Skyhawks, Andrea’s Fault and Ultimate Fighting

by Chris Aaland

I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. Ninety-seven straight days punching the time clock. On Tuesday, it’ll be just me, my brother, my dog and an Italian 12-gauge chasing after roosters.

People who choose to work in collegiate athletics — particularly those at small colleges — make sacrifices that most don’t see. The hours are long. Most of the people in my department haven’t had a day off, including weekends, since mid-August. A typical day is 15 hours long. The schedule is relentless until Thanksgiving week each year. Then a sense of normalcy returns.

For the Aaland clan — one who does publicity and development chores for our 12 teams, the other who coaches 16 volleyball players — it means juggling a 4-year-old and 5-month-old. Otto is practically already on payroll removing snow prior to soccer games. Leftovers and fast food replace family meals more often than we’d like, and the boys rarely get family days with Mom and Dad during the season.

So why do we do it? The answer’s simple: for the love of the game. I hung up my size 14 Air Jordans a couple of decades ago, but I’m still part of the team. And on Saturday, I’ll get the chance to work my 12th NCAA playoff game of the calendar year. There’s a special satisfaction in being part of the show that you can’t get sitting in the stands. That joy can’t be measured in paychecks or free time.

For the record, the Skyhawks will host Cal State-Los Angeles at 1 p.m. Saturday at Dirks Field. The Golden Eagles have already made their deepest run ever in the NCAA playoffs, emerging from the difficult West Region. The Fort, on the other hand, is a perennial national title contender with two national titles and two second place finishes. The Skyhawks are a perfect 12-for-12 in home NCAA playoff games. Lucky 13 earns a trip to Pensacola, Fla., for the Final Four on Dec. 1-3.

Dirks Field gives the Skyhawk some huge advantages. First, there’s the thin air. At nearly 6,900 feet above sea level, it’s the highest collegiate soccer pitch in North America. The cold, crisp mountain air surely feels strange in the lungs of folks who suck in sea level smog on a daily basis. Then there are occasional curveballs thrown by Mother Nature. The manicured fields of Texas and California aren’t typically frozen or covered in snow. And then there are the Hooligans, a group of former FLC soccer players and other rabid fans who hoot and howl from the opening whistle until the final horn. The masses of thousands that used to attend games have shrunk over the years — families and careers will do that — but the diehard core remains.
This is why I choose this job.

Local band Andrea’s Fault played a gig at the Silverton Brewery in August, and one of the customers happened to be a Texas businessman who liked what he heard and saw, and offered to fly the group down to Houston to play his company’s Christmas party on Dec. 8. So Andrea’s Fault will be whisked down there on Dec. 7 and shuttled about Houston in a town car, then perform for a group of 350 at the Monarch Room at the Westin Galleria. They’ll even have their own professional sound guy, lights, amps, drum kit, monitors and recording gear. Now the hard work begins: coming up with set lists, rehearsing, getting all the kinks out. You can check out this band at Desperados from 7-11 p.m. Friday.

This week’s Summit slate includes Thirsty Thursday with The Congress tonight (Thurs., Nov. 17), acoustic happy hour with Eric Kiefer from 6-9 p.m.

Friday, DJ Benjamin K at 10 p.m. Friday, another acoustic happy hour with Rupnow & Friends from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, and the groovy musical stylings of Kentucky Deluxe at 10 p.m. Saturday.

Moe’s has a new wrinkle in this week’s entertainment lineup. First, there’s a live broadcast of UFC 139 featuring Dan “Hendo” Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on Saturday night. If watching guys pummel each other into oblivion isn’t your thing, there are still weekly favorites like Salsa Night (tonight), dancing with Double D (Friday) and Peter Robot (Saturday), a Bloody Mary bar and breakfast burritos for Sunday’s NFL games, Musica del Mundo (Sunday night) and an open mic night (Tuesday).

This week’s Ska-B-Q? The folksy bluegrass of Old North State, tonight at 5 p.m. at the World Headquarters. And, to be technically correct, Ska-B-Q serves chili during the cold months.

This week’s Top Shelf list is a trip down memory lane to the previous four NCAA men’s soccer quarterfinal games played at Dirks Field:
- 1999: Truman Lockhart’s header with 9:33 left in regulation lifted FLC to a 2-1 win over UC-Davis. For Lockhart, it was one of just seven goals he’d score in his collegiate career. None was bigger. The celebration that ensued afterwards was epic, with what seemed like the entire community rallying behind the guys in the funny-looking blue & white striped jerseys.
- 2005: The final scoresheet read FLC 3, Cal State-Dominguez Hills 2. It was a game that featured future MLS footballers John Cunliffe and Kei Kamara, but all anyone really remembers is the guy wearing nothing but boots, socks and a bucket hat who sprinted the length of the field oblivious to the center referee with about 10 minutes left in the game. With a little photoshopping by an artistic parent, Jerry McBride’s timeless photo of the streaker became the unofficial symbol of FLC Hooligans, adorned on T-shirts and banners for eternity.
- 2006: FLC 5, Seattle 2. It was Cunliffe’s final home appearance and he gave the faithful a goal and an assist. The following spring, he’d be sporting the colors of Chivas USA in the MLS.
- 2009: FLC 1, Cal State Dominguez Hills 0. The Brits came through with Tom Settle assisting Euan Purcell in the second half, but credit for this one goes to Durango High alumnus Zane Wells. The senior goalkeeper made six saves, including one on a penalty kick to preserve the victory and send the ‘Hawks on to their second national title.

If I’m buried ‘neath the sod, but the angels won’t receive me? E-mail me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.