Media's fawning attitude re. football

(wday image)

A nip in the air this morning to signal the obvious: the warmth of summer is winding down. We might feel mildly disconsolate about that. Perhaps it's worse in this late-summer because of the indelible memories of last year's winter: its persistence. I mean, well into what we consider spring. 

How long was our interscholastic softball season last "spring?" Were any games played before May? I don't take notes. And I know that when Memorial Day weekend arrives, the high school post-season games are already on. There is only one day of home post-season softball for the Tigers: the "sub-section." Pretty sure I'm right on that. After that the drift southward begins, as seems to happen for all our teams now. If we do advance in any sort of decent way, the action ends up at Southwest State of Marshall. I consider that to be a hassle of a driving distance. 

I remember when far more of the post-season action was here in Morris like at the UMM facility. (It used to be called the "P.E. Center.") Mobs of loud and maybe obnoxious fans showing excess emotions, plus ear-splitting pep band music, you know the whole motif. I went along with all that as a newspaper person because, well, it was school activities. By definition we're supposed to cheer such stuff. 

Privately I held reservations and would guess others did too. Like maybe parents of kids who weren't born with particular athletic gifts, but who might do well in other endeavors, endeavors that don't cause the news media to do cartwheels continually. 

Last night (Tuesday) I was listening to WDAY Radio out of Fargo. The programming was the epitome of obsession with the sport of football and obsessing over the young men who play it. We come to expect this fawning attitude so much. The on-air hosts went on and on, mainly talking about the major North Dakota teams. There was a time when I might say "small college" but it's not small any more. 

Football has unfortunately spread its wings and grown. Grown to be more of a sacred cow for us than ever. I am not exaggerating, as I base this on the tone of all the on-air talk from the radio Tuesday night. I can't blame the radio station or its on-air hosts. Not really. They reflect the societal values. They give us what we want. 

I once deluded myself into thinking all high school sports activities were worthy of such focused attention with emotions attached. I'd get in arguments with people. My perspective was one of never having played football myself. 

WDAY left the impression Tuesday that the football athletes must be placed on a pedestal. They talked about the moral value of setting such high goals. Like, for a player to achieve the highest competitive level: Division I football as opposed to lower. But the radio guys can fawn just as much over the lower levels when that's called for. So, our most venerable young people are those who choose to play sports, especially football. Well, one cannot help but get that impression. 

Football! It did not used to have such a lofty place. In fact, society seemed more conscious in a previous time of its violence and barbarity. The problem is that when the tech behind TV advanced to where we got a really high-quality color picture for appreciating football, people steadily went nuts over the sport. They decided it was just too much fun to watch. They'd put aside any concerns. 

Just how does a young man display his virtue as a result of being big and fast and determined to overwhelm guys on the other side who may not be quite as big and fast? Why do we as a society consider this to be so exemplary? I mean we really do. 

I'm sure that the on-air guys with WDAY believe all their own lingo. Society as a whole gets lulled into thinking the "student-athletes" wearing shoulder pads are an absolute ideal among our youth. 

We ought to view them as victims. We already know about the "injuries" that so regularly happen to sideline players. The public has little realization about the real pain of such injuries, and certainly can overlook the long-term consequences of same. 

There was a time when society actively encouraged young men to "suck it up" and show resilience and bravery or whatever and just "get back out there." Macho manliness or whatever. We have progressed beyond that. But we are way short of taking the necessary measures to protect these young people. 

The best measure would probably be to eliminate interscholastic football. You laugh. Well, society did eventually eliminate smoking in public places. It can be done! But we have become so invested in football. We in Morris want to keep "selling" our Big Cat Stadium. These things represent investments. Boys notice the fawning attention by radio and other media toward football. They notice how they might become heroes. They might still be influenced by the old ethos about how a "real man" might play through an injury. 

Allow yourself to get too beat up, and you might find yourself wearing an adult diaper by when you're in your 50s. Cognitive decline and maybe even premature death. But you will have done your part helping entertain us all. So we're obsessed on the short-term fun. The fans observe as if they're just observing a pinball session: no danger for the player obviously. Then we just withdraw from it, get on with the regular aspects of our lives. 

The players experience the finite period of time where there's adulation for them, requests from the media for interviews with them. On and on. It's perpetual. Football has zero tangible benefits for society. It is brutal and disturbing. But try mixing those thoughts in while listening to the evening of football talk on WDAY. It's an opiate. 

We must start thinking harder about this. All of our cheers from the stands just keep the players going through pain. The consequences in many cases to be felt later. You know who really needs to wake up? The parents.

 

Addendum: So how long is the high school softball season exactly? With a lousy spring as we've experienced of late, not very long at all. Maybe hardly more than a month? I'm not including the post-season where there is only a minimal guarantee of games. 

Maybe the season is just one month? Man, compare that to the winter season. 

And we invest in these spring sports that are designed to be outside. We invested in the Morris "softball complex" which I have assailed from Day 1. I still think the fans are getting totally short shrift out there. How much was the newest of the fields used this past spring/summer? I had concerns that batters there would be facing the sun too much. Was this borne out? 

When I was with the newspaper I could get more answers. Now I'm forced more into speculation. 

Maybe the interests of the fans just don't rate? The school board used OPM, other people's money. They listened to a UMM administrator. Oh those administrators.

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

Our public school "nomenclature"

The new high school sports season always requires a little re-orientation. Get the cobwebs out, pay attention. For example, remember that MACA tennis is actually "MACA/WCA tennis." So it all stands for "Morris Area Chokio Alberta West Central Area." Which is not the way people would want to identify it as a routine matter. 

IMHO some of these strung-out school names or abbreviations should maybe be put aside? A new approach for terminology?

I have suggested in the past that maybe the area-wide schools just be identified with the name of the town where the high school is located. I suppose that many years ago there were town pride issues that would bubble up. In an earlier time there were more mom and pop businesses. That lent itself to greater provincialism. Actually I think the contrast with today is marked. 

Today I don't think anyone would much care. Today so many businesses merely have "managers" - e.g. bank branch managers - who answer to people elsewhere, maybe a long ways away. Compare that to when the local bank presidents were such paternalistic local icons! I have heard people say the new way is better. 

Let's simply refer to our local tennis team as "MACA/WCA." Some people will need a reminder what "WCA" stands for. Actually "West Central Area" is kind of a presumptious name because that school certainly does not cover all of West Central Minnesota! Far from it. But life goes on - we adapt as we always must. 

My newspaper career extends back to when I wrote about the Hoffman-Kensington Patriots who did great things in football. I interviewed their coach Keith Swanson some. Quite exciting times. But times change. Rural Minnesoa became depopulated to an extent. It used to be that every little town had its own football and basketball teams. Nothing stays the same. 

I heard someone at a public forum say once that "UMM would not be created today," based on the depopulation trend. Isn't it true that when UMM first came into existence, it was primarily to serve this immediate area of the state? 

I'm happy with UMM students from wherever they come from. Chicago suburbs? Fine with me. But this was not how UMM was minted. 

 

Echoes of PPD

The welcome picnic for the new UMM year was held Monday night at East Side Park. Reminded me of how the park looked during the old Prairie Pioner Days. Why do we have to say "old?" Talk about times changing. 

Morris was not even able to save face as it retreated from the old midsummer festival. I still can't believe that it happened. I openly promoted PPD at the start, was thus guilty of some "media bias." I had that tag placed on me at times. Our public school went through spasms of mediocrity in the 1980s, and I was not a patient soul about it. Crucify me? Eventually that probably happened. It happened long after the school problems were essentially solved. 

I had picked up baggage. So when certain people saw an opening to criticize me, it was full-throttle. This becomes relevant when looking back at the UMM goalpost incident of 2005. If you need reminding, a student was killed. Various people thought afterward that I was the issue. That was a red herring. I would argue that I was faultless anyway. 

But when political-type biases enter the picture, people can get so crazy. I found that local people who were associated with the so-called "academia" could be like wild dogs going on the attack. When people are that defensive, I think it should tell you something. And my God, they could be mean.

The public school teachers union was a catalyst in the profound discomfort. You had to bend over backward and kiss their whatever just to be considered as objective or unbiased. I could not do that. 

My newspaper career lasted 27 years anyway. Unfortunate that it had to end when it did. The company that owned the paper when I left gave up on this community anyway. A very well-placed source informed me that Forum Communications was going to close the Morris paper. It's so easy to believe that. An unfeeling non-local business at least, with non-local ownership. The ownership is always the key - they hold all the cards. 

Sue Dieter

I have a theory that the paper's manager - I won't say "publisher" - at the time, Sue Dieter, knew about the closure intentions and kept it to herself. Then the word may have spread among Morris community leaders about what was afoot. And then, resentment may have built toward Sue. 

Someone told me that after I left the paper, Sue told the staff that things would be better with me gone. So after years of putting aside commitments that I might have made in my private or personal life, so as to fulfill obligations for the paper, everything just crashed and burned. I'm sure many of us can tell sob stores from our lives. Largely we keep this stuff under wraps. 

Sue was at the UMM welcome picnic. Seems she gets larger every time I see her. Her hiring at UMM just added to the bureaucracy out there IMHO. The institution should invest in programs and people and not in administration, bureaucracy or PR. The institution ought to be able to sell itself. Maybe it can't. 

I will say the food was good at the picnic. I commented to Erin Christensen that there ought to be some entertainment from the Killoran stage. My mind is way too busy for this town, isn't it? The city should tear that thing down - it costs the city $ to maintain it, and it gets almost zero use. Look at the aluminum bleachers around it too. What is all that there for? The Morris Community Church used to have services there in the warm weather months. That was nice. Then the Morris Community church went kaput. 

Will the overall town of Morris fare better? Will UMM fare better? I'm not sure.

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

MACA cross country, tennis get in swing

How wonderful to see signs of high school athletics getting going again! I was out for a walk along the biking/walking trail Monday when some young people came running along. As their numbers grew I realized this must be the high school cross country team. 

I shouted out an inquiry about that as several passed by, and heard "yes" in response. I got off the trail and onto the grass in order to give these kids maximum room. I also clapped my hands and shared some encouraging words. At one point I said "the harder you work out, the less pain you will feel!" 

This is a wonderful sport for self-starters. You are so in control of how you progress. You can set up your own personal regimen for the whole summer. Without anyone being aware, you could show up for the first meet and win it! Neat. 

I'm pretty sure it was Monday when I saw those runners - I note that because I do not think Tuesday would have been advisable. It was terribly hot and humid yesterday. I took a walk anyway. It is going to be a long winter. I can accept the sweltering heat now. Runners need to be careful of course. 

Toward the end of the runners I observed, here comes coach Dale Henrich on bicycle. Morris has traditionally hosted a big start-of-season meet at the golf course. 

When I sampled this sport in high school, I don't think "athletic shoes" even existed! We wore "tennis shoes" that were probably not well suited. As we wore them for other things, they were probably worn. We didn't know better. True athletic shoes would have cost more than our parents would accept. Parents of the boomers had much more limited standards for spending money. They would faint at the cost of athletic shoes today. I guess people just use credit cards today? 

I'm happy of course that the kids of today have resources. Anything to help the kids. I am offering a little $ infusion to the music department as they consider their hoped-for trip to New Orleans. I have let Wanda know the figure of $500. I'd be happy to slide up to $1000 if that helps. 

A friend shared with me the concern that the MAHS band has gotten "so small." That accurate? I go to concerts but I'd hesitate to judge. This community does not like it when I judge about things. Doesn't matter that I'm right, I guess. Maybe Wanda sets such high standards, it can be kind of a disincentive to participate? There is a lot to be said for high standards. But. . . 

Maybe she'll be mad at me if she becomes aware of this blog post. It is not nice to have Wanda mad at you.

 

Tennis

We have some bona fide start-of-season competition to review on this Wednesday! Tennis always gets going early. The MACA/WCA tennis coach is my neighbor Britney House who I always think of as Britney Greenwaldt. I have never forgotten the spelling of her first name. 

Unfortunately the news coming out of the meet vs. Osakis is not positive. Osakis hosted a triangular. The Tigers were defeated 0-7. 

Cate Kehoe vied at first singles and fell to Madeline Anderson 5-8. Let's note that Osakis is known as the "Silver Streaks." I can never remember if that's one word or two. 

Chloe Zimmel, my occasional server at DeToy's Restaurant, played at second singles and was defeated by Bella Weisser, 2-8. (I am astute enough to know that the correct term is "server " and not "waitress.") 

At third singles it was Lilia Asmus wielding the racket for the orange and black. Asmus fell to Brenna Moen 1-8. 

The fourth singles competitors both had the first name "Ava." Osakis' Ava Drevlow defeated Ava Breuer 8-1. Not a pretty picture for MACA/WCA in the singles division. Maybe coach House should have her kids jog with the cross country runners? Just kidding. 

Let's take a look at doubles. Ashley Koehl and Nora Meek of MACA/WCA fell to Leah Maddock and Bria Hoffarth at the No. 1 position. Outcome was 3-8. 

Then at the No. 2 position, Grace Hauglie and Izabell Hoffman fell to Lauren Anderson and Jaclyn Dietrich, 4-8. At No. 3, Osakis' Maddi Bouldin and Lucy Glenetzke prevailed vs. Heidi Seales and Molly Wayne 8-0. 

MACA/WCA fared somewhat better in the match vs. Wadena-Deer Creek. This was a 3-4 defeat. Our doubles teams all tasted defeat. Our three wins were by singles players Cate Kehoe, Chloe Zimmel and Ava Breuer.

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

Conflict with Natives never came here

I heard as a child that the Morris area never had any permanent Native American settlements. We might joke that even then, people thought of better places to be than in Morris! Today we have the "magnet" of the Alexandria lakes area to siphon people from here. We may have lost our annual Prairie Pioneer Days celebration because of that siphon or magnet. 

Historically we depend on the start of the new school year to "jump-start" Morris. For a time, my church of First Lutheran went through summer with one Sunday service - as we acknowledged the slowdown - then went back to two. But I could see the writing on the wall. So sure enough my church capitulated to the long-term pattern of decline and went to one service permanently. 

We must admit that we cannot assume that things get better with the start or school. 

I am prepared at any time to leave for Faith Lutheran - if they'll have me - if First Lutheran shows signs of complete collapse which is possible. It is Sunday morning as I write this. We'll see how things go today. 

So Native Americans never spent much time hanging out in these parts. Yet they are a fundamental part of our local campus history and thus of our overall community history. Fortunately the great Indian war of Minnesota in 1862 didn't extend to here. In fact, I don't think there were any European civilization inroads until 1866. Am I right on that? The Civil War was over. The Indians had to move aside for the Europeans who were flooding in. 

You can debate "Manifest Destiny" but it was truly inevitable. The Indians with their loose concept of property were never going to have a chance. 

We like to romanticize Indian culture today. The movies certainly embrace this. UMM has hosted an annual "Powwow" that showcases the ornamental and ritualistic Indian culture. I haven't been to the Powwow in many years. One year I insisted that my parents attend. I think they found it to be a little loud! 

All the feathers and colors must have had spiritual significance. The Indians like showing us all this now. In the mid-19th Century, the mood was different. The Natives began resenting how the European culture and values were bulldozing them. The Minnesota conflict was major. It coincided with the U.S. Civil War. Morris once had a dentist who wrote a pretty celebrated book about the Minnesota Indian war. It is at our public library: "Birch Coulee." 

It was out in Montana where the conflict came to a head. The military engagement is one of the most studied of world history. Just think of all the books. Scholars have delved into the weeds from every conceivable angle. "Sitting Bull" became a household name. And my, look at the bigger-than-life Custer. His posthumous fame owed itself in large part to his widow working feverishly the rest of her life to build it up. My, she certainly succeeded. 

 

"Reno and Benteen"

Custer's subordinates at the Little Bighorn, "Reno and Benteen," came close to being household names too. Custer's company was completely annihilated. Separate units did survive as did Reno and Benteen. But the unit that assembled for the so-called "Last Stand" was completely doomed down to the last man. 

Sitting Bull

Over time we came to see Custer and his men as so undaunted. I'm sorry to tell you this but it's myth. In the end the soldiers simply tried to flee. Custer himself may have taken his own life or had a comrade do it for him. The soldiers knew that if the Natives got ahold of them, terrible things would be done to them. Custer's body was found with an arrow thrust up his male parts. Yes, the Indians wanted to be left alone. Their encampment along the Little Bighorn River was more of a "last stand" than what Custer's unit did. It was all downhill for the Indians after the battle. 

 

Nomadic life

The Great Plains Indians had survived by following herds of bison that migrated from place to place. These Indians needed homes that could be quickly taken down and rebuilt again. So they lived in tent-like structures called "teepees" made of buffalo skins. 

Our campus on the edge of Morris had an original purpose of helping the Natives. The conventional wisdom is that it did not go well. The intentions were good, I guess. 

It is questionable if we really ought to romanticize Indian culture. It is tempting to do this when you're at the UMM "Powwow." But what did all the accoutrements accomplish? I recall the famous CBS News commentator Andy Rooney in effect saying "balderdash" to the romanticized image. He said the Indians' religion was meaningless. 

I personally like the simplicity behind the Indians' spiritual concepts. They acknowledge, and are in awe of, "the creator." I could drink to that. I attend a church named for Martin Luther, one of the worst anti-Semites in world history. Why in hell do we countenance that? 

I got drawn into the subject of Custer and the Little Bighorn by the movie "Son of the Morning Star." It was well made and historically accurate. I don't think it did well commercially. Down deep it was depressing. Civil War movies leave us with the satisfaction that all of the violence eradicated slavery. As for the Little Bighorn, the Indians won the battle but lost the war. 

Sitting Bull monument

Had Custer shown simple good judgment and restraint, not attacking with such a limited force, all those volumes of historical analysis would never have been produced. Custer could have waited for General Terry. He did not. 

Isn't it obvious? I mean, that Custer was impulsive because of wanting to re-capture the fame he had coming out of the Civil War? 

His poor men: many were young Irish immigrants who joined military service because of a lack of options. Irish people were being discriminated against. Hard to fathom today. History can be strange. That is because we can be so human an animal. 

The other day I was in one of my moods for writing poetry or song lyrics. Actually all of my "poetry" can be sung. So I wrote some verse inspired by the Battle of the Little Bighorn. I call it "Reno and Benteen." I recycled the melody I wrote in connection to the great baseball pitcher Vida Blue recently. 

The large majority of my lyrics will never be recorded. From time to time I do have a song recorded, but it has been a while. Maybe I can afford it better now that banks are paying more interest on savings again!

 

"Reno and Benteen"

by Brian Williams

 

It was summer way out West

Our nation was a fledging one at best

Could the Indians find their place?

Or would they have to brace

For hate?

So the Civil War was done

No more was heard the thundering of guns

But the soldiers donned in blue

Had work they had to do

Get through

From Fort Lincoln they did ride

They looked around at barren countryside

They were sent to pave the way

For settlers come what may

So pray

And with Reno and Benteen

They tried to make their mission swift and clean

They were able men of war

But could they slam the door

Once more

General Custer

There was Custer at the top

Impatient and pugnacious to a fault

He was searching for the fame

That helped him make his name

It's plain

All the soldiers were just pawns

So typical, it's how a war is fought

How they'd like to just survive

And go on living life

No fight

But it's how the world turns

Our human conflict bubbles and it churns

We seek heroes through it all

And some will take the fall

Tough call

No one really wants to die

So look beyond the legends by and by

Even Custer had to fear

His death when it was near

So clear

With his long and flowing hair

He may have looked so sharp and debonair

And his image was in tow

But was it just a show

You know?

He stepped right into the trap

That Sitting Bull had woven with such craft

It was now up to the braves

To simply win the day

Make hay

It was Custer who was vain

Who thought he could prevail in any game

Make the Indians come to heel

He just could not get real

No deal

How did Custer meet his end?

We wonder if he let his courage bend

If he ended his own life

With pistol or with knife

He might

In the end the soldiers died

'Cause there was simply nowhere they could hide

All the Indians were too much

Determined and so tough

With guns!

Look up Reno and Benteen

Two men who saw so many soldiers bleed

Did they have a clear-eyed view

As loyal soldiers do?

What's true?

We were left with mixed accounts

In war the truth will sometimes bounce about

If you lived through Vietnam

You saw a total con

So wrong

So with Reno and Benteen

We ought to keep their reputations clean

Just remember fog of war

And how it leaves us torn

Forlorn

Even though the Natives won

Their way of life would surely soon be done

They would soon capitulate

The future did not wait

Just fate

So with Custer in the ground

His widow worked to bring him more renown

But with Reno and Benteen

What truth is there to seize

Or tease?

There was history left behind

So many clues for sleuths to go and find

Yes it was so long ago

We simply try to probe

To know

There's the icon Crazy Horse

His battle cry would resonate of course

But his win was just one day

There simply was no way

To stay

All the West would grow and grow

With progress that would be a steady flow

While the past is just dispensed

The future won't relent

No end