By Michael Letendre
The rumor mill was swirling last Friday night at the Bristol Eastern football game against Bloomfield.
A half-hour before tipoff, I was asked about the possibility of the Thanksgiving Day game – pitting Bristol Central versus Bristol Eastern – not being played at Muzzy Field.
And that person meant this year.
I found it to be a weird question and it was the first time I had heard of such a thing.
And then another person claimed something similar about the Thanksgiving Day game.
The notion was that the contest was being moved to the turf field at Bristol Central.
It was a shocking but unconfirmed rumor.
A text then went out to ‘someone in authority’ who confirmed that the BC/BE challenge would – of course – be played from Muzzy Field.
However, with all the renovations made to Muzzy over the last few years, would a move to the high schools – with the turf fields locked and loaded – be so farfetched?
Eventually, is the Bristol Park Department, or someone with that kind of authority, going to shut down Field Muzzy for everything except baseball?
Remember, once the turf fields were constructed at the high schools, city series soccer got the boot from Muzzy.
That made logical sense since it just takes one rainy BC/BE soccer contest – leading to a messy and muddy situation – to ruin the field for the rest of the fall scholastic season at Muzzy.
I remember one Bristol Central/New Britain Week 1 football game that was played in the rain there and the grass and infield area was never the same again that year.
That was a big problem which went away with the turf fields in the city.
Now, the only things played at Muzzy are baseball games and the BC/BE pigskin challenge.
But what would happen if that text from last Friday said, “yes, the game has been moved to Bristol Central…”.
I think you’d have some angry people on both sides of the city.
If this story has a familiar tone, this is not the first time the subject has come about.
I’ve written about this very topic in the Bristol Observer a few years back.
And people who know me understand I’m a traditionalist when it comes to scholastic sports in town.
But not when it comes Thanksgiving Day Football at Muzzy Field, because most of Bristol Eastern’s games against Central from that facility have been filled with misery.
I’m ready for a change.
Muzzy is a great place for baseball but, my goodness, we have to get out of there for football.
It’s time to play the game at the high schools and there are some people from Eastern who would agree.
Please, don’t send me your angry cards and letters just yet.
The reality is that millions of dollars has been poured into Muzzy Field to become the amazing baseball attraction that it presently is.
Playing one football game a year there, and possibly damage the field in the process, doesn’t make [dollars and] sense.
We have two beautiful turf fields in the city. Let’s start using them for the Battle for the Bell.
Again, one school already wants to see that happen on Thanksgiving while the other clearly does not.
Muzzy Field is on the Bristol Central side of town. Why would they want the game moved in the first place?
Eastern has more of a football-friendly facility with accessible handicapped parking, concessions, and bathrooms.
Yes, you still need to move seating in there and do some other logistical things but the Kingstreeters brought in lights, the turf and everything else that goes with it to start holding games on campus.
If Eastern wanted the game played at Alumni Field, go for it.
But if the student athletes still want it at Muzzy, that recommendation should carry significant weight as well.
Look, it’s simple for me.
The Lancers have more losses than wins at Muzzy Field against Central and just about every other team that Eastern competed against there (except Fermi).
It’s time to begin a new tradition…somewhere else.
Just remember, this isn’t 1988 and 5,000 fans aren’t going to the game anymore (which really is sad).
But there’s a flip side to the conversation.
Central doesn’t have the capability to host Thanksgiving and isn’t set up like Alumni Field.
And the lack of press box hurts (Dave Greenleaf told me so…).
It was weird to rehash that situation as we’re still trying to navigate through the pandemic but the reality is, sooner or later, Thanksgiving Day Football between the Rams and Lancers won’t be calling Muzzy Field home anymore.
I wonder what will happen when Eastern is the host for the game in 2022…
