A new fall and the new MACA soccer!

There is rumbling from the sky overhead as I initiate writing this post. The weather has never settled down during this spring and summer. Our lawns never burned out. Everything has stayed so green and lush. Good news for wildlife, even the kinds we can find concerning. That is what I will remember most about this spring and summer. 

The calendar rolls onward as it always does. So the UMM young people are around. Labor Day weekend approaches, a time to appreciate the qualities of organized labor in the development of America, right? That comment is offered with levity. Organized labor tends to bond with the Democratic Party. It is almost dangerous to present yourself as a Democrat in these parts. 

Our congressperson attaches herself to Donald Trump in every way she can think of. But she needs a memo as of now. She has been so passionate about pro-life. But her hero/God Trump has changed his stripes on this. Now he presents himself as the champion of reproductive health rights. So he's pro-choice now. 

Dr. Scott Jensen went through the same kind of metamorphosis. With him it happened rather abruptly after the first poll came out and he was 19 points down. Then his campaign ran ads advising Minnesota women that they had full abortion access. Prior to that, Jensen's "brand" was being pro-life. So it is indeed fascinating to watch how people change. 

Time moves on and we're already seeing some high school sports. This is probably the most stimulating reminder of the change of seasons. Tennis is always an early-bird sport. It signals the advent of fall just like the upcoming welcome UMM picnic. But the most significant event of late in our community is the advent of high school soccer. 

It is about time! We can look for our beloved Hispanics giving a big push to this. And I hope the interest is also high among the non-Hispanics. 

Looks like our Morris school board continues to sponsor the sport of football. It would be nice if football were to fade. We can hope participation is going down. We can hope that soccer would push that trend. I don't know what the numbers are. Already there have been a couple deaths around the USA as a direct result of football's intensity and violence. 

A manly sport? In past times it was perceived as such. Or maybe it was a means to get young men ready for the rigors of military service. George W. Bush was a war monger president. He challenged us to be tough, patriotic and unyielding - you know the lingo - whereas the new Republican Party rejects that. Foreign wars are bad, we are now told. Ideally as U.S. citizens we should all make up our minds about that. No intimidation. 

Historically we have been led along too easily. Face the pain of football and "be a man." It's a dated outlook. Good health ought to be the overriding objective. Soccer is not totally without physical risk. I guess there's a thing called "heading." But I can't imagine this practice is as bad as the plethora of football's dangers. 

Life goes on and we will indeed have football again at Big Cat Stadium. St. Cloud State erected a new football stadium in 2004 and since then has followed the wise course of cancelling football. Just because you have a nice stadium does not mean you cannot do the wise thing. Change can be a cumbersome process. 

But change comes to our Motown in the fall of 2024 with the thrill of real official high school soccer! The coach is Juan Cid Ghadarrama. 

I was with the Morris newspaper when UMM began its soccer program. I was quite aware of the historical quality of the moment. 

I wrote the kind of articles that projected the sense of historical significance. You might say I over-dramatized things some, which was actually a trait that I was known to show over time. I remember seeing the late coach Jill Willis at a function of some kind and she smiled/laughed immediately. The fresh edition of the Morris paper had a headline that suggested that Willis' Chokio-Alberta Spartans were looking like a "team of destiny." A little hyperbole, yes, but why not? 

A fair number of people did not like my approach sometimes. I think it's fun to inject an air of drama when writing about our student-athletes. Try to be just like ESPN I guess. I did all my writing before "Stephen A." came along. I do remember Chris Berman being current. When Moe Williams of the Vikings caught a pass, Berman would go "why I oughtta. . ." Roy Firestone was current, he of the Keith Jackson impression. 

There's always a big new story in sports. Look at Caitlin Clark right now. Look at the tremendous growth of women's basketball. And here at the micro level of Morris MN we have the most exciting new chapter of boys soccer. Yes I would absolutely be "over-dramatizing it" if I were still in the local commercial media. I smile. I would have fun doing this. Isn't that what life is all about? 

I saw so many dour and humorless Tiger sports fans through the years. Remember, the 1980s were nothing like what Tiger sports projects today. Night and day. No more pompous academics saying "sports is secondary." The faculty has lost considerable power from what it once had. No more pompous lectures on how "wins and losses" are not important. Well it sure is important to strive for wins. 

 

Hillcrest 7, Tigers 1

Alas the MACA soccer team did not win its debut. In this instance I will agree that "wins and losses are not important." The program has gotten off the ground. The Tigers were defeated 7-1 by Hillcrest of Fergus Falls. We scored our lone goal just one minute and 30 seconds into the game. 

Rod Jensen, coach of the Comets, was quoted on Craig Olson Sports saying: "I applaud and congratulate Morris High School and coaching staff for launching a MSHSL program - this was their first game ever. This old coach remembers the challenges and work to develop and build a new program!" 

Thanks for the thoughtful words, coach Jensen. 

I can close my eyes and imagine the kind of spread I'd do in the Morris newspaper, replete with some hyperbole and a sense of history. Just like I did for the then-new UMM soccer program. I remember our first women's goalie, Katie Riba.

The Olsen twins were featured in a soccer movie! Back when VHS tapes were a thing, my mom and I would watch some of the Olsen twins' movies. I don't think we watched this one. Name any sport and you'll probably remember an appealing movie. With wrestling, I remember "Win Win."
 

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