Is Jack Trice being properly remembered?
February 4, 1997
I’m sitting here and I’m looking around my phat self wondering why everyone is a making buzz about the renaming of Cyclone Stadium/Jack Trice Field. It’s already called Jack Trice Field. Is that not good enough?
My question is this: Is Cyclone Stadium going to be renamed because of what Jack Trice stood for? Will it be renamed because he stood for equality, education and courage? Will it be renamed because Trice battled racism and overcame the odds stacked so heavily against him?
Maybe those are the reasons, and all good reasons too. But it seems as though much of his memories are attached to the fact that he broke his collar bone, made a bad block and later died from it.
Not to say that Trice stands only for the fact that he died because he misexecuted a “roll” block, but I would like to ask whether he would be remembered if he hadn’t died? Would ISU still be urging to rename the stadium after him. Here’s a quick answer for you. No, it wouldn’t. Nobody gets remembered unless he/she is a martyr. Look at the Beatles and Nirvana.
I would bet that had Trice not died, his name may not even be around except to mention that he was the first black athlete in the history of Iowa State.
And isn’t it amazing that, in the last 22 years of trying, ISU has denied the renaming of the stadium.
But now, when racial flames on the Iowa State campus concerning Catt Hall have reached right into the face of ISU President Martin Jischke, suddenly everyone is going to say that ISU officials were wrong for the last 22 years. Jischke even cited placing the statue of Jack Trice at the stadium to show his commitment to the minorities at Friday’s diversity forum. This whole situation smells like a big bowl of shit.
Personally, I don’t care what the buildings are named in this town. On the other hand, I can’t stand political decisions made to sooth over current issues nobody wants to address.
I have spoken the truth and will now move on.
Hey, I got an idea. Since everyone is into the renaming of ISU buildings, let’s do it right. The September 29th Movement wants to get rid of the Chapman Catt Hall title while everyone seems to want to call the football field Jack Trice Stadium.
I got a better idea. Let’s rename the whole campus. Let’s call the campus “The Home Where the Buffalo Used to Roam but the Cowboys Shot the Crap Out of Them and Killed Every Last Stinking One!”
Hell, let’s rename the town. I don’t like the name Ames. It sounds like we’re a bunch of trap shooters. I like sports but I don’t like trap shooting. Let’s rename Ames. Let’s call Ames “Phat Township.”
Let’s restructure the rules too. I don’t like the rules of the town. I don’t like that I’m not allowed to drink Icehouse at all times during the day. Yeah, let’s restructure the rules. From now on, all who live in Phat Township must have a cold Icehouse during all daylight hours.
Hell let’s rename the world. I don’t like the name Earth. We’ll call it Chad! Whoa! That would rule! Hey, think about what I said. We’ll talk later.
Chad Calek is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Persia, Iowa. He is the sports editor of the Daily.