UMM sports can help us escape cold

I have a friend who would say "did you order this weather?" Would seem to be out of "How to Speak Minnesotan," the cultural treat book. I'm amused by the picture on the back of the guy holding up binoculars. Like he's making a scientific study of us or something. 

People with cultural traits don't notice them enough themselves. That applies to all regional cultures of course. And of course the stereotyping can make you wince. While the cultural traits are based in fact, no way do a large majority of people even exemplify them. 

Does Hollywood stereotype? Is the Pope whatever? The movie "Fargo" and the later "North Country" put forward us Upper Midwest folks in a simplistic way. We're all more complex than that. But, we have recognizable spots! 

So, "Did you order this weather?" Too (expletive) cold for Thanksgiving weekend. And not good conditions for traveling long distances, surely. But people surely did make their trips. Come hell or high water for Thanksgiving. I believe there was a movie once called "Come Hell or High Water." I remember because Mom acted uncomfortable about the language. 

Is "hell" really profane? Or is it simply a way of referring to one version of the hereafter? I got criticized sharply for taking a photo in the Morris newspaper that featured a sports banner that included the phrase "like a bat out of hell." Wasn't that a "Meat Loaf" song? Honestly I thought nothing of it. My puritanical critic was a Morris dentist, a rather strange fellow IMHO. 

Correction: I didn't actually take the photo, I just made the decision to publish it. Who took the photo? It was our Morris cross country coach. It was taken in Northfield MN. Our team did great and I'm sure my writing did it justice. But my discretion with photos, I guess, irritated at least one person. "Like a bat out of hell." Super number of listeners for that song on YouTube I'm sure. 

So now we're talking sports. With severe cold having invaded these parts, we're seeking indoor entertainment. I hate to admit it but I haven't been to a UMM basketball game in years. And I feel a little bad about that. A friend reported to me that the bleachers are only pulled out on one side of the gym now. The "Gremmels" name is just for the court and not for the whole building. 

Edson Auditorium at UMM

So a benefactor can name just one part of a building? That leaves the others open for new benefactors, wink. So the old auditorium on campus is still "Edson." Name hearkens back to the old WCSA days. And I really don't think there's much of a sense of nostalgia about the WCSA anymore. In my opinion, leave it in the history books. 

I have advised the same about the contentious "Kirkbride" building in Fergus Falls. There, the nostalgia remains quite strong. I would conclude it's from so many families having made their living there. Well, that's their problem. And it is most certainly a problem. 

But here? Many of us have probably forgotten how UMM sports teams once played a slate of very familiar opponents. You heard an opponent's name and you immediately knew what that school was all about. I put forward the "state universities." Sometimes I'd arrive at the P.E. Center and see a bus with a state U name on it. It felt comfortable playing those schools. We have friends with connections to those schools. Seemed so logical and smooth, n'est-ce pas? 

My goodness, look to the present. Now we're playing "Oak Hills Christian College." The men's schedule says we'll be hosting them on Saturday, Dec. 7, 1 p.m. Last year we played them and a friend contacted me to ask, in effect, "What the hell is Oak Hills Christian?" 

A check shows that this is an obscure school from quite far away: the Bemidji area. But the school is not just obscure, it is - ahem - "idiosyncratic." Look, I'm just an observer and I can live with lots of things. But consider what our UMM stands for philosophically. Now, please read a little entry about Oak Hills Christian from "Wikipedia."

 

Homosexuality is prohibited at Oak Hills Christian College. Students must swear to give up "sinful attitudes or actions" including homosexuality and immodesty, and affirm that only heterosexual marriage is permissible. Employees of the college must sign a similar pledge. The college was granted an exception to Title IX in 2017 which allows it to legally discriminate against LGBT students for religious reasons. It is ranked among the "Absolute Worst Campuses for LGBTQ Youth" by Campus Pride.

 

Michael Lackey

Hmmm. Again, I miss the Moorhead States and Winona States. I told Michael Lackey this morning (at Caribou Coffee) that I felt the big and powerful University of Minnesota should have the resources to keep its Morris branch propped up so we could play the state universities. In fact, I will point out again that the reason the MIAC never wanted us, according to local CW, is that the MIAC feared how dominant we could be because we were part of the U of M. 

Looks like the main U is really not doing as much as it could for us. Anyone care to rebut? We once had a liberal arts faculty that liked to distance itself from the Neanderthal "athletics," right? So is that what dragged us down? Frankly I think that phenomenon has eroded so much it's basically nonexistent. 

UMM people will be happy if their institution does OK merely on "existential" terms. When I was in college, nobody used the term "existential." 

You should know that Edson Auditorium was once 100 percent the home for music and theater presentations at the college. As a kid I felt the whole setting was just fine. The music discipline barely touches the place today. Actually nearly all music events would go over just fine in Oyate. It would seem a more inviting place than the HFA anyway, IMHO. 

The Morrison name came to be high-profile at the Edson building. So how are those two names supposed to be juxtaposed? That comes under the category of "very good question." 

"Morrison Performing Arts Center." But the auditorium retains the "Edson" name. I heard someone say once that a kid could go to school for two years here and not be aware that the Edson auditorium even exists. I can understand that. 

The years 2026 and 2027 stand to be very daunting for UMM to try to attract students - worse than now. Everyone batten down the hatches. It's reassuring to see Michael Lackey still around at Caribou. He's at home with both the intellects and the common people. Here's a salute. He is rarefied air academic too! 

Me? "Mongo just pawn in game of life." 

Hey everybody, come to the Morris public school holiday band concert on December 9! Mark that on your calendar, Dec. 9. No better way to forget about the cold.

 

Here's a comment I shared to Yahoo! News yesterday:

I would caution news organizations against running articles that assume that the tariffs are going to happen.

"Richard" responded:

What you, and most people don't understand is that the tariff effect has already started. The threat of tariffs has already caused steel prices to rise last week. Why? Because the mill lead time on tariffs is 60 + days, and that is post trump swearing in, And tariffs are charged to the importer at the time of import, not the date of sale. So Canada (our #1 steel import steel supplier about 15%) and Mexico (our #4 at about 9%) steel contracts are now up just in case he follows through. This means that the value of ALL steel in the market is up several points immediately. If the tariffs don't happen then prices will come back down, but in the meantime every US fabricator of steel has gotten poorer for the next 60 days. I know it is complex but I hope you understand.

 

"Fight" responded:

Except you're a regular guy and no one listens?

A different "Brian" responded:

Yep. Trump changes his mind more than a 14 year-old girl.

 

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