After some recent, should I say, backlash this week I would like to clear the air about something.
First of all, shut up. Just shut your trap about the High Altitude Training Facility. I am no pawn for the Wyoming Athletic Department but I am in full support of the $44 million new training facility. As sports writer John Luke Fabian said yesterday, none of the money is coming from student fees or a raise in student tuition. You going to Yik Yak, WyoVocal or anywhere else to complain about how athletics gets special treatment is not going to change anything, honestly
The worst part about all of this? Wyoming Athletics, absolutely 100 percent without a doubt, gets special treatment on this campus and in this state. They always have and they always will. Boosters care about the state of the University and some of those boosters put more effort into athletics. People, for some reason of misplaced pride or feelings of community – including myself – care about the state of Wyoming Athletics. They love to watch the state rally together and root for a common interest. Look at the Cowboys’ most recent run to the Mountain West Crown and NCAA Tournament. The governor declared Brown and Gold day for God’s Sake. For a couple days in Vegas and a day in Seattle, we all agreed about something. We all (well at least most) sat together and cheered on the Cowboys. How many other times does a community instantly bond over an event? Yet, you instantly assume the money is for some evil and sadistic cause.
The best argument, which puts me on the floor laughing, is when I hear or read people complaining about War Memorial Stadium lights staying lit throughout the night. Athletics are not the ones to decide if those lights stay on throughout the night. That’s a safety issue, people! War Memorial cannot just be some massive, dark entity sitting in the middle of a parking lot. The stadium lights stay on so people and athletes walking around the area later at night don’t have to go 500 yards with out any form of luminosity. Do you feel better now, or is it still a waste of ‘your’ cash?
There are multiple other issues that everyone can focus their efforts on catalyzing. 1 in 5 college women are sexually assaulted. Nope, let’s talk about how athletics is spending their donations. New statistics were released about how Laramie students are faced with addiction, and the numbers are staggering. Instead of helping their issues we decide that Wyoming Athletics updating facilities is the bane of our existence.
Pick and choose your fights wisely, Pokes. Don’t waste your breath or 140 characters.
