Fawcett Stadium Pressbox Tour and Interviews

McKinley Alumni Picnic Pictures

Coach Johnson recently hosted a picnic for all past and current players from the McKinley football program. Thanks to J.R. Rinaldi for the pictures

Click here for the picnic pictures.

You Cannot Import Tradition

Longtime McKinley fan Nick Mussulin gives his thoughts on a topic at the many McKinley fans are discussing today.

Tradition – the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, etc. from generation to generation especially by word-of-mouth or by practice.

With the rumor mills rampant about one teen athlete transferring from one school to another … to play sports … I have to ask what is going on. What are the adults who are promoting this type of action expecting? What are they telling these teens? What are they promising? And most importantly, whose interest do they represent?

It is unfortunate. Gone are the days when a kid grew up in a neighborhood, played pick-up games with his closest school-yard friends and dreamed of the day he would hit the winning basket where his older brother, dad or maybe uncle played or at least attended high school.

Today, they play AAU, go to summer camps and are enticed as if they were pro-ball recruits. “Come play with us. Everyone else is. The program you would normally be entering is going nowhere. We have a plan for the future. We are building tradition.”

Let me begin at the top: You cannot import tradition. It must be earned. I challenge anyone to question the tradition of McKinley or Massillon. Just look at who buys season tickets and you will see fans ranging in age from 18 to 80. Now check any other school and take the same survey.

The worst is yet to come. So go on and recruit (or perhaps entice would be a more politically correct term). Show them your stepping stones to a new future. But remember, stepping stones may be covered in water as time passes but a true bridge to their future allows all to come and go as they choose. And when those kids who grew up in your school don’t make the team because a more talented kid just moved in the neighborhood, don’t expect either of them to carry on tradition. The local will be resentful and the move-in will most likely gravitate back to his old friends, family and neighborhood acquaintances. I seriously doubt either will ever become a season-ticket buyer, nor will any member of their families. Conclusion: you cannot import tradition.

Regular Board Meeting Scheduled for Monday, June 15th

The next regular Canton City School District Board of Education meeting for Canton City Schools has been scheduled for Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will be located at Timken High School, 521 Tuscarawas St. N.W., Canton, Ohio.

Pressbox Photos

I took a tour of the pressbox construction on Thursday (3/16). Take a look at the pics taken from inside and outside the new addition to Fawcett Stadium.

Click here for the pressbox pics.