Hawkeyes leave UConn in their wake!

Sydney Affolter

MTG advises us all that earthquakes and the eclipse are "signs from God" that America needs to "repent." I'll have to make a note of that. Does this have to be done before the end of the NCAA women's basketball tournament? 

Many of us are rather wide-eyed following the fortunes of the Iowa women primarily. Yes I have become rather consumed by the Hawkeyes. As an antidote, maybe, to all the crazy headlines in the news day by day? The ridiculous Trump legal matters? The guy is guilty as sin but we have such a molasses-like legal system for white collar. 

So when all is said and done, why do we countenance this? We have the women's basketball tournament as an escape mechanism now. The thing about basketball is, it consumes us over a limited time and then it's gone. Gone almost in an instant. 

The Iowa women had a starting time of 8:30 p.m. for their game last night, Friday (CDT). That's about my bedtime as a rule. Sometimes I retire a little earlier and maybe it's easier doing this as one gets older. I learned a saying a few years ago: "You know you're getting old when you no longer know what time Taco Bell closes." 

But then of course I rise early. You might say, well before the roosters crow. The whole world seems at peace at that early hour. Seems almost silly that the headlines about Trump and the courts start coming at us as we embark on the daily routine. Trump files motions and appeals. It's so clear what he's up to. 

The U.S legal system is supposed to respond to the people's wishes. It's part of our democratic ideal if you even subscribe to that any more. We're supposed to support Israel because it's "the only democracy in the Middle East." The Republican Party of America does not even believe in democracy. It appears to want theocracy if you observe the likes of MTG of Georgia. 

Georgia! South of the Mason-Dixon Line. I have been writing for some time that this is a part of the problem, a big part, maybe the major part. I mean, restlessness of the states of the old Confederacy. Is this too sensitive a subject for well-known commentators to broach? I know John Harwood has done it. 

If you are concerned about how far the Supreme Court has gone, that body with "I Like Beer" Kavanaugh on it, you might lay the problem at the doorstep of MTG and other Southerners. 

We might think the likes of MTG are amusing up to a point. Maybe like a sideshow. But wait a minute, now we've seen the elimination of Roe vs. Wade. The right of women to make decisions about their bodies. So now a countervailing movement is needed? At what cost to national morale, I mean with the extent of conflict that will be required? 

I sit here at 3:30 a.m. wishing I could just feel more peace. So I think about the Iowa women's basketball team. Following the high-level games as they happen is too much for me. I get too nervous. If Iowa were to get behind by 5-7 points, I'd think the sky is falling. 

Part of me feels great concern about these young women becoming celebrities having to deal with such intense attention. Could any of them "break" under this? Might they have long-term emotional consequences? We understand that they are college kids. Right now I am sure they are programmed more like professional athletes. How much room is there for non-basketball stuff on their minds? 

I woke up in middle of night not knowing how Iowa's game against UConn turned out. Thanks to YouTube of course, I could find capsulized game highlights most readily. Yeah, I could not have handled this game live. Iowa seemed on the precipice for getting behind for good. But you know how basketball can be. 

Hannah Stuelke

Wow! Iowa has done enough up until now to earn absolute brimming praise. They needn't win one more game. Of course they do have one left. They could well lose that game but I've been saying that since 2-3 games ago. Even when Iowa started the tournament against Holy Cross, Holy Cross put up a pretty stubborn challenge through the early-going. How often in the past have I been able to remember a college basketball's first-round opponent, this deep into the tournament? Maybe never? Never? But this time I do? 

Well, that demonstrates how entrancing this Hawkeye team can be. 

Enthusiasm begins with Caitlin Clark but then we get familiar and become fond of the other team members. I will never forget them. I hope they overcome the emotions and pressures of what they are dealing with now. Oh heck, I'm sure they can. There's probably more of an issue with me! 

Go Gabbie Marshall! You're a defensive whiz and a clutch shooter to complement Clark. You two have a quality that permeates the Iowa roster: you have wonderful personalities and physical appearance. I mean just as women. That's from my standard heterosexual perspective. It's the year 2024 so this must be specified. 

We respect all of the student-athletes, for certain. All races, sexual orientations etc. But we are entitled to our personal tastes too. Even us heterosexuals, OK? So go Gabbie Marshall! I wish I could sample your "Gabbizza" pizza. I wish that would go national. 

Go Kate Martin! Kate was the one who inbounded the ball for Clark to take her most famous last-second game-winning shot. 

It goes without saying the Hawkeyes have "chemistry." But there I just said it. 

I don't know if I'll get around to "repenting" on a timetable that will satisfy MTG (Marjorie Taylor Greene). 

I know I won't vote for Trump even if he is put forward as the Messiah. I know there are several churches in my Stevens County that will vote for Trump maybe 100 percent no matter what comes out about him. Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do. 

And go Hawkeyes! Go Sydney Affolter! Go Hannah Stuelke! They won last night 71-69 over UConn.

 

The college women are helping boost the high school game too. Here's an email I sent to a friend on Friday:

 

Hello again Randy, one of the reasons I try to resist the teachers with their constant demands is that I'd like to see the district have enough funding flexibility to consider creating a new position now and then. I have told a couple friends recently we ought to go out and try to get a really good girls basketball coach and then create a position for that person. And I add that "I don't care if it costs the district extra $." And I really don't, if we can get some vigor injected into that program. The coach now is not a jerk so that is not the problem. But it seems we lose in the first round every season. Tomorrow morning I'll probably have the team's center as my server at DeToy's. She is tall and looks athletic. We'll talk about tonight's Iowa game.

 

Addendum: I'll conclude here with continuing concern about these local battles that involve teacher unions. Such in-your-face rhetoric. Well, this happens because the system permits it. And this can be upsetting for small outstate communities. 

There is always the serious danger of when the teachers appear to "lose" some of these skirmishes, their sense of "tribalism" will increase exponentially - I have seen this firsthand - and then they'll huddle in their little social groups and express resentment against people who ought to command basic respect. We elect our school board members. 

And then this happens: teachers will decide they will work only up to the letter of their "contract," will not lift a little finger to do anything extra even if basic good sense would suggest this. I have seen this before and it probably could happen again. 

We had Morris teachers become hugely defensive about how co-curricular programs were run in the 1980s. They just didn't want to feel any pressure. We had sports programs that seemed more like an extension of phy ed class. We got over some of that but not all of it. Once again we see girls basketball underachieving IMHO. The boys program appears to be going along fine. 

Football appears OK but the coach has emerged as a major union activist. Highly worrisome. 

Now the board has OK'd boys soccer. A new program! The district will have to pay a coach. Would the union resent this? Resent budgeting $ to fund a new athletic program? Would it be a revenue-producing program? It's music to my ears to hear about soccer established because it would draw boys away from football. Boys volleyball and tennis might be weighed also. 

It all has to be paid for. Better to pay for the new programs than to give the teachers constant raises. Of course teachers can complain about cost of living. But this is a huge issue for everyone right now. It's a huge issue for people who don't have the benefit of union membership. 

Ideally the state should set the standards for teacher compensation so we don't have these divisive arguments in our small communities. But I was saying this 40 years ago. And the teachers don't know when to stop, when it comes to having their belligerent reps show up at school board meetings, disrupting school board meetings. There should actually be a prohibition on this. The system needs to change. 

Teachers need to be reined in, to be humbled. If they think their lot in life is so terrible, they can resign and look for other opportunities. I have had a target painted on my forehead for decades, for saying these things. Would the teachers ever be satisfied? Of course not.

Addendum #2: I remember a conversation with our school superintendent Fred Switzer from when our girls were having a dismal season. He commented "We don't have any shooters." I would generously describe that comment as shallow.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com