I posted something on my social media accounts tonight that probably raised questions.
Whether you saw it or not, I figured I should tell the story.
This was probably around 2015 or so. I was working at HAN, or the HAN Network.
Or HAN Radio.
And there was at least one person -- well-placed -- who was out for me. I'm telling you, I could literally do nothing right. Every chance there was to throw me under a bus -- to the point of nearly losing my job -- was taken.
The goal was to make me miserable.
This one was perhaps the height of stupidity.
New Canaan High School has a nice turf field facility on its campus. It's where the Rams play football, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, and so on. I've called many events there between HAN and WGCH.
However, one thing to note is that when events were loaded onto the CIAC website, the facility was called Dunning Stadium. I don't know if my brain is failing me, but I remember the annual previews also listing it as Dunning Stadium in the newspaper.
So if you look in my archive, that's what I called it.
However, as the years went on, there was the Stadium/Field thing, and it was something that carried onto the HAN broadcasts.
I'd call it Dunning Field/Stadium/Whatever. Heck, we were always so impressed by it that we joked that maybe they would put a roof over it and call it the Dunning Dome. No harm was literally ever intended.
Consider the myriad changes at Cardinal Stadium since 1999. I've likely made similar comments.
Well, the thorn in my side decided it wasn't funny. Scholars one day might examine further and find there were more nefarious factors at play but let's keep the story to face value.
Plus, I'm leaving all names out of this -- except my own -- to protect the innocent.
Anyway, while driving home one evening, I glanced at my email to discover an email from, you guessed it, that person.
The tone was, honestly, harsh and obnoxious.
The content of the email made it clear that he wanted it called Dunning FIELD and that the Dunning family would take offense to how I was handling it.
No one else got lambasted like this. Only me.
Honestly, if the Dunning family cared that much, I'd be concerned. Their name was always mentioned and never sullied.
Normally, such an email would rattle me but this just reeked of, well, something.
Oh, it annoyed me, but it also amused me.
And befuddled me.
It also served as one of many indications that I'd need to leave HAN sadly.
And that was sad. I'm profoundly proud of it, what we all created, and the work we did.
While I look back with enormous pride, I still marvel at some of the insanity of it all.
Like this.
Look, this person attacked me several times -- online, in person, and behind my back. I came out of it a better man and broadcaster.
And it was nice to sit at Dunning Field at Hawes Plaza tonight to watch Greenwich and New Canaan in a scrimmage.
I've called it Dunning Field at Hawes Plaza ever since that night.
But, for the record, here is how it is listed on the CIAC website today.
"Stadium" |
Anyway, Dan Murphy and I watched the game together. We caught up with friends and did our homework to get ready for next Friday.
In West Haven.
From Ken Strong Stadium.
Not Field.
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