Congratulations go to the Madison School System and its community they have an outstanding new stadium.
Okay, it’s not a new stadium, but the new field turf playing field and running track make the whole place look new.
The grand opening party is September 5 as the Rams host the Galion Tigers in their first game at the field called Ram Field at STARTEK Stadium.
Whether you are in the Madison community or not, you should take a look at the state of the art facility.
Work began right after the conclusion of a 3-7 2013 football season for the Rams and can be added to the new gym that the district added inside their new middle school last winter.
Although I am sure dreams of a new field date back farther, the genius for the project really got its start in the fall of 2012, which was a very rainy fall that chewed up a lot of fields in North Central Ohio, including the old surface at Ram Field. Madison hammered rival Mansfield Senior 34-0 on the last week of the regular season to share the Ohio Cardinal Conference title with their cross town rivals and West Holmes, on a what was a pretty bad night weather wise.
Oh, and you can’t forget the Tygers either and their role in all of this. Of course, Arlin Field was similarly renovated a couple of years back and when your rival has something you want it too. Like the guy next door buys a new sports car, well you either want one too or you want a better one. Or maybe your roommate just got a new dress, well you just don’t want to borrow it, you want your own.
Sean Conway, the Madison head football coach, told me he is pretty impressed with this new digs. “It is the finest athletic facility in this part of the state, in my opinion. It’s the best looking, the cleanest, and we have the best people taking care of it,” said Conway, not that he is partial or anything. He sounds like the proud papa of a brand new son or daughter. “I feel very honored and blessed as a coach to walk out on that everyday instead of a dusty old practice field,” he added.
With all of the accolades being passed out for the new stadium now the Rams are issued the challenge to come up with a football team to match. It can go both ways.
Let’s use the pro sports teams in Cleveland as an example. When Jacobs Field opened in 1994 the Indians were ready to do a complete 180 and turn around what had been a pretty dismal stretch of 40 years of baseball. On the other hand, when the Browns were welcomed back to the NFL after being kicked in the nuts by Art Model. Even with a new statium, the team was, well, let’s just say the team was not ready.
Conway knows their will be pressure to put a good football team on the field this year. “We are a lucky group and I am just hopeful that we will put a product on the field that the Madison community can be proud of,” he said.
There is a week and half before the Rams open the season at Shelby, and another week to that first home game when everybody will be there, but right now things have not been so good for the team as far as their execution goes. However, there is still time to become more consistent.
When you have a pretty lady you want to show her a good time.
After years of toil and sweat behind radio station microphones, longtime broadcaster, Jeff Swank joined the new generation of sports followers on the web.
Swank launched his internet radio station with nothing more than some wire, a box with some knobs and switches, and an itch to do much more than just scratch the surface of everything sports.
Richland Source is proud to introduce Jeff as a writer focused on high school sports. He will contribute a weekly column and analysis of a featured game of the week from one of our area high schools.
In addition to his work at Richland Source, Jeff provides complete high school sports coverage for over 70 Ohio schools at his web site, http://www.swankonsports.net76.net/.
