The roar of the crowd, the sweat dripping down her face, she dribbles, bam bam, the crowd stops in silence, tick tick, she scores; nothing but net.
When thinking back to this game no one will remember the food they ate, the clean seats where they sat, their game programs which they rolled up and threw on the floor as they exited. No one will remember the “little things.”
However, the people that do the little things, the dirty jobs, are the ones who make these games and these memories possible. Some fans do not fully understand how much effort it takes to put on a sporting event of any type.
“We want to give everyone who comes to our athletic events a first-class experience.” Mo Roberson, assistant director of athletics, said. We try to operate out of Colossians 3:23…as working onto the Lord. With us moving to NCAA II our attitude is even more crucial in how or what type of game environment we are creating.”
Some of the most important jobs in sports are those which are overlooked and under-appreciated. Take the football field for instance.
According to AthleticFieldMarker.com, it takes 50 people and over 250 gallons of paint simply to paint the field for one college football game. Without the work of these 50 seemingly nameless people, there would be no big name Heisman trophy winners and no national champions.
When most fans think about the national pastime, baseball, they think of fresh cut grass, the smack of a bat and the thud of a baseball hitting a catcher’s mitt.
They do not think of the gardeners who spend hours reseeding, watering and planting that grass, the maintenance workers that keep the lights on or the groundskeepers who keep their seats free of trash, grime and other unsanitary objects.
On top of all that, baselines are measured and painted for each game and the infield is hosed down and raked to insure that the best is presented and that the field functions properly. However, as the players take to the field all this preparation and hard work is immediately forgot- ten.
“Really can’t say one job is more important than the other, each job is reliant on the other. If equipment is not in its proper place we can’t have a game and now you see the domino effect happening,” Roberson said.
Without these people there would be no 7th inning stretch, no “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and definitely no peanuts and Cracker Jacks.
These are the unseen champions, the ones without medals, who make it possible for athletes at California Baptist University and beyond to win championships and bring joy to fans all around the world.
The best part is that they do it because deep down they are fans too.
A special thanks to; Lori Bouchie, Ed Schmachtenberger, Adrian Jauregui, Lindsay Wagner, Ryan Connelly, Sports Information Office and the athletic trainers who
make each game day possible.
