Deserving More Credit

12-7-88

Perspective:

It was a pretty good week for Cobber sports. The men's basketball team scored an important win over Moorhead State. And the hockey team split at Winona.

But one nationally-acclaimed team at Concordia continued to get less press than they deserve. After a spectacular year last season one would have expected things to change. After being responsible for bringing the school such good publicity last year there was reason to expect something different this year.

When "informal" practices began in the fall there were all the right things being said to lower expectations. A lot of great performers were lost to graduation. All this year's crew wants to do is "compete against their potential and let the rest take care of itself."

But insiders were saying they had recruited what may have been the best freshman class ever, deep and talented. They claim to be just trying to perform to their potential but they are really being forced to compete against their reputation for excellence. That reputation gets them pressure to do well this year but precious little else.

Despite what they did last year, despite having proven that this is a long-term, quality program, bigger than any one individual, there has been nearly deafening silence in the press.

This is a program that teaches teamwork, precision, and artistry. They have followed all the rules and done all the things a program is supposed to do at Concordia to project the kind of ethic the college espouses. They entertain their fans without sacrificing principle. The team members are good students who labor endless hours to perfect remarkable skills that, in the end, will not be fully appreciated.

They deserve better.

When it came time to set practice sessions in the fieldhouse they again got the least preferable times. Football and their playoffs had to be accommodated. Men's basketball needed their time. They had to compete with distractions in the fieldhouse.

In some ways they get more respect away from home than they get here at Concordia. When they go to the Twin Cities they are treated with what borders on awe. But here in Fargo-Moorhead, with all the hype about football and men's basketball and NDSU they are seemingly taken for granted. Sure they're good again, but is that news? Over the weekend they put on another beautiful performance. And, like last year, they performed in front of a packed house. Yes, the Concordia music department has put together another fine team. They again delivered a Christmas Concert that was worthy of their tradition for choral and orchestral excellence.

We salute them for enriching all of us and wish them good luck at Orchestra Hall this Thursday in Minneapolis.

We in the Athletic Department know how much goes into making a performance like yours come off each year. You are an inspiration to all of us who perform in Concordia's name.

These pages are maintained by Jerry Pyle pyle@cord.edu. These articles are copyrighted © and may not be published or reproduced without the express permission of Jerry Pyle.

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