This week the Monday Mess skips over Halloween and heads right into Thanksgiving. We wanted to be the first to offer our take on being thankful – thereby beating everyone else by a full month-and-a-half.
This past weekend taught the Mess several lessons – many of which had to do with how to be a person of character. However, the most important lesson that was lacking over the weekend was the simple common courtesy of saying “thank you”.
While the world becomes more advanced in almost every facet of life, The Mess feels we are taking a step backwards in the basic manners department. The biggest pet peeve at the Mess is when someone goes out of their way to make your life easier and is not afforded the common courtesy of being told “thank you”.
It doesn’t take very long to look someone in the eye after they hold a door, pick up a dropped grocery item or clean up your mess (no pun intended) and tell them “thank you”. The Mess now understands that there are people in the world that get this principle and are genuinely nice. Then there are those that feel they are entitled to everything and anything. They feel people should grant them favors, and make their life easier, without ever having to say thank you. These people completely bypass any sort of human kindness and lack the gene of appreciation. The Mess should know since we got a first hand account of the entitled this weekend.
There was however one shining example of gratitude bestowed on The Mess this weekend. After making sure that the good neighbor folks at WCCO had everything they needed to broadcast the football game, The Mess received a very nice thank you e-mail from outstanding play-by-play broadcaster Dave Lee.
The Mess would like to beat the holiday rush and say “thank you” to all the people we work with in Cobberville. The Concordia athletic staff is made up of thoughtful people who have character and class throughout the year. We appreciate the fact that we never have to make excuses for any of the coaches when The Mess talks to colleagues or people outside the department. It is nice to hear from others that one of the CC coaches “was very appreciative” and went out of their way to say “thank you”.
There are times when we wonder why we continue to work, and live, in an area that has brutally cold wind chills in January and February, a winter that lasts for five months and a spring that consists solely of flood fighting. The Mess then realizes what makes this job so great – the people. Those classy people completely outweigh any of the negative stereotypes people have of Concordia and the F-M area. What is more, The Mess could never work at a school in a more attractive location where you continually had to deal with people who feel entitled and where you continually had to explain that “the coach is really not that bad of a person…”
So, to all the people that make the Mess’ job easier – a thousand times a thousand thank yous. If we ever forgot to express our gratitude we are sorry and will make sure it never happens again.
Finally, let The Mess be the first to say that we are very thankful for the coaches, and personnel we work with every day. In the end, that is how the real winner is determined.
The Monday Mess Video of the Week
Once again we offer a touching, inspirational video for the theme of this week’s Monday Mess. Since the baseball regular season is heading into its final week and we are about to begin the playoffs, The Mess thought we would offer a great story about a boy who just wanted to be able to play the game and was thankful he got the chance. This video is a bit longer (13:36) but well worth the watch
The Rest of the Mess
It was a relatively quiet weekend for The Mess. No equipment catastrophes, no sickness, no security guard high-jinx. It was just a nice fall Family Weekend. The only depressing part of the weekend came from being a Minnesota sports fan. The Twins have spiraled out of control and are no longer a staple in the Mess’ office, the Gopher football team once again lost to NDSU sending the area into a Bison frenzy and the Vikings decided pack it in after 30 minutes for the third straight week.
Despite the lousy Minnesota sports weekend there were several bright spots from the Cobber athletic teams over the weekend. The volleyball team got back to their winning ways and swept St. Kate’s on Saturday (this is always appreciated since the last thing The Mess needs on a home tripleheader Saturday is to have the third contest last for hours!). The women’s soccer team remained unbeaten. They are one of only six teams in the entire MIAC in football, volleyball and men’s and women’s soccer that hasn’t lost a game. Sure, they have three ties, but they have not lost a game this season and they have now posted three straight shutouts.
The individual sport athletes also had success over the weekend. The men’s golf team won the Macalester Invite while women’s golf athlete Holly Karkela fired a 76 on Saturday at the SMSU Invite. That is the lowest 18-hole score by a CC women’s golfer since the 2008 season. Finally, women’s tennis player Andi Rognlien made it to the quarterfinals in the prestigious ITA Fall Tournament held at Gustavus. Andi will definitely be featured on a later edition of The Mess as her comeback story is unbelievable.
All in all, it was a very nice first weekend of fall.
The Mess Weekend Media Rewind
- Fargo Forum feature article on CC assistant football Dan Kostich & family
- Fargo Forum game recap from the Cobber/St. Thomas football game
- Video Highlights of the Cobber/St. Thomas football game
- Video Highlights of the Cobber/St. Kate’s volleyball match
- Fargo Forum Area Voices Article On CC Volleyball making AVCA Top 10
The Mess Picture of the Weekend
This week’s picture of the weekend was taken during the men’s soccer game against Carleton on Saturday. Once again the winning picture features great facial expressions and captures one of the unique aspects about soccer – the head ball. In the pic, CC senior Ethan Vogel goes up high to win the header over a Carleton attacker)
(You can click on the picture to see the larger version to get the full effect)
The Mess Photo Galleries of the Weekend
Check out the award-winning picture galleries from the weekend. We have had over 1,000 views on these galleries since Saturday night.
- Football vs. Thomas
- Men’s Soccer vs. Carleton
- Volleyball vs. St. Catherine
- Men’s & Women’s Cross Country at Roy Griak Invite
* Special thanks goes out to Sheldon Green and Isaac Vatnsdal who took the awesome pictures from football, soceer and volleyball and to Nathan Lodermeier who posts the x-country pics on the team’s Facebook page.
Click here to view all the galleries from the Cobber SID Flickr Page
“Now That’s A Big Mess” Stat Line of the Weekend
This week’s Big Mess Stat Line of the Week goes to Cobber senior quarterback Michael Dunham who was 26-for-41 for 329 passing yards and two TD passes. The 329 passing yards is a career high for Dunham and it is the third highest single-game total in program history. Dunham now needs 852 passing yards to break the school record for career passing yards.
Social Media Mess of the Week
Each week we will honor the best Cobber Twitter Tweet or Cobber Facebook post that we come across with our Twitter account or Facebook account
This week’s Social Media Mess of the Week winner comes from Sarah Fleissner’s Facebook page who showed her true colors after the Vikings game: “ No matter what happens, I’ll always be a Vikings fan, I’m not a fair-weather one like half of you seem to be.”
The Mess likes fans who stick with teams through the good and bad. It’s too easy these days to point fingers and find a new team to root for if things are going bad. And The Mess knows that things are going bad for Minnesota sports fans these days.
Queen of the Mess
This week’s Queen of the Mess is women’s soccer goalie Ali Nelson. Nelson posted another shutout over the weekend and helped keep the nationally ranked Cobbers unbeaten on the year. She stopped all 11 shots she faced against Carleton to preserve the 0-0 double overtime tie. Nelson has not allowed a goal in three straight games and has four shutouts on the season. She currently has 22 career shutouts and needs seven more to break the school’s all-time shutout record.
King of the Mess
This week’s King of the Mess is Concordia senior running back Chris Gilson. Gilson electrified the Family Weekend football crowd of almost 5,000 people when he took a short slant pass and turned it into a 76-yard TD catch on the third play of the game against No.3-ranked St. Thomas. The play gave CC a 7-0 lead and provided a brief glimmer of an upset chance. The 76-yard reception was also the fourth longest in program history. Gilson finished the day with four catches for a career-high 115 receiving yards. It is the most receiving yards by a CC player since Jake Krause had 164 against Gustavus in 2009.
The Tom Burnett Unsung Hero of the Week
This week’s Tom Burnett Unsung Hero of the Week goes to Cobber men’s soccer goalie Peter Runquist who has been playing with a fractured bone in his hand for the past couple of games (not the best injury to have if you are a soccer goalie!). Runquist fractured a bone in his hand against Augustana on Sept. 11. He then sat out the game against Hamline on Sept. 14 but has played the last two contests against Gustavus and Carleton. Despite having to severely wrap his hand and wear a special goalie glove, Runquist has fought through the pain and kept the Cobber defense intact. On Saturday he made two saves against the Knights and came up with several crossing chances in the area.
The Mess Fans of the Week
This week’s Mess Fans of the Week come from Cobber Nation. The Mess would like to say “thank you” to the Cobber Nation for all their support during football games. The Mess would also like to invite them to all the other sporting events on campus especially Wednesday’s volleyball match against St. Thomas.
Nothing says Cobber school spirit like a fuzzy gold wig, a megaphone and a beanie!
We need reader submissions! Please send your Cobber fan pictures to: cobbersportsinformation@gmail.com. Remember – the winning entry receives a special Cobber prize!
Fresh Mess of the Week – Fairways and Greens Revisted!
For the second straight week the Fresh Mess of the Week goes to a women’s golfer. Last week we honored Amy Mireault. This week the award goes to teammate Holly Karkela who tied for medalist honors at the UM-Morris Invite on Wednesday and then shot the lowest round for any Cobber this season at the SMSU Invite on Saturday. Karkela fired an 83 at Pomme De Terre GC in Morris during the week and then opened the weekend invite by carding a 76 at the Marshall GC. The 76 is the lowest round for a CC player since the 2008 season when Afton Pender carded a 75 at the Red River Invitational. Karkela is now second on the team in scoring this year with an 84.5 average. Last year the top CC player had a scoring average of 90.7.
Upcoming Mess Game of the Week
- #10 Volleyball at home vs. #12 St. Thomas – Wed., Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.
This week’s Mess Game of the Week might even take Mess Game of the Year honors. It is not often you have two teams ranked in the top 15 of the nation play in Moorhead. Then you add the extra dimension of having the game possibly determine the MIAC regular-season title and you have a game of mammoth proportions.
The Cobbers and Tommies will tangle on the soccer field on Tuesday and then finish off the fall version of Cobber/Tommie week on Wednesday when the top two volleyball programs in the MIAC will square off at 7 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium. If there is one volleyball match you see all season, make it this one. It will feature a pair of teams that have 26 wins and only five losses combined in 2011. These two programs are responsible for 73 conference victories in the past four years combined. Be sure to check this one out.
That’s it for this week’s Mess. Now go out and be sure to say “thank you” when someone does something to make your life easier. After all, tis’ the season of Thanksgiving!
Feel free to tell your friends about the Mess and don’t forget to check us out on Twitter and Facebook
Jim,
Speaking of thanks…The Monday Mess is awesome. Also a big thank you to you for all the creativity and great things you do as our SID here at Concordia. We’ll lucky to have you on our team.
Always a good reminder on saying thank you and not acting entitled. I’m always thankful to work with such great folks at my institution and coach against such great people in the MIAC. While I think that’s the norm at Division 3, I think sometimes we think those in the big-time (Division I) are not very nice and/or entitled, but I went to a clinic this summer with some big-time D1 coaches in my sport, and they couldn’t have been nicer, more helpful and supportive. As I get older, that’s one thing I love about being a part of the college athletics community–it is truly a community.
Many thanks to you Jim – for setting and example on our campus and across the MIAC and beyond. Sports can truly bring out the best in us when we really participate for the love of the game!
Steve