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Published: August 29, 2008 09:32 am    print this story   email this story  

I wonder, who’ll stop the rain?

By Charles Curcio, Sports Editor

Thursday, August 28, 2008 — Coming back to the newspaper was one of the most exciting days of my life.

I enjoyed my time announcing and substitute teaching but I always missed being at the paper.

However, the one constant aggrevation that continues to be a thorn in my side whether announcing or covering games for the paper is rain.

I don’t even like to say the word for fear of jinxing the day and losing another game to rain.

I know that we are in a drought and that so much of our farmlands are struggling. Believe me, there is a certain patch of tomato plants down Aquadale way that may not yield enough to help me make my double secret Sunday gravy.

Professionally, precipitation presents a plethora of problems for the media.

Countless sports like baseball can’t play if the field is too wet and has no traction.

It just seems like for a summer and fall where we are in a drought, more games are being rained out than ever.

It’s bad enough to have a game called on rain. It’s worse to have your life in the hands of Mother Nature.

For example, this summer I was broadcasting a summer-league baseball game in Monroe at Noel Williams Park.

If anyone is familar with the place, it’s a few miles south of Stanfield on 200 out in the middle of an open area near a housing development.

It’s a great place for a game except when there are no trees to deflect or slow down the wind.

A storm hit there this summer with winds so strong that the rain was blowing sideways into the PA booth.

My fiancee Laura and I were lucky to make it out of there thanks to one of the players that came to get us in a four wheel drive pickup truck.

I remember an Albemarle - North Stanly women’s soccer playoff match that was called because of a storm reaching typhoon conditions.

Several brave fans stayed sitting on metal bleachers in a thunderstorm until I was asked to announce to them Coming back to the newspaper was one of the most exciting days of my life.

I enjoyed my time announcing and substitute teaching but I always missed being at the paper.

However, the one constant aggrevation that continues to be a thorn in my side whether announcing or covering games for the paper is rain.

I don’t even like to say the word for fear of jinxing the day and losing another game to rain.

I know that we are in a drought and that so much of our farmlands are struggling. Believe me, there is a certain patch of tomato plants down Aquadale way that may not yield enough to help me make my double secret Sunday gravy.

Professionally, precipitation presents a plethora of problems for the media.

Countless sports like baseball can’t play if the field is too wet and has no traction.

It just seems like for a summer and fall where we are in a drought, more games are being rained out then ever.

It’s bad enough to have a game called on rain. It’s worse to have your life in the hands of Mother Nature.

For example, this summer I was broadcasting a summer-league baseball game in Monroe at Noel Williams Park.

If anyone is familar with the place, it’s a few miles south of Stanfield on 200 out in the middle of an open area near a housing development.

It’s a great place for a game except when there are no trees to deflect or slow down the wind.

A storm hit there this summer with winds so strong that the rain was blowing sideways into the PA booth.

My fiancee Laura and I were lucky to make it out of there thanks to one of the players that came to get us in a four wheel drive pickup truck.

I remember an Albemarle - North Stanly women’s soccer playoff match that was called because of a storm reaching typhoon conditions.

Several brave fans stayed sitting on metal bleachers in a thunderstorm until I was asked to announce to them that the match had been called.

Fast-forward to this week where several tennis and soccer matches have been postponed due to rain.

Soccer and tennis are both great sports and I enjoy covering them but I haven’t done much of that so far.

As far as for postponing games, you can’t blame people for wanting to save their fields by not having them played on when soaking wet. A lot of hard landscaping work goes into maintaining these fields.

Between golf fairways, football fields and lakes for watersports, rain is a necessity and a hinderance.

As Tony Shaloub’s character on “Monk” would say, rain is a gift. And a curse.

Hey, do I see sunlight?



Contact Charles Curcio at (704) 982-2121 ext. 12 or email at charles@stanlynewspress.com.

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