As the clock ticks toward War Memorial Stadium’s ultimate fate, Hoggard keeps bringing the heat on the N&R editorial board.
I may have been I bit shrill last week when Hoggard quoted Ogi while exposing the N&R’s hypocrisy. Ogi may have seen the light on War Memorial, but I still remember during the stadium debate how he opined about GASP (Goobers Against Sensible Progess) and compared the “Fishers” and the “Aycocks” to the Hatfields and the McCoys. Hoggard and Ogi are friends now. That’s the thing about Greensboro: people on different sides of an issue always see the bigger picture.
That’s why I think they’re overstating the influence of the N&R just a bit. Their premise is we have a new stadium because the N&R promised us the old one would be taken care of. But I can’t believe War Memorial’s care was the foremost thought in the minds of people who pulled the ‘yes’ lever in 2003. They wanted a new stadium, and that’s all they knew. And as for the promises of civic leaders….
So now the N&R urges voters to turn down the stadium bond. Big deal. It’s in the hands of the people. At least half have the intelligence to figure it out for themselves without the N&R’s help. The other half just don’t care. Personally, they’re the ones I’m worried about.