Between a bout with the flu and work on a project that will bring some of Kent State’s athletic history back to the M.A.C. Center hallways, there hasn’t been a great deal of time to blog of late.
It’s nice to finally have the chance to sit down at the keyboard.
Quite a bit is going on here at the M.A.C. Center. For me, much of it has been concerned with the hallways. I received emails from several longtime Kent State fans and some alumni who were disappointed to see the large frames memorializing past athletic seasons removed from the east and west halls during the last school year.
Truth be told, I missed them as well. As many of you know, I grew up pushing Tonka toys down the M.A.C. Center hallways while my dad was working on his masters in education here at Kent State. My mom and I would pick him up from class and then come here before driving home if there was a game. We’d often have lots of time to kill. I remember looking at those photos when my dad would take me to games during my teenage years. I always loved the history of sports, so I got a kick out of the old uniforms and the action shots with great backgrounds that showed off what the university used to look like from as far back as 1913.
But the fact is that the photos in those frames were starting to show their age. There weren’t many options. They either had to come down to be reframed and refurbished, or removed for something else.
After several starting and abandoning several different plans, I think we have finally hit on something that will bring back the feel of the history that was in the old M.A.C. hallways, but also update it to create a more modern museum-like feel.
You’ll recognize many of the old photos. You’ll see some old photos that weren’t on the walls previously. And unlike the old setup, where we had lost the room to recognize our more recent successes, we have added great moments like our individual national championships and our College World Series run while creating space for future stories to be told.
I know this will be a hard sell for some fans and alumni who hate change and cherish the way our history was displayed prior to last year. It may not be exactly what you want, but the spirit of what was there will be returned in some way.
I understand. I’m like them in a lot of ways. Change is something that rarely excites me. I always say this when people ask me how I feel about change… “I’m the type of baseball fan who wishes there were still no teams west of the Mississippi, there were no divisions, teams wore flannel and still played two on Saturdays.”
But for even the most disappointed, it should be hard to argue that the new look won’t be cleaner and more attractive.
I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product. It should be up before the start of basketball season, so stay tuned.
On other topics, I sat down with head men’s basketball coach Rob Senderoff recently and he is pretty excited about the state of his team. Kris Brewer is in the best shape of his life, physically, and is playing better than he has in any preseason. How that will translate to the regular season is hard to tell, but it is reason for encouragement. The new additions are fitting in well during workouts. Also, there has been some good news with Kellon Thomas, who is recovering faster than expected following offseason surgery and is on his way to be ready to go for the start of the new season.
I also talked with head volleyball coach Don Gromala yesterday and congratulated him on his team’s fantastic weekend of wins over Morehead State, Evansville and New Hampshire in the Hampton Inn Golden Flashes Volleyball Classic. He had been pleased with the early play of his defense following the previous week, and the lineups from this weekend seemed to jump start the offense. While there are still a few serving issues to deal with, the team is growing and getting better with every outing. The biggest test yet comes this weekend at West Virginia, but it’s becoming clear that this is going to be a fun team to watch when the MAC season gets underway in a couple of weeks.
I know fans are frustrated with the football team’s 0-2 start, but I’m hopeful based on the fight the team has demonstrated after so many setbacks and so much heartbreak. When you consider the realities of all this team has endured, it’s amazing that it was in position to win late against two dangerous opponents. Just coping with the death of a beloved teammate would have been difficult enough. But add in injuries and losses of key personnel for other reasons, and there can be some encouragement to find in two weeks of competitive football. Take away a few self-inflicted wounds and this team could be 2-0. Playing at back-to-back BCS opponents will be no bargain, but stay relatively injury free and the chance is there to make a move as the second half of the season approaches.
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