Tiger basketball is finally on its way to playing in the new$250 million basketball-friendly arena being built off BealeStreet.
It only took The University of Memphis two years to accept theGrizzlies' invitation to play at the FedEx Forum. So if you plan toinvite R.C. Johnson to your birthday party, you'd better send himan invitation a few years in advance.
Keep in mind, he will probably attend your celebration, but itmay take him a while to accept the invite. The Tiger's athleticdirector has made it clear that his name is R.C. Johnson, not RSVPJohnson.
Despite the long wait, our director of athletics should beapplauded for getting the best deal possible in this situation. TheTigers needed to make the move for the good of the school, team andcity. The Tigers staying at The Pyramid would have made as muchsense as any fan staying in their seat during the final seconds oflast week's victory over Louisville.
If the Tigers decided to stay at The Pointed House, this week'scolumn would have been about how A.C. Slater would be a betterathletic director than R.C. Johnson.
But our athletic director made the move to the FedEx Forumhappen In the process, he made a decision that inevitably set a newstandard at The U of M. It appears that our University has a newofficial stance on deadlines.
Pull out your U of M thesaurus and add "extension" as a synonymfor "deadline."
You see, the Memphis Grizzlies are the official buildingoperators of the FedEx Forum. The Grizzlies set Jan. 31, 2004, asthe deadline for the deal to be complete. But, on behalf of TheUniversity, R.C. announced that he did not recognize the deadlineas something the Tigers had to follow. The U of M saw it only asthe Grizzlies' deadline. R.C. stood his ground because he thoughtmore time was needed. President Shirley Raines supported him. SoSuper Bowl Eve came and went, no deal was made.
It was not until 11 days after the deadline that the deal wasofficially made to move Tiger basketball to the Forum.
R.C. successfully took a stand for everyone stuck within theboundaries of a deadline. His actions can now become an inspirationto all procrastinators at The U of M.
Feel free to throw away the syllabi for all your classes. You donot need them anymore. The due dates on your syllabus are just yourprofessor's deadlines. If you disagree with the cut-off dates, youcan make your own. Shirley will surely support you.
I know I will.
