After a rainy rendition of Friday Night Lights Sept. 2, the community awoke to the ugly sight of a ripped-up field the following morning.
It’s easy to play Monday morning quarterback — you know, the guy who has all the answers after the fact. And it’s even easier to play the blame game and point fingers.
From our perspective, rehashing the ‘why’, or even the ‘who’ serves no purpose — the damage, and how it happened, is clearly evident. What we’re interested in is making sure this doesn’t happen again.
For the last decade the Thunderbirds Football Club has been a revelation for the community. They’ve not only provided an athletic outlet for kids who don’t fit the traditional fall sports mold (hockey/volleyball/cross-country running), but they’ve been front and centre in the community.
Hard work and a lot of local support not only helped equip the club, but allowed them to build the tower that graces their home field.
Players, coaches and club boosters, past and present, are rightfully proud to call themselves Thunderbirds. Suffice to say it’s been their goal to give back to the community, not trash it.
As expected the club is taking ownership of the situation and will make sure that field looks like it did before the first down — whether that’s aerating the field, or replanting the seed. And from what we’ve heard from a local expert, the damage is less than what the muddy mess might suggest.
At the end of the day, last week’s incident reinforces the fact that rain, or no rain, cars and trucks have no business on that field.
Ever.
Emergency vehicles, yes. A truck to deliver the lights, or help stock a concession? For sure.
But for the fans and players? Sorry, you’ll need to leave you car on road. We get that when it’s cold or rainy, sitting out on the bleachers, instead of the cab of your truck with the heat cranked up, isn’t a lot of fun. But that’s a small price to pay to ensure the field remains pristine.
The Thunderbirds have at least three more games to play at home this year and hopefully more if they make the playoffs. So going forward someone — the team, the town, the school division — needs to not only block off vehicle access, but ensure that the word gets out that vehicles on the field are offside.
