Cleveland's Troublemaking Little Brother from a Previous Marriage

I just saw one of those "You Know You're From Cleveland When..." lists that we've all seen in one shape or form. The list had over 200 entries on it. Having lived in Cleveland for a number of years, I had to read through a bunch of them.

At #103?

"You're glad Youngstown's there just to make you look a little better."

Unfortunately, this is sort of true. When you tell Clevelanders you're from Youngstown, you always get that "look" - often coupled with the other person taking a half-step backward. Try it next time you're up there (unless you're in Little Italy. Don't mention Youngstown at all if you're in Little Italy.)

My roommate in college used to think I was badass simply because I was from Youngstown. Now, that may be true, but what impressed me was that this same roommate grew up off of Lorain Avenue in Cleveland proper - which is a pretty rough area in itself. When quoting me, though, he'd always repeat what I'd said and then add "B*tch, I'm from Youngstown!" to the end of it, as if it was an implied conclusion.

He's not the only one, either. I have another friend from Middleburg Heights (out by the airport) who once told me how the YSU penguin logo was the perfect image to represent Youngstown - not because of the hat and scarf, of course, but because of the pissed-off, "don't mess with me, tough guy" look on his face.

I imagine Pittsburghers look at us much the same way (although many of them still seem to think that state line is the freaking Berlin Wall. "The world is shrinking," my ass).

Playing Catch-Up

If you're one of the three people who regularly read this page, you may have noticed that it hasn't been updated in quite a while. Unfortunately, I'll have to resort to the usual excuse for things of this nature- I've simply been too busy. Part of why I've been so busy, though, is that Mighty Mahoning has moved its headquarters from Cleveland to Youngstown. Obviously, this is a good thing- why would you want to be anywhere else?

Anyhow, there are a few Youngstown-related things to catch up on.

Chris Barzak World Domination Day

August 28 was unofficially designated "Chris Barzak World Domination Day" by our good friends over at the Oakland. The reason for this, of course, was that his first novel, One for Sorrow, was released on that day. If you've been keeping up with the other Youngstown blogs (and of course you have), you've probably already heard about this. There are lots of interesting and exciting things to say about this, and presumably, many of them have already been said. In simplest terms, though, it's something for us all to be proud of and it's another great example of what a great scene we have when it comes to the arts here. I urge you to read the book (I hear it's great, although I haven't read it yet myself) and check out Barzak's blog over at http://christopherbarzak.wordpress.com.

Something to Crow About

"County fair, county fair
Everybody in town'll be there
So come on, hey, we're goin' down there
Hey, little girl with the long blond hair
Come win your daddy one of them stuffed bears
Baby, down at the county fair."

-Bruce Springsteen, County Fair

This weekend, as you know, is the Canfield Fair, one of the supremely important items on the Youngstown area calendar every year. It's hard to articulate just why I love the fair. As a city kid, I know very little about what qualifies a pig as a blue ribbon winner or just how one can grow a pumpkin the size of a Geo. The smell of several tons of horse and cow manure is a pretty foreign and pretty awful scent for me, too. It's not that I dislike the country life, it's just that I can't relate. Regardless, I love the fair.

Of course, everyone loves the fair. It's a great tradition and one that has been more or less preserved in its proper state even though everything else around it has changed. One imagines that, when the fair first started, Canfield was a pretty remote place, made up almost entirely of farmland. Obviously, things have changed around town- but the fair really hasn't. That's reassuring for a lot of people. The fact that things are almost always the same there- sights, sounds, smells- brings back lots of memories.

YSU vs. OSU

The Penguins take on the Buckeyes this weekend in the Tressel Bowl. I'll be there, proudly clad in my Defend Youngstown t-shirt. Go Penguins.

Arts and the Yo

"Youngstown: First in Space."

I saw that written on the bathroom wall at the Draught House on Saturday night (a night where all drafts- ALL DRAFTS- were two bucks. I love this city).

Anyway, I was able to make it to the Summer Arts Festival at YSU on Sunday. Despite the life-sapping heat, attendance was great. The Festival featured artists and craftsmen from all over the country (including a number of talented people from the local area) as well as live musical performances and a great selection of ethnic food from local churches and cultural groups. Our friends from the Oakland were there, too, and they had their schedule for next season on display- one that concludes with "The Full Monty."

All in all, it was a great event. You don't often realize how important the Arts really are around Youngstown- sometimes it takes something like the Festival to remind you. We have the Butler and the McDonough museums right downtown, as well as thriving theatre and music programs at YSU. We're blessed, as a relatively small city, to not only have a semi-major performance venue like the Chevy Centre, but also to have somewhat smaller performance spaces like the recently expanded Powers/DeYor Center and the old Stambaugh Auditorium. The Oakland, of course, is particularly impressive- it's the type of place you wouldn't think you'd ever find outside of New York or Chicago, let along in Youngstown. Recently, too, there has been a bit of a resurgence in the local music scene that's coincided somewhat with downtown revitalization. In addition to being the best place to catch local bands, Cedar's has always been the haven for the more artistically inclined citizens in the area and continues to be an important part of artistic life of the city.

So, there you go- in addition to all of the other great things about Youngstown, you can add the arts to the list.

Stambaugh Stadium's 25th Anniversary

This fall, Youngstown State University will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Stambaugh Stadium. The stadium, opened in 1982, has been home to many significant memories for YSU football fans, and many of the significant moments and players from the last quarter-century will be honored this year. More detailed information on the anniversary and related promotions is available at YSUSports.com.

In addition to being the home of the Penguins for the last 26 seasons, Stambaugh has also been a city icon. Originally built as a one-sided stadium, the resulting enormity of what is now the home stands immediately made the stadium a unique and recognizable part of Youngstown's skyline. The bright lights of high school football (Stambaugh has been home to Ursuline, Mooney, and the City Series teams for several years) illuminate the city every Friday night, and the fanfare and tailgating around Penguin home games has brought people and fans into the city during even the lowest points of the last twenty-five years in Youngstown.

Over time, the stadium has been improved and modified while still retaining its identity. The renovations and changes, especially in recent years, have allowed the stadium to remain a point of pride for the university and the Mahoning Valley. A new visitor stand, new turf, a glass-walled event room, and a trophy room are just some of the major upgrades the university has made in the last few years. A far cry from old Rayen Stadium, Stambaugh is a worthy home to one of the most outstanding I-AA programs in the country.

The commemorative events and promotions planned for this year should excite a lot of local fans and encourage them to come down to campus and catch a few home games. Of course, YSU is also coming off quite an impressive season, and the excitement that creates (the kind of excitement that's been missing since the Tressel years) will do even more. Youngstown State's football program is one of the few things that unites the local area, and its success can do a lot of good for the Mahoning Valley and its residents.

Another Football Season in the Books

The Penguins, Cardinals, Irish, Falcons, Cowboys, Eagles, Raiders, Spartans, and a slew of other creatures have all packed it in for the year.

With Youngstown State's loss tonight in the I-AA Semifinals, another season of Youngstown-area football has come to a close. All in all, it was a successful year. This was undoubtedly YSU's best season since the Tressel Era, and, as always, several local high school teams went deep into the playoffs. Cardinal Mooney brought home yet another state title, and Warren JFK nearly did the same, falling short in the title game. South Range put together a strong playoff run as well, until they met up with JFK in the later rounds.

This was also the final football season for both Wilson and the Rayen School. Next year, with the opening of the new East High, the Redmen and Tiger football teams will both cease to exist. Rayen memorialized their final season by holding their last homecoming game at the old Rayen Stadium, rather than at their usual home venue, YSU's Stambaugh Stadium. (Somewhat ironically, Rayen Stadium, which hasn't been used for high school ball in years, was the longtime home of the YSU Penguin program, before Stambaugh was built in the early '80s.) The demise of these two programs really symbolizes the end of the old days of football glory in the Youngstown city school system. When Rayen closes its doors for the final time, the remaining half of the old Rayen-South rivalry will be gone. There are lots of people around town who still remember the old Rayen-South games, which usually took place on Thanksgiving Day and pitted some of the area's top players against each other in an extremely well-attended and well-publicized gridiron battle.

Of course, there still exists a strong rivalry within the city limits. I'm referring, of course, to the annual Ursuline-Mooney game, Youngstown's Holy War. Although the games have been somewhat uninteresting over the last couple of years, its still an important game that draws a strong crowd- and one that will likely swing back and forth from north to south for as long as the two schools stay open. And, with the opening of the new East High, a new rivalry will likely develop between the two public schools, both strengthened in talent from the absorption of Rayen and Wilson athletes.

Ultimately, it's only football, and few people outside of the Mahoning Valley truly care about what happens on the fields in and around the city. But, for many residents of the city, Friday nights are very important. School pride, civic pride, and bragging rights for the year are on the line week in and week out until the final games of the state playoffs and the YSU season. Few finish on a happy note. But, as with sports everywhere, there's always next year.