Alumni sod is valuable commodity

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Every once in a while, a chance comes along to own a piece of history, and one of those opportunities just came up.

And probably passed by.

Alumni Memorial Field in Orono, home of the University of Maine football team, is being torn up the end of this week or early next week to make way for an artificial turf facility.

The sod itself will not be saved because it’s too cold to transplant now, and the school doesn’t have the climate-controlled facilities necessary to preserve it through the winter, according to assistant athletic director for internal operations Jim Dyer. The topsoil underneath the sod will be saved and used on campus as needed.

When the Green Bay Packers resodded Lambeau Field last year, they sold off pieces of the storied field to the public. And when they chewed that up and had to do it again, they sold off the second field.

If it’s still feasible, the university might consider doing the same thing with Alumni Field.

Maybe it could be done for a $1 a square foot, maybe $10-$15 a square yard, maybe it could be more. There’s 60,000 square feet of history available, more or less, since some people picked up pieces of the turf for freeor less, since some people picked up pieces of the turf for free after Saturday’s Homecoming game.

Fans would have a chance to own a piece of ground where Mike Buck threw for many a touchdown, where Gene Benner and Sergio Hebra showed their craftiness as receivers, where Carl Smith and Lorenzo Bouier ran with abandon, where Harold Westerman and Jack Bicknell walked the sidelines, where the 1965 team earned the school’s biggest postseason game ever, the Tangerine Bowl.

Where John Huard, Fred Royer, and Chris Keating patrolled as linebackers, where Justin Strzelczyk and his brethren made their stands on the defensive line, where defensive backs Jamal Williamson and Claude Pettaway made life difficult for opposing receivers.

Where this year’s team is making its own mark.

If sports history isn’t enough, then think of the graduation ceremonies. A graduate could buy the piece of turf where his or her seat was located.

And if that’s not enough, how about a piece of sod trod on by President John F. Kennedy during his Oct. 19, 1963, appearance where he made his last foreign policy speech before his assassination a month later.

There may not have been enough turf to go around.

– Dave Barber, BDN

I read with interest in the Sept. 15 Bangor Daily News an article by Roxanne Moore Saucier on the advice given for a new auditorium floor by experts.

It seems two of the three prime questions were, “No. 1, How does it look; and No. 3, How will it look on television?”

These are two main questions to be answered on a new floor for the auditorium?

Well I guess, in my opinion, it should follow the logic of the design of the building in the first place.

– Donald G. Arguin, Old Town

My daughter is an athlete. Her zeal for competition is surely a paternal trait. Maggie’s sport is field hockey.

With my own sports history being limited to seven years of elementary school gym torture, the spirit of competition has always been a mystery to me. I remember being the easy target of the rough girls on the opposite side of a volleyball net. They realized early on that I couldn’t defend my space with my arms crossed protectively across my face. I learned this technique after one good bounce off the nose.

I always considered the series of knee surgeries that yielded an eternal gym pass a gift from the goddess of self-preservation. Mine was the perfect spirit of peace and love for the sixties.

When my youngest daughter began her sports experimentation with softball, followed by basketball, cross country, track and finally field hockey, I was amazed. Maggie actually enjoyed her defensive position in a sport played with sticks and a very hard ball. During the sports trial years, I had hoped for a weaponless choice with no opponents like running. This was not to be.

I have watched with apprehension during four years of home games as Maggie stoically played center back. Although I was always conscious of the possibility of injury, my heart raced each time she stopped the ball or maneuvered it away from the opponent. It would sink when she’d whiff.

I found myself jumping for joy when she’d drive the ball toward the appropriate goal, providing the setup situation for the scorers. There is little glory in defensive play, but I watched her glow when the ball went where she intended. I still don’t know any field hockey terminology or rules, but I know the beauty and flow of the game.

As the other sports mothers repeatedly tried to explain the game to me, I would see only a ballet of kilts and fierce determination against a backdrop of blue sky and autumn leaves. The game, as these girls played it, had a life of its own, too fast to measure. It would ebb and flow from one end of the field to the other.

I’ve watched Maggie form solid friendships with her teammates. Born of the sharing of success and failure, these will surely last a lifetime.

When she broke her arm during a recent game, the pain was obliterated by her sorrow that this would be her last for Orono. She had wanted, more than anything, to play in a state game. I couldn’t believe it when I heard myself say, “Maybe you can play on a college team.”

Maggie will weather this disappointment; the game has taught her how to deal with loss and conquer adversity. It has also taught her the joy of healthy competition, the strength of united women, and the incomparable fun that can be had while playing.

I am grateful to my daughter for being the reason for my coming out to witness games in all seasons and to experience the dance of field hockey. She is an athlete and champion.

– Claudia Trent, Orono

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