A nickname is a trivial thing and yet the matter can become hugely controversial. It lasted years at UND. I think there was a cooling-off period before the new nickname was anointed. So they're now the "Fighting Hawks." And you know what? No one seems to care much if at all. The nickname is routinely used and life goes on for everyone.
We here in Morris have been guaranteed no controversy with our names. As I have stated previously, we have the default "big cat" names. When Carolina and Jacksonville entered the NFL as expansion teams, both chose the safe default route in this age of political correctness. Carolina is the "Panthers" and Jacksonville is the "Jaguars." We here in Motown have "Tigers" for the high school and "Cougars" for the college. Makes our school administrators breathe a sigh of relief to be sure. "Nothing to see here." They then can return to their many other problems.
Wally Behm once told me that whenever a new administrator checks in somewhere, his whole job is to tackle a bunch of "problems."
The Benson school has been quite distracted by the nickname/mascot matter, hoo boy. I am certain that the board and administration at Benson wishes like heck that it never had its nickname. A particular nickname does not confer any special enrichment whatsoever. It's a throwaway type of thing. Administrators can thus pull their hair out over this.
The Benson administration might not confess to the hair pulling but I'll bet it's true for them. (Years of experience in the small town media has instilled in me the feeling that school administrators typically do not say what is really on their mind.)
Poor Wally: a heart of gold, intelligent, with a sense of humor and sense of humanity. But. . . He had a common affliction among school administrators: difficulty in adjusting to changing times, trouble realizing that in the end, you must always defer to the parents. Stay fixated on the latter and you'll always be fine.
Wally was the "principal to the boomers" (generation) of this community. Such people did yeoman's work, would be preserved with fondness in any community's memory. No other generation has ever been quite like it. We were the first generation of young people to be marketed to.
The what?
As I survey the sports nicknames out and around, I'm struck by the one out of Idaho. Not Boise State but rather University of Idaho, which plays in Division I but not at the absolute top level. It's at the second from the top. This can get confusing. So don't lump all Division I's together.
U of Idaho came to our attention in a big way with the horrific-beyond-words quadruple murders. I have never seen such an explosion of "true crime" interest as what transpired in the weeks following the murder of the four young people along "King Road."
The "NewsNation" TV network plunged in with Ashleigh Banfield. One night she noted that while all the media attention was not appreciated in Moscow, Idaho, the attention really gave the impression that the community and its campus were "a really charming place."
Indeed, a city of 26,000 which in the national media might be presented as a "small town" - you know the stereotypes. But 26,000 makes the place bigger than Willmar - I see it as a quite viable place. Actually not too big and not too small. What might be a good example of the latter? Morris maybe? We hope the national media stays away from here.
Makes me think right away of our Hancock girls basketball team from when the notorious Dennis Courneya was coach. Aggressive as could be. I think "ugly" would be an objective description, of the style of play and not the girls.
I use "notorious" in connection to the coach because he ended up in infamy, having to serve prison time. Nevertheless, his tenure at Hancock was such that his team could fill the UMM P.E. Center for post-season games. Maybe there should be a museum exhibit on this. It was truly a phenomenon. I fear we in Stevens County have largely forgotten.
Hancock had a terrific rivalry with Wheaton. How did our Morris Tigers fit in? Not at all, not a trace, because our girls athletics in the high-profile sports lagged terribly in that time period. Why did Morris put up with this? Well, I could maybe write a book. Academic stuffed shirts? Perhaps. (Jim Morrison would laugh about that.)
But I felt it was seriously sad, especially in our "progressive" community of Morris with its university which I would think would want girls/women to be high-achieving. I have never hesitated from asking difficult questions in this community. I have suffered for it. If I was so totally wrong with some of my inclinations, why couldn't people just ignore me? Maybe I had more merit than they acknowledged, but I wasn't swayed by certain "sacred cows."
Music for U of I
I got inspired to write a little song tribute to U of Idaho on Sunday. I call it "Hymn for U of I." Would it get any attention if I were to have it recorded? Honestly you never know about these things. Analyzing attempts at popular music is about the most unscientific thing you can imagine.
U of I has a music department named for Lionel Hampton, the great jazz vibraphone player. So I raise a toast to University of Idaho! I invite you to read my song lyrics:
"Hymn for U of I"
by Brian Williams
We rejoice in higher learning
Out west in Idaho
Cutting edge for all we need
Building wisdom, planting seeds
Idaho, Idaho
For the good we applaud
Real vision here in Moscow
It will do the job
We can wonder why it happened
Four lives erased so fast
Xana, Kaylee, Madison
Ethan was a fine young man
Idaho, Idaho
Essence shining like gold
They will remain beside us
Never to grow old
BRIDGE:
Take a stroll on the "Hello Walk"
Feel its energizing vibes
Feel the atmosphere of Kibbie
Makes you glad to be alive
We salute our School of Music
Hampton is how it's known
Mallets were his stock in trade
Jazz the genre that he made
Idaho, Idaho
Music makes us agree
No place can match the value
Of our pedigree
We unite behind the Vandals
Strange name we know it is
Nothing reckless, nothing crude
We'll just take on any school
Idaho, Idaho
Touchdowns to our delight
Join hands for all who know that
U of I is right
BRIDGE (new lyrics):
Vandals are a breed of passion
Fun and serious collide
When the chips are down there's action
Makes us glad to be alive
We accept the snow in winter
Out west in Idaho
North of Boise, close to God
Friendly faces, no mirage
Idaho, Idaho
Mem'ries form that will flow
We'll stay a part of you
No matter where you go
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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