might be a long bow that I’ve drawn, however it’s possible, at least in my mind, that Bootsma’s slightness might be something he doesn’t feel all that comfortable about, especially considering the expectations put upon him by the Carlton faithful, and his inability, at this time, to meet them.
You draw comparisons to Matthew Lappin, Paul Chapman and Gary Ablett. Each of these men were/are, at the very least, great players, and so I suspect they might be a little more confident that statements about their appearance are not representative of their footballing ability. Needless to say, Bootsma’s slightness, and what appears to be his consequent inability to successfully use his body against his opponent, may well be a point of concern/embarrassment.
I am prone to over analyse, as is my want. Perhaps he is as thick skinned as they come and your comment would not even raise an eyebrow. But he doesn’t appear overly confident and, as a young man who has not established himself in this cutthroat vocation, being the punchline may not help.
All that being said, I do appreciate your willingness to address my concern.
Regards,