There’s nothing on the UK front today, so what else could I (or anybody else who cheers for Kentucky, for that matter) do for today than hate on Louisville? Specifically, the target of my rage is Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich. In terms of building his programs, Jurich has done a fine job, but that isn’t what this is about.
Does the name Patrick Hughes ring a bell? It should if you’re from this state. Patrick Hughes is the blind kid who plays trumpet in the Louisville marching band. He gets to go out on the field and march because his father pushes him in formation in his wheelchair. It’s one of the most inspirational stories you’ll ever hear, no matter who your favorite team is. His family even got a visit from the people at ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover. Hughes was the classic ambassador for the university, but now he no longer plays in the band. It would be hard for me to explain why this is, so I think I’ll let Hughes do it himself. This snippet is from his website, and you can read the whole piece HERE.
My relationship began to turn south with Athletic Administration shortly after the Pittsburgh game in 2006. An away game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, I really looked forward to sitting with my band mates at this pro football stadium and cheering on our CARDS!
To my surprise when we got there, the band seats had been sold to fans (good for them, I know). However, this forced our marching band into the top level of Heinz Field where the band could not be heard and I could not sit with my friends. It was inaccessible to wheelchair users.
My dad and I were told repeatedly by numerous Pittsburgh fans that we were the only band that had visited Heinz Field and not sat where all other visiting bands sit – a section that was accessible to me in my wheelchair and where I could have played our fight songs with my fellow band members. On the plus side, UL’s Athletic Department made a world of more money (cha-ching) and who cares about where the marching band sits anyway, right?
By the way, Athletics was able to send their pep band to the Pittsburgh football game this past weekend and sit in the field level seats they sold out from under the marching band. I guess it’s only a matter of time before they replace the marching band, as well. The process is already happening.
The rest of the piece that I linked speaks for itself. The athletics department pretty much treats the band like garbage, but I quoted that piece for a reason. If you want to sell the band seats to fans, that’s your prerogative, but if one of the band members is in a wheelchair, you had best not put the band in an area of the stadium that is not accessible. As a fellow handicapped person, I have to say I was incensed at this. It’s just another reminder that people take their ability to walk for granted, and it happens way too much in life. I just hope it was worth the few extra bucks to make this kid feel inferior because he’s in a wheelchair. To the person responsible for this decision (safely assuming it is Tom Jurich), congratulations, you sorry sack of crap. Hope this site doesn’t get torn down like 93.9 FM did because somebody was critical of the department and its chair.
That’s all I have to say about that. Tommy Turtleneck and his Julius Caesar haircut can go suck one.
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