Update on week one opponent

[longtimefirsttime]

http://www.middletownjournal.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/07/07/mj070707middboe.html


"In a 3 to 1 vote, Middletown board members approved Friday morning pay-to-participate fees for extracurricular activities, including a $900 per sport fee for high school athletics. However, fees could be lowered by private fundraising efforts or approval of the Aug. 7 levy."

[obie7661]

http://www.middletownjournal.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/07/07/mj070707middboe.html


"In a 3 to 1 vote, Middletown board members approved Friday morning pay-to-participate fees for extracurricular activities, including a $900 per sport fee for high school athletics. However, fees could be lowered by private fundraising efforts or approval of the Aug. 7 levy."

Cowabunga! $900.00 for high school and $400.00 for junior high per sport!

They even checkmated the Chess Team with a $350.00 fee.

Hope their boosters can defer some of the expense.

[DAWGH8R]

Would that be considered blackmail or extortion ???

[DAWGH8R]

Who could ever forget the LIGHTNING game at Middletown ?? That was one of the WEIRDEST games ever.

[longtimefirsttime]

It was very strange. I thought someone was going to get electrocuted.

From the Inde following that game (on massillontigers.com):

"The game ball arrived in a TV news helicopter that buzzed Barnitz Stadium then touched down at the 20-yard line. Massillon head coach Lee Owens screamed (although no one could hear him) to get the bird back in the air because his players could not come out on the field. 'We’d hoped to have Paul Brown (the ex-Massillon coach now living in nearby Cincinnati) in the helicopter,' Middletown head coach Jim Place said. 'Unfortunately, he was tied up with the Bengals.'”

"It was 83 degrees and sunny at kickoff time. By halftime, it was dark, except for streaks of lightning, and a fierce wind kicked up. Something flashed behind the home grandstand. Two stands of lights went dark, one on each side of the field. Few among the 8,000 spectators noticed, but a transformer had caught on fire. The great debate – Wait for the lights to come back on? Or keep playing under the four stands of lights still shining? The game stopped for 10 minutes as a debate raged. The verdict: Play on, but only on the half of the better lit field. Play resumed with 2:50 left in the half. The Tigers got the ball back and Ryan Sparkman rushed nine yards to midfield. Had he kept going, he’d have run into the dark side of the field. After the play, officials pointed the Tigers the other way, as if the quarter had changed.
'The situation was to our disadvantage,' Owens said later. 'If we’re driving into the darkness, the wind is at our backs and that helps our passing game. But we have to drive into the light. Middletown is a running team, and it’s no big deal for them to have to drive into the wind, into the light. I didn’t want to go along with it. But I didn’t have much choice in the matter.'

With lightning came rain. It started shortly after band No 1, the one that plays Tiger Rag, strutted. It got wet and juicy at the end of the 'Marching Middies' turn. It rained so hard that band No. 2 disdained decorum, running helter-skelter off the field.

A regular in the Middletown press box eyed the lightning and shook his head.
'Two football players died in the country within the last couple of weeks because of lightning strikes,' he said.


'Football people are being awfully careful.' The Tigers were back on the field only seconds when Owens, having surveyed the skies, herded them back to the locker room. Halftime wound up lasting an hour. Massillon had nearly as many fans as Middletown at the start. Most Middletown rooters didn’t return for the second half, when Tiger fans outnumbered their hosts. They hadn’t driven 4 ½ hours to spend the second half at Taco Bell.

Ambulance lights flashed behind the Massillon grandstand throughout the intermission. The rumor mill went to work. Middletown radio station WPFB reported that two fans apparently had been struck by lightning. It was a false report. Paramedics actually were treating fans who had suffered heat exhaustion. Despite the fact the 'fall sport' was into its third week, the temperature at kickoff was 83 degrees.In the end, they got the lights fixed and played another half of football. It was an uneventful second half, but all that transpired earlier made you wonder. The Barnitz fellow wose name is on the stadium. Is there a Barnitz and Bailey circus, too?"

[Keith]

WOW..900.00 per sport!? Fremonters thought they had it rough at $375.00 per sport.

[austinsm11]

WOW..900.00 per sport!? Fremonters thought they had it rough at $375.00 per sport.

I'm thinking that might be the highest I have ever seen.

[Tiger Flame]

At 900 dollars a sport,I wonder how many football players will they lose as that will be a steep price for alot of them. They are alot like Massillon and this will be a heavy burden on them and will definitly weaken them as a good team. If they can even field a team, they could end up as a very bad computer team. This is a shame for the players and community. They were looking forward to a very good year and lets hope that they solve this problem. GO TIGERS

[TigerVic]

Maybe we can raise the money in time for Middletown's second game?

[TigerCoach]

I'd be transfering to another school. That's BS for a public school!

[monte81]

I'd be transfering to another school. That's BS for a public school!


Kids will be driving to Dayton and Huber Heights to play football. $900.00 for that area is steep and crazy type money for the job market/economy. Middletown always has some talent and it is a shame that it has to be this way for public schools to operate.

[Kamd50]

How in the world did they come up with that figure? That is truely shameful and I agree with Dawg when he questions blackmail or extortion. They must figure that people are going to do everything they can to get their fellow citizens to pass that levy in lieu of forking over 900 bucks.

[DAWGH8R]

I think it would take a lot of " car washes " to get $900 per kid.

That's how these districts extort the taxpayers. The first 2 "threats" are:

1. Pay to play. In this case WAY too much.

2. No more kids riding a bus. This puts fear into mommy, that Johnny will actually have to walk, or she'll have to get up and take him.

However sad, these tactics often work.:sad:

[Banks]

Lets all hope they can field a team!

[npaflas]

Down here in Georgia they never heard of a school levy. They think i am crazy.

[MTigers006]

IF they cant field a team is Valdosta available? lol Just Kidding! I hope they get everything worked out. Who does Fremont have in week one? Any backup plan in place for the Tigers?

[longtimefirsttime]

Middletown has given every indication that they will field a team. But with that high pay to play amount, you wonder how many will participate.

[DAWGH8R]

I checked their website today, and could find nothing to confirm the $900 Pay to Play. They did list a full football schedule, and listed MASSILLON as the first opponent !!
:ers:

[longtimefirsttime]

Believe me their residents are aware of the fees. The meeting was reportedly packed. We'll see what happens there on August 7th.

[Al.]

I checked their website today, and could find nothing to confirm the $900 Pay to Play. They did list a full football schedule, and listed MASSILLON as the first opponent !!
:ers:

The webmaster is probably on "summer vacation" :zzz:

[MR EMPTY PANTS]

i heard the mighty RITTMAN INDIANS may be available in week 1 if middleton falls through

[DAWGH8R]

I'd rather play the WAYNEDALE GOLDEN BEARS !!