Monthly Archives: April 2015

Coach Carty Update, Teal Turf, And More

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I never suffered from allergies until I moved to South Carolina. For whatever reason, the pollen here has me feeling all types of miserable. But you know what?! It is Thursday, and some minor discomfort won’t stop me from delivering my weekly rundown. Here we go…

Coach Carty Update: On Tuesday night I wrote about the way my high school football coach, Sean Carty, helped make me the man I am today. The post came on the heels of an announcement that his contract would not be renewed. The response was remarkable*. From players who graduated from his program 12 years ago to students currently enrolled at Mead, person after person stood up to thank and recognize Coach Carty. This support was enough to overwhelm me, I can’t imagine how Carty himself felt. Over the past couple days I have learned many disturbing tactics that a small group of parents carried out. However, instead of wasting space on them, I rather just focus on Coach. I encourage you to write the Mead School District Superindentent and voice your support for Sean Carty. I never do calls to action on my blog but this is a very special circumstance for a very deserving person. You can e-mail Dr. Rockefeller by clicking here.

Roll Out That Turf!: Today on our campus at Coastal Carolina University, workers from a company called Medallion Athletics started to roll out our long awaited teal turf. Revealing the bronze end zone first, the teal portion of the surface started to get installed soon thereafter. It will take about four days for the whole field to be laid out. Next will come the stiching of logos, hash marks, and other field elements. This project screams “Coastal Carolina Chanticleers” and I can’t wait to see the finished product. Next Thursday I will be sure to have an update for you on the field’s progress.

How cool does Brooks Stadium look?

How cool does Brooks Stadium look?

Out For Lunch: Did you know that teachers enjoy Spring Break as much as students? With Sidney away from her second graders for a whole week, we had the opportunity to go to lunch a couple times. Throw in a birthday lunch for one of our student-workers here in University Communication and I ate my noon meal at three different restaurants. You got to understand, for a guy who is used to eating a peanut butter sandwich every single day this is quite the shift to my dining schedule. On Monday, Sidney and I went to Moe’s, a mission burrito joint. Yesterday I went with our office to a place in downtown Conway called Dilly Beans where I indulged in a pot roast sandwich. Then today I went with Sidney to Rotelli’s, an Italian restaurant right next to campus. I had the “World Famous Lunch,” an $8 meal that consists of a cup of soup, slice of pizza, and a half sandwich. Although I don’t want to make these mid-day excursions a habit, it has been nice indulging in a few quality lunches this week.

Sid at Rotelli's today and my pot roast sandwich from Dilly Beans.

Sid at Rotelli’s today and my pot roast sandwich from Dilly Beans.

What I Watched: On Sunday night I watched “Foxcatcher,” the award-winning wrestling movie. I was not overly excited to watch the film but ended up enjoying it. I absolutely loved the character of David Schultz and how he was portrayed by Mark Ruffalo. Steve Carell also did a superb job of depicting the creepy/insane millionaire John du Pont. The movie is not for everyone though as Sidney did not care for it. If you don’t mind whether a movie has a major plot and you like great acting, you might be entertained by “Foxcatcher.”

Talking about a whole different genre, I watched about half of the Comedy Central Justin Bieber Roast a few nights ago. It was funny, but it wasn’t hilarious enough for me to continue watching it. Although I didn’t know her before the roast, I laughed when Natasha Legerro took the podium. I found Shaq’s presentation a little lame. Ludacris was okay. I personally thought the jokes about Kevin Hart were funnier than the ones about Bieber. I went to bed before either Snoop Dogg or Martha Stewart could “roast.”

Congrats, Guff: To end tonight’s rundown, I want to warmly congratulate Dave Guffey on his College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Lifetime Achievement award. When I worked at Montana, Dave was a great mentor to me as we worked right next door to each other. He has served the Griz for 37 years and will be extremely missed. I encourage you to read the article about his award because it is really well-written.

Congratulations, Dave!

Congratulations, Dave!

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I want to wish everyone a very happy Easter. It is my favorite holiday and I hope it brightens your whole outlook on life like it does mine. Thanks again for your loyal readership, it means a lot. Don’t Blink.

* – In the first few hours of writing the Coach Carty blog post, it had over 1,600 views. As of right now, it has been viewed over 5,000 times.

Giving Valentine’s Day a Run for its Money

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I think Valentine’s Day has company when it comes to the most hated holiday on social media. No, I am not “joking around with you,” I am talking about April Fools’ Day. While I have said before that V-Day doesn’t bother me as much as some people, I am with the growing masses when it comes to detesting April Fools’.

Never before had I seen the resentment toward the First of April more than this year. A whole week before April 1 I saw warnings about the stupidity others stoop to via social media posts, morning FM radio, and even news programs. The message was simple: Be on the lookout for bogus digital claims by people looking for attention.

I am not a big fan of April Fools' Day on social media.

I am not a big fan of April Fools’ Day on social media.

I hate what has become a yearly exercise for many. A person sits down and conjures up some story about having twins, getting married, going off to prison, moving to another country, being abducted by aliens, etc. While most people detect the B.S. immediately, some fall for it. The folks who are duped will respond back with lots of capital letters, emoticons, and questions. Of course this gives the prankster satisfaction and maybe even the motivation to pull a similar stunt the next year.

I don’t care for these stupid Facebook jokes mainly because they are just so unoriginal. Millions of people do them each year. The stories are so tired and cliché that these social media users come up with. When I think of a good April Fools’ prank, I think of someone going above and beyond to pull off a legitimate and creative physical joke on someone else. I don’t think of some goober sitting at his computer typing up some tall tale. That is just too dang easy.

I also am weary of these “pranks” because the people who do them cheapen the legitimate good news of others. If you get married, receive a big job offer, or have a baby, that should be your moment in the sun on social media. You earned it. However, just because it is April Fools’, others who have not actually achieved anything can act like they did and receive praise for it. To me, there is nothing more undeserving or foolish-looking.

I don’t particularly care for it when companies and organizations attempt to pull off elaborate pranks on social media either. Some entities will go to crazy lengths. I much prefer a more subdued approach. Here at #CCUSocialMedia we just created a cool/funny graphic (A Chanticleer is a rooster) and wished our audience a happy April Fools’ Day. We commemorated the holiday while making people laugh. I think this is much more credible and respectful than trying to pull a fast one.

This was our April Fools' graphic.

This was our April Fools’ graphic.

With all of this said, I have decided that this will be my last blog post ever…(SHUT UP BRENT!!). Okay, just kidding. Happy April Fools’ Day to all, have a wonderful month! Don’t Blink.