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| Sign at new field (twitter image) |
So much is available on laptop now, even my favorite MSNBC TV shows which are available soon after they air the standard way. But it seems different not having an image on the TV screen anymore.
So it's Tuesday morning as we plod along in spring weather that is most un-springlike. We might expect a temperature like this in February. We are conditioned to expect the harshest conditions through the year in our beloved Minnesota. We cannot resist a little defeatism creeping in sometimes. We might accept the unpleasant weather with an air of resignation, as we try to chalk up the good things we find about this part of the country.
But we're now a symbol of urban unrest. Seems surprising to have this crop up here rather than in a warmer state. Cold weather ought to keep people indoors minding their own affairs, or so we thought. The Chauvin trial is a flashpoint. For sure it's a prime topic of discussion on "Morning Joe" this a.m. I have found programs like this to be tiresome because they tend to over-dramatize things - e.g. the "Russia investigation" - that have an anticlimactic resolution. So maybe it's nice to be on somewhat of a hiatus from them.
The weather this morning makes me wonder yet again why we try to put high school student athletes through an outdoor sports season that begins in April. The topic gets raised for discussion across the country: spring sports having to deal with weather adversity. MACA Tiger teams have thus far played games under conditions that were unreasonably cold. This morning it's freezing, and yes, conditions will likely improve through the day.
Spring winds can be fierce. We wonder if the new softball field in Morris might be susceptible to howling winds based on being in such a wide-open space. Just another question to add to the list regarding this facility.
I'm having trouble getting my queries answered. Were I to receive acceptable answers to some of my reasonable questions, I might back off on some of my written criticism.
Anyone out there?
I tried asking Mary Holmberg about how fans are going to be accommodated at the new facilities, as it seems the available space is negligible. Dugouts are an obstacle for viewing - they seem bigger and longer than needed. I predict fans will have a hard time seeing through the fence on the first and third base sides. Actually those fans would be pushed more into outfield territory.
I have suggested that bleachers might work outside the outfield fences, but the big question is whether this would be too far away.
If the facility is quickly judged to be non-fan-friendly, would turnout be too low to justify having a concession stand?
I could present a question to the UMM athletic director, but I do not know this individual, and also he seems too all-in with the heavy promotional rhetoric for the place.
Some of these people, if I were to approach them, might react immediately by whispering among themselves, not about how my questions might be answered, but about how I'm a troublemaker. I'd be "branded," which is something that happens amid the community politics of Morris MN.
So I didn't contact the AD but I did contact a very well-placed advocate for UMM, an alum, a professional person in the community, and I emailed him with the question "what is UMM getting out of this?"
UMM is a partner. How is UMM softball being served by the "complex" for softball, as it is called. UMM softball is well-established. I have observed two games there this spring, as my standard route for biking and walking goes right by the place. It is a pleasant experience to be sure, always has been. The issue is this: How is UMM softball benefiting from the "complex" project.
I ask because I see no difference from before. The fans make do with sitting on the ground, in lawn chairs or standing - not a terrible situation. But we have this ballyhooed "complex" which I thought would make such a grand impression.
On Saturday I was taking a walk just north of the campus when once again I experienced something common for walkers and joggers: someone pulled up and asked directions. She was looking for the softball field. I smiled and said just go down the hill and it's right there. This person was probably here to watch UMM's opponent: Wisconsin-Superior.
Years ago I was jogging when I was befriended by some out-of-towners who were on their way to a wedding at the Horticulture Garden. I found it difficult to give directions from where we were at, so I hopped into the back seat of their car and guided them. Upon arrival I got out and resumed jogging, which must have looked strange.
Walkers and joggers assume this obligation in life. Just look out for the South Dakota attorney general. He might be reading a right wing conspiracy blog as he's driving. Biden and China? It's all quite harmless so long as you don't kill someone. Joseph Boever, RIP.
So I watched softball for a couple innings on Saturday. Then I wondered about the fundraising for this apparently questionable project at a time when our food shelf needs funds. MACA softball could have a 100 percent happy home at Wells Park. Someone told me "they have a ball diamond right up at the school. Why don't they play there?"
Capitulate to weather?
Is the springtime weather so harsh that we should fundamentally re-structure high school spring sports? Forget about outdoor competition in April. Maybe have a one-month season with indoor sports - volleyball for boys and floor hockey? - and it could be intramural, more serious than phy. ed. class and less serious than regular varsity sports. See how the kids take to it.
High schools could work with organizations like the American Legion to oversee baseball and softball that could begin in May and wrap up the second week of August. Player rosters might have to be fluid, as some graduating seniors might want to move on. But many would not. The high school post-season already goes past graduation-time because of the tournament. But of course you have to keep winning to keep going. Many are called, few are chosen.
Grasping for answers
Oh, I never heard back from my UMM contact person. I had written to him that "if I need to be straightened out on anything, give me a heads-up." He could have forwarded my questions/concerns to another party, maybe the UMM athletic director who unfortunately might get mired in party-line talk. I'm not interested in party-line talk.
Does this "softball complex" thing have an official watchdog? Who's in charge in the sense of "who adjudicates any disputes, who is the referee." In my judgment thus far, UMM has gotten the dirty end of the stick. As for MACA, they have a tangible reward for the effort, the new field, already named for the extant coach, but I fail to see how fans are going to be accommodated there. Fans are a big part of making the experience enriching.
Are parts of the project going to stay in limbo as funds fail to materialize? Maybe in the end the organizers will have to make a plea to government for the government to open its purse. This has already been done with the city and the city took the step of making a public announcement that it would not be making a second contribution. It's a shame it made the first. Who is the watchdog?
Sometimes these promoters can seem like the movie gremlins begging to be fed after midnight.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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