Sarah Patterson: An Icon That Touched Many Lives

  

The 2014 edition of SEC Football Media Days, as expected, dominated most of the sports-related headlines in our parts last week, with a record crowd of media representatives flooding Hoover to interrogate coaches and players from all 14 conference programs.

For Tuscaloosa, however, and also a good portion of the SEC community, the retirement announcement last week of longtime University of Alabama gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson also resulted  in many stories throughout the week. There were also plenty of tributes from former UA gymnasts, sports columnists and members of the UA athletic family. Of course all of the tributes were very much merited and truly well-deserved as Patterson is an iconic coaching figure, not only within the confines of Tuscaloosa and UA, but also on the SEC and national level.

That is what happens when you are the creator of a program which has tallied over 1,000 wins, and a coach who equaled legendary Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant by leading the Crimson Tide gymnastics program to six national titles.

Upon listening to Patterson's press conference and reading the numerous stories detailing all of the achievements of her and her program in the days that followed, I wondered if I should follow suit and write my own piece chronicling her success while celebrating not only  the incredible numbers she has totaled with the Crimson Tide, but also her overall impact on the Capstone and West Alabama in general.

Although I have a lot of personal admiration for Patterson  and the program that she and her husband David largely built by themselves following her hiring by Bryant some 36 years ago, I have to admit that I have never been a huge follower of the program, or gymnastics in general,  and have probably only attended a handful of actual meets in my life if that many. I have always enjoyed keeping up with the athletic and academic achievements of the many great student-athletes she has brought into the UA program. I even gained a pretty nice friendship with one of Patterson's most legendary gymnasts ever in Dee Foster, a very impressive and intelligent person and an individual that truly represented the standard of excellence that Patterson no doubt expected from the thousands of young people who she coached and mentored over the years.

It dawned on me that perhaps a better route to take would to actually let one of Patterson's own gymnasts write a guest blog about the legendary coach for this site,  so I immediately contacted one of them who I happen to be Facebook friends with and gauged her interest in doing a piece in honor of her departing coach. I was thrilled when she said she would love to do it.  However, a few days later, after she had already written her blog, the opportunity for my site to publish it was ultimately declined by a representative of the UA Athletic Media Relations Department without any explanation. To say that I was extremely disappointed and frustrated with this decision is a huge understatement, but unfortunately I was not the least bit surprised by it.

For many years, going back to my days with the Crimson White while a student at the Capstone, I have on numerous occasions dealt with the overall rude and genuinely snotty nature of many officials within this department, so this short and sweet rejection note was just another example of how uncooperative and pompous certain people within this department can be.  To be fair I will say that this does not describe the department as a whole as I have also been fortunate enough to have had good working relationships with media office officials who have gone out of their way to be helpful and nice.

I can definitely detail more negative stories than good ones, though, regarding Alabama media relations people, however,  and I certainly felt it was unfortunate that because in this case a representative chose to leave me in limbo for a day before finally blowing me off, a Crimson Tide gymnast was deprived of the opportunity to express in her own words the impact that Patterson has had on her life.  And yes, the guest blog would have been a great and no doubt widely-read bonus for the faithful readers of the site that Darren Owens and I take much pride in and also put a lot of effort into maintaining.

All that being said, it is still very much an honor for me to  express much admiration to Patterson for leading a program that has been a legendary one in the annals of intercollegiate athletics, and one that has also been a jewel for my alma mater in terms of being a model for athletic and academic dominance.  I also wish her much happiness and good health well into the future, especially after she is fully healed from her upcoming knee replacement surgeries.

Of course the gaudy numbers relative to the program's success under Patterson's leadership speak for themselves, including the 6 national titles, 1,006 wins, 43 postseason championships, 8 SEC team titles, 29 regional championships, 20 Super Six appearances and of course the list simply goes on and on.  Perhaps even more impressive, though, is the fact that during Patterson's coaching reign, 73 athletes were tabbed as scholastic All-Americans, 8 received the Honda Award for top women's gymnast in the nation and Kim Jacobs was recently awarded the Honda Cup for top female collegiate student-athlete.

I wish Dana Duckworth nothing but the best as she takes over the leadership of Crimson Tide gymnastics, but she definitely faces a formidable challenge in maintaining the enormous athletic and academic standards which have been achieved by Patterson's program. And to think, when Patterson was first hired by Bryant, the Tide gymnasts were relegated to practicing in an armory, and  the program struggled mightily in the early going to attract any semblance of media coverage and attendance numbers.

What Patterson ultimately built, of course, is a gymnastics dynasty that all Crimson Tide alumni and supporters can be very proud of, and her place in the upper echelon of collegiate coaching legends, including Bryant and Pat Summitt, is already well secured.

I guess what is most impressive to me, is the number of quality ladies that Patterson has guided into not only being high-caliber gymnasts, but also top-class individuals.  The impact that the Pattersons have made in the overall Tuscaloosa and West Alabama communities, not only with their efforts toward disadvantaged individuals but also with their educational efforts toward issues such as breast cancer awareness.

She has left footprints on the University of Alabama and the City of Tuscaloosa that will never be filled, and I imagine she and her husband will continue to impact our community, even as she retires from coaching, for many years to come.

When I think of Patterson, I cannot help but drift back to a powerful gesture by her and some of her gymnasts toward a friend of mine in terms of a testament of her character, kindness and integrity.

This friend and his wife have been avid and regular supporters of Patterson's UA gymnastics program, but during the past couple of years have dealt with a good share of personal tragedy. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Patterson and her gymnasts not only showered them with various gifts, such as Crimson Tide sportswear, but also with an abundance of love and encouragement  that was desperately needed at this time. And this was for people that they really did not even know.

There is no telling how many more similar gestures just like that were made by Patterson and/or her gymnasts to other people in need, but I am guessing there have probably been too many to count.

Of course all of the flashy victory and championship totals and the number of All-Americans in her program speak to her prowess as a collegiate gymnastics coach.  But the number of quality people who have emerged from her program as even more dynamic individuals, and the thousands of lives she has touched along the way speak to her greatness as a person, and also speaks volumes about why she will be so greatly missed by the UA athletic family. 

Eagerly Awaiting The SEC Network

After a long summer dry spell in the sports world during the past several months (of course not meaning any disrespect to the suddenly-rabid bandwagon soccer fans who have flooded my Facebook and Twitter news feeds during the last few weeks), the arrival of SEC football players and coaches in Hoover for the beginning of Media Days Monday signaled that college football is finally just around the corner. That, of course, means that all will soon be right and good in the sporting universe.  Then I can finally stop desperately drowning myself in pigskin preview magazines.

SEC officials were expecting the largest media turnout in the history of the frenzied event this week, and I certainly would have loved to have been in the middle of all the madness. A couple of weeks ago I actually applied for Media Day credentials for both this site and also for the Tuscaloosa-based publication that I regularly write sports articles for.  Ultimately I was denied for both by the powers-that-be in the SEC office.

The power to select who may obtain credentials for the event is of course the SEC's prerogative, but it is also a little disappointing.  Just from having attended the event in the past, I know that passes are given to some longtime attendees because they happen to be a part of the "old boy network" that definitely exists in the SEC media culture.  They are also typically issued to wannabe journalists who simply show up each year to grab free souvenirs and participate in the golf event associated with the festivities without actually listening to any of the speakers or talking with the players.  I was, however, hoping for the opportunity to actually cover the event for a growing publication in one of the SEC's most prominent markets, that being Tuscaloosa.  I mention all of that not intending to take a shot at SEC officials, nor to whine about not being allowed the golden ticket to attend the proceedings at the Galleria, but to emphasize just how increasingly strong the demand is for any access to the nation's most powerful conference, especially when it comes to college football.

The huge media throng at Media Days, and the presence of ESPN cameras and personalities to once again chronicle much of the event, only serves as yet another exclamation mark to the statement that yes, it is largely an SEC world, and this will not be changing anytime soon.  

As has been the case in previous editions of Media Days, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive kicked off the first day of the event with his annual state of the conference address.  This allows the opportunity for Slive to speak with obvious pride (and perhaps a little bit of justified downright arrogance) about the accomplishments during the past year by various conference teams and athletes, both athletically and academically, and to also update the assembled scribes, analysts and other media types on developments that are occurring within the SEC or changes that might be on the horizon.

I cannot say that Slive is always a riveting speaker by any means, but he can display a dry wit at times and he usually expresses his sentiments in a very eloquent manner. He obviously is a very gifted historian as well, as his comments on Monday included quotes from Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela among other notable figures.  Much like former SEC leader Roy Kramer, whose main legacy will always likely be the SEC Championship Game, Slive is an innovator, and the SEC Network which debuts on August 14 will likely be just one of the main feathers in his hat when his overall tenure and sheer legacy is considered.  

The network, which is a partnership with ESPN, a major contributor to the growth of college football over the years, will likely shape up as perhaps one of the conference’s greatest jewels, especially during the reign of Slive. Slive was also a key contributor in the development of college football’s new playoff system by the way.

Obviously for those of us who eat, drink and breathe college football once the pigskin is first kicked off in August, just the thought of the network and all of its possibilities is enough to cause major salivation.

I suspect that many of you share my opinion that there can never really be enough football (and by that, I mean football and not futbol), and providing that all of our respective cable providers reach agreement to carry the SEC Network in the very near future, I cannot foresee a lack of good college football ever being a problem again. Thanks to the new network, and the agreements that the SEC already have in place with CBS and the existing ESPN networks, we will be able see every SEC team play on a weekly basis, which is always a good thing, and of course we will also still be seeing plenty of big games from other conferences on other networks every week, so the options for viewing will be pretty much limitless.

If being able to plop down on the couch or in your recliner with your food and beverage of choice, and to watch a huge number of college football games is not enough of a treat each week, the SEC Network will also serve up a veritable gridiron smorgasbord that includes numerous studio and discussion shows, live pre-game and postgame discussion shows, highlight shows and even airings of classic SEC games which date back as far as the 1960s. I am personally pretty pumped up about seeing some of those vintage games, considering I am such an avid historian of college football anyway. Imagine turning on the new ESPN channel during the week at various times and being able to watch a Florida/Georgia affair during the 1980s when Herschel Walker was still rambling between the hedges in Athens or tuning in and seeing an Alabama/Auburn game from the 1970s.

I am also looking forward to seeing how some of the network newcomers such as former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy and former Florida great Tim Tebow blend in with some of the ESPN analysts already in place. This includes the legendary Paul Finebaum, who has already cemented a solid presence at ESPN with his bold candor and acerbic personality. He has been one of my favorite analysts and writers for as long as I have loved sports and The Paul Finebaum Show should also be a great fixture for the network.  McElroy and Tebow have engaging personalities, and that should blend in well with the likes of Jesse Palmer.

Besides what the SEC Network will mean for college football, I think it will also prove to be a boost for basketball, baseball and softball and even sports which are not seen on television quite as much, such as volleyball, track and even swimming.  The conference has had plenty of powerhouses and even dynasties in some of those “other sports” too.

If that was still not enough for you, the SEC Network package will also include the always-interesting SEC Storied documentaries, which to me are always fascinating and well-conceived. Some of the previous ones have included the touching film about the Manning family and the riveting one concerning the intense gymnastics rivalry between Sarah Patterson’s Alabama program and Suzanne Yoculan’s Georgia program. Upcoming films will include what is sure to be a tear jerking one about Ole Miss legend Chucky Mullins.

I think the network will be a win-win situation for anyone who loves Southeastern Conference sports in general, and will no doubt only serve to confirm why the SEC is king, and also why jealousy reigns among the other conferences who keep unsuccessfully attempting to knock it from its throne.  I think it will also be a shining tribute to Slive.

Field Of Dreams Still Tops In My Book

"It keeps on getting better, how life just keeps movin' on.

Children growing older, seems I just looked over

Found that time was here and gone."

From Time is Here And Gone, by The Doobie Brothers.

The  opening lines above to one of my favorite Doobie Brothers songs have definitely been hitting home with me over the course of the past few months.  Although I don't want to sound like I am growing old before my time, I am surely beginning to feel the aches and pains, and the occasional exhaustion of a man who is creeping ever closer to his 50s, and simply wondering just where the time went.

I guess it is during this time in your life when you become a bit more cognizant of life seemingly zooming by in much more rapid speed. I find myself also becoming more emotional now as people I have known most or all of my life begin to fade dramatically and then suddenly they are no longer in my life anymore. My dad's death back in November touched me in ways that I still probably do not fully realize yet, but I know it has certainly made me a lot more aware regarding the issue of mortality.

OK, I know all of that is a bit gloomy, so I want to lighten the mood just a tad by noting that even a much more trivial matter such as my favorite movie of all time has also served to remind me yet once again that even 25 years can travel by in what seems like the speed of light.  This year marks the 25th anniversary of the iconic Kevin Cosner film Field of Dreams, a Frank Capra-esque movie which has appropriately been tabbed by many as the It's A Wonderful Life of our generation.

A couple of nights ago, with nothing of note really on television to suit my viewing needs, I pulled out my DVD of the superbly-cast (James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster, Amy Madigan, Timothy Busfield and Ray Liotta, among others, also shine alongside Costner, my favorite actor) and superbly-directed fantasy-drama, and watched along with my mom.  And for me personally, even 25 years after I first saw this Oscar-nominated flick for the first time with friends at a theater in Tuscaloosa, Field of Dreams, shot on that now-legendary farm in Dyersville, Iowa,  still resonates within me on a deep and powerful level, and the emotional impact that it has on me has only grown through the years.

Some of you might say those are overly syrupy sentiments to use for a fictional baseball movie, but for people who have always totally embraced all of the movie's various layers, of which there are many, they recognize that simply writing Field of Dreams off as a "sports flick" is actually demeaning to the film's overall brilliance in terms of the script, and its ability to bring so many conflicts to a neat and poignant resolution while wrapped in a baseball theme.

While there are religious tones to the film, with the Heaven vs Iowa thing, the more prevailing themes include the strained father-son relationship between Costner's Ray Kinsella and John Kinsella, played in moving fashion by Dwier Brown,  the deep desire of Jones' Terrence Mann to revive his career as a journalist, the heartbreaking love of the game of baseball expressed in such descriptive form by Liotta's scandal-ridden "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and the story of Lancaster's revered "Moonlight" Graham, a very successful doctor who fell agonizingly short of achieving his chance at the spotlight in the game he so deeply loved.

All of those storylines are, of course, resolved in miraculous fashion and we are all transported back into a simpler and better time,  and I guess like Costner's character at the end of the film, we are all wondering if that Iowa cornfield is indeed Heaven or just a symbol of what many of us would like Heaven to be.  Perhaps it is only fitting near the end of the movie when John Kinsella tells his son that there is indeed a Heaven, noting "it is where dreams come true."  The father and son dynamic of the film is what has always grabbed me by the heart more than anything about the film, and watching the movie now in the aftermath of my father's passing only makes the viewing experience of Field of Dreams even more emotional for and relatable to me.  This is not to say that the relationship between my dad and I was anywhere close to that of the Kinsellas in terms of their long-term estrangement and the cruel remark that Ray Kinsella made to his father regarding "Shoeless" Joe Jackson.  I loved my dad dearly and we were very close for the most part and shared so many incredible times together. He was truly my hero.

But dad and I did not always agree on everything, and it was hard for him to show his emotions to me until later in life when he had mellowed quite a bit with age. Like with every father and son, we had our arguments and I am sure I tested his patience more times than even I knew sometimes.  But sports was always a common bond for us, especially Alabama football....but also baseball. My dad had a baseball hero too, and it was the legendary Stan "The Man" Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals, whom he named me after, and I take pride in that fact every day of my life.  We didn't play many games of catch together, but we watched a lot of baseball together and especially loved those games between his Cardinals and my Cubs. That great baseball rivalry was also a fun personal rivalry between dad and I.  

That is why the whole segment near the end of the film with the two Kinsellas is so compelling, so engrossing and even gut-wrenching, from the time that Costner's character first sees his dad walking toward him to the end of the movie when Ray Kinsella asks his dad if he wants to "have a catch" and the two instantly reconnect while the lighted baseball field beams in all of its beauty, and the lights of cars from miles and miles away are seen making their way toward the magical farm.  Of course the sight of all of those cars also makes good the predictions made by Kinsella's young daughter and by Mann that "people will come" to see the field and to pay money to see it, which no doubt was a way to resolve yet another conflict relating to the financial difficulties the family were facing with the farm. No matter how many times I see the movie, that final overhead shot of the gleaming park below and the cars coming toward it, never fails to give me chills. The music in that final sequence, and throughout the entire movie, also only serves to enhance the mystique of Field of Dreams even more.

Happy 25th Anniversary to an American icon and a cinematic treasure, and may the legacy of Field of Dreams always remain strong.  It will always move me in ways that no other movie can even come close to doing.  As Ray Kinsella would say, "It is perfect."