I had one of those "aha" moments yesterday while perched at Middleton's. Shifting glances between Navy and Notre Dame, I noticed a family in front of me decked out in Bucknell gear. While they were having a good time, they were only moderately interested in the football hoopla going on around them. Since I had seen another Bucknell delegation playing volleyball at the Academy earlier, I asked it they were in town for that. No, they said. Soccer. They were from Florida and had come up to see their son play soccer. Seems the women's volleyball and men's soccer bus-pooled from Bucknell for a weekend in Annapolis.
Similar thing happened last week (same time, same place, but without Notre Dame on the tube) when two tables of Army fans parked between me and the screen. They were also out of towners, there to see an evening soccer match.
Which brings me to the revelation. The economic impact of Maryland sports is not just big stadium events. It is also familes and friends who come to see their kids play other varsity sports. Whether they're from Florida or New York or somewhere in between, a visit to Maryland is not only convenient, it becomes a weekend adventure and, in the case of these families, the opportunity for a reunion with other members.
Both the Army folks last week and the Bucknell family yesterday remarked on the beauty of Annapolis and the Glenn Warner soccer facility along the Severn. I'm sure folks who visit College Park for a soccer match at Ludwig have to be similarly impressed. These are two top rated facilities on very impressive campuses. Of course they would have to be on the top of the list for field trips.
Because the mission of the Academy includes physical fitness, Navy has a large number of varsity sports -- 32. University of Maryland has 27. Both have superior facilities and the advantage of the Mid-Atlantic location. How many moms and dads choose to watch their darlings play everything from squash to ice hockey by planning a visit to Maryland?
My friend and colleague Carol Salmon is on the road now. She is a soccer mom extraordinaire, having followed her daughter Michelle through a record breaking career in Anne Arundel County and as a star at University of Maryland. Michelle's now the head coach at University of Cincinnati. Carol and her husband still faithfully attend many of her games, as they have since she was a little girl.
I can only imagine how many soccer moms and dads there are out there like Carol, and the folks I saw yesterday. They support the kids they love when they hit the road and fill the stands. They also support (very generously) the local economy when they shop in stores, stay in hotels, and eat in restaurants.
Even if they occasionally block my view of the tube, God bless those soccer moms.
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