Hitler!!! Where is he???

Have you ever had your name spit out at you, as if it was Adolph Hitler?

Thanks to one of my older brothers--the one I've referred to as "Sonny", I had the pleasure. But when you follow in the footsteps of 5 older siblings who passed through the same schools, you're bound to encounter comparisons, expectations--and occasionally fear and anger! =)

Most of it was easily overcome. You keep showing up every day and being yourself, eventually teachers get to know you. Sometimes it's a little harder than that. When I didn't make the wrestling team the first year of junior high, I approached the coach about it. I reminded him I had won all of my matches and was the youngest person in my weight class. He said he had to do what was best for the team. I thanked him for his time and started the long walk home--I'd missed the bus. The next day he tracked me down and invited me to join the team. He later admitted he cut me because of Sonny. He worried I might act the same way. But when I called him "sir" and didn't start yelling during our talk, he began to see I was me (not Sonny).

Because of changing school boundaries, I spent the next 2 years in a school across town--none of the teachers there knew any of my siblings. It was really nice having a clean slate. But in the 10th grade I ended up back at the local high school. The first day of class I stayed after school to try out for the soccer team. I'd been team captain the year before (@ the other school). As the coach read off the names of the kids trying out, he got excited when he read mine. Excited as in, "Hitler! Hitler!!! Where is he???" The man was furious. When I answered, he scowled at me and then mumbled something under his breath. The two days of tryouts went well. He matched me against the top, senior forwards (I was a defender). When the coach posted the team roster on the 3rd day of school I scanned the list for my name and found it, sort of. The coach had written my name at the bottom of the list and then vigorously (violently?) crossed it out. I considered approaching him about it, but he seemed a little unstable. I decided to play boys club soccer instead.

So, have you reaped any benefits or encountered problems as a result of elder siblings? If you are an elder sibling, did you leave a legacy for the younger members of your family to live up to--or live down??? ;P

PS - For the record, no, my last name is not Hitler. LOL!