Rocket Nation Recovery Part 37 – yesterday’s rivalry game between UToledo and BGSU was awesome! Congratulations to the players, coaching staff and Coach Candle for navigating a rough night to a great win! Thank you for fighting for UToledo!!
With each snap of the ball, more and more uncomfortable feelings surfaced. As BGSU scored and then scored again, their celebrations became frustrating. How could this be happening to The Rockets! It was painful to watch. Almost as painful as watching the enrollment, financial and morale crisis accelerate at UToledo.
But then, just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. We went from not believing what we were seeing on the field to not believing what we were hearing.
As we watched the Rockets kick a field goal the ESPN announcers welcomed World Series MVP and Cy Young Award Winner – – Orel Hershiser into their broadcasting booth. He aired his passionate support and love for BGSU.
Orel: “I haven’t been back here in years. And this is a place, I’m so proud of, if you’re in high school in Ohio or somewhere near by or think about Bowling Green, this is a campus you need to come visit. Because there is some extra special stuff going on around here.” He went on to state “it’s a gorgeous campus and you know that’s one of the reasons I came back. We’re moving forward. We’re looking through the windshield. What’s going on in Bowling Green is really big. It’s something to be part of. It’s incredible.”
WOW! The public relations value and impact of ESPN giving Orel over 20-minutes of free, uninterrupted infomercial-style advertising for BGSU was too much to take. UToledo won the game but lost the public relations battle on national tv.
Over the past forty-years, hearing a BG alum make a statement like that went in one ear and out the other. UToledo has so many successful and powerful alumni in all professions around the world – – who cares about BG 🙂
But with the steady and now rapid decline of UToledo, Orel’s positivity and truthful words about BGSU and it’s leadership pierced like a knife. Yes, there are good things going on with faculty and students every day. But that hasn’t stopped the enrollment, financial and morale decline. Sad but true.
Congrats again to Coach Candle and the team for beating BGSU on the field last night. It’s painful, but BGSU deserves a pat on the back for pulling off a public relations coop.
It’s ok to feel uncomfortable in a crisis. Please pray for thoughtful, compassionate accountability and urgent actions to revitalize The Rocket Nation.
#RocketNation #toledo #utoledo #ToledoTough #RocketNetworker
