A stunning success by nearly any measure, the Specialized Morgan
Hill Grand Prix capped a heady couple of weeks of action for local
sports fans. But it was as much a time for locals to show off this
sporty minded little burg as anything else. From the Far Western
Championships swim meet to the Grand Prix, it may very well be that
more people visited Morgan Hill for the first time in the past few
weeks than at any other time in the town
’s history. But do you think locals are sitting on their, ahem,
laurels and patting themselves on their collective backs in
celebration? Not a chance.
A stunning success by nearly any measure, the Specialized Morgan Hill Grand Prix capped a heady couple of weeks of action for local sports fans. But it was as much a time for locals to show off this sporty minded little burg as anything else. From the Far Western Championships swim meet to the Grand Prix, it may very well be that more people visited Morgan Hill for the first time in the past few weeks than at any other time in the town’s history.
But do you think locals are sitting on their, ahem, laurels and patting themselves on their collective backs in celebration?
Not a chance.
- The Aquatics Center and Morgan Hill Swim Club (Makos) collaboration are already planning for next year’s Far Westerns, basking in a rave review from the region’s head official about how beautifully everything went. And, an apparently impressed City Council has already approved a healthy upgrade for the Aquatics Center in anticipation of the Makos’ plans to host one major swim meet per year.
-
There were very few quibbles to be had with the Grand Prix, which brought big-time cycling to downtown Morgan Hill. And, Specialized has plans to continue holding the event on a regular basis after a bang-up debut. There’s even talk of expanding the event into a two-day extravaganza. The only thing that could waylay those grandiose plans would be organized neighborhood opposition. Specialized and its promoters would do themselves a world of public relations good by incorporating a few shrewd moves for next year’s event.
First, why not cater to local cyclists and include Category 5 men’s and women’s races? For the most part, all the locals who competed in the Grand Prix’s various races were Specialized employees, most of them experienced cyclists. Why not include a race for true novitiates to the sport of cycling, a race that would almost certainly draw heavy participation from locals? Rumor has it at least a few members of the Wolfpack – a group of amateur athletes who gather to train regularly and push the limits of their own endurance – have already expressed disappointment that such a race was not included in this year’s event. These are the kinds of people you want on your side.
Second, make sure you inconvenience as few people as possible, and that only those who are actually on the race course itself are barred, or even delayed, from exiting or entering their homes. Some folks who live along Third Street near, but not actually on, the race course were apparently blocked from getting in and out of their residences during the event.
Sure, this was a big, successful happening that was great for the downtown and has the potential to be an even bigger draw in the future. But avoid ending up on the wrong side of the neighbors.
Issues that start out as minor grumbling have a nasty habit of growing legs and walking en masse into City Council meetings.
- As Grand Prix organizers know very well, the local event was a kind of precursor to a whole roster of cycling events extending through May. Last weekend’s Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, a massive hodge-podge of cycling competition ranging from road racing to off-road dirt biking and mountain biking, was the crown jewel, followed by the Cat’s Hill criterium in early May and the 24 Hours of Adrenaline endurance mountain bike racing event a week later.
Don’t be surprised if some day a two-day Specialized Grand Prix is marketed as an official or semi-official lead-in to a month-long series of cycling events.
- Speaking of long-term vision, San Jose sports fans have to be a little perplexed by the turn the present and future of professional sports have taken in their sprawling metropolis.
A year after the San Jose Sharks thrilled their fans with a run deep into the Western Conference playoffs, the only whisper of pro hockey in the Bay Area is the odd, and I mean odd, story about the NHL meetings to consider rules changes.
Some of the proposed changes are so extreme – eliminating the blue line, settling ties with a shootout, etc. – that it smacks of desperation. When a pro sport has to resort to ruminating over changing the rules for a game that isn’t being played, the clock is ticking.
More on this in the future.
Then there are those kind of silly, and kind of sad, reports about San Jose city officials considering various sites for a major league ballpark. The latest site, ironically, is pretty near the HP Pavilion. (Can’t really call it the Shark Tank these days, can we?)
Never mind that MLB has repeatedly told San Jose that they’re in San Francisco Giants’ territory, which prevents a team – such as the Oakland A’s – from moving to the South Bay. Forget that this presumably prevents an expansion team from setting up camp in San Jose.
Mayor Ron Gonzales has said bringing major league baseball to his city is a priority and his minions are hustling, no matter how much the odds are stacked against them.
In fact, it may well be that San Jose loses its only pro baseball team – the Giants’ High Single-A affiliate – before gaining an MLB franchise.
More on this in the future, too.
- Finally, a note about the recent unpleasantness involving Morgan Hill’s two high schools’ football programs. That reluctant philosopher Mark Cummins said it best when he opined that Morgan Hill is now a two high school town and everyone just has to get used to it.
That’s the bottom line and anyone unable or unwilling, for whatever reason, to deal with that reality should step aside.
- What do you think about San Jose’s attempts to attract a major league baseball franchise? Call the Green Phone at (800) 687-0836. Times readers are always welcome to respond to this issue or any other issue in all sports columns and other articles.
Jim Johnson is the Morgan Hill Times Sports Editor. He can be reached by calling (408) 779-4106 (ext. 203) or by email at jj******@*************es.com
