This column is being started while I sit in “Redneck Heaven:” a skybox. The view from this particular location in Carnie Smith Stadium at Pittsburg State University is very nice. I can see the field, players, and a nice view of the entire surroundings…but this column is not about that.

Fred G. Hughes Stadium, in the 30-plus years it has been home to Lions football, has only seen improvements to the football playing surface and the track. As a student, one can appreciate those improvements. As a fan, it feels like I’m somewhat left out of the action. The fans are as big of a part of the game as the players are. We are the unnamed 12th man, one of the home advantages any team seeks to have on their side.

In renovating, I hope to see the stands moved closer to the field. Perhaps not as close as fans at Camden Indoor Stadium are for a Duke Blue Devils basketball game, but while the track is nice and does serve a purpose, no one really wants to sit on the front row and need binoculars to see the action.

I also believe that players and coaching facilities should be located in or near the stadium. It only takes one person not paying attention while driving down Duquesne Road to provide a true test of the strength of either the defensive line or the offensive line. Granted, using a Toyota Camry as a blocking device would be helpful to the defense’s work on stopping the run.

It would also help the offensive line open up a hole so that Ronnell Newman could gain about 150 yards while trying to avoid the Mack truck gaining on him. Maybe Adam Hinspeter could practice his throwing accuracy by hitting the open spaces inside most vowels that appear on the trailers attached to the Mack truck rumbling down Newman Road.

Looking at the time spent trying to locate a reasonable-sized meeting place for team meetings, responding to medical issues, and in case of inclement weather, our athletes lose valuable time having to cross the campus when they could be working on drills and fundamentals.

Marketing to corporations is extremely hard to do when all we can offer them is a bleacher seat that is cramped and too narrow. Also the media needs better facilities so they can provide better coverage. The players suffer the most. Having halftime meetings in a shed and only having one urinal and one toilet for 100 guys is not just hygienically wrong, it makes for a bigger pileup than a dog pile for a loose ball on the five-yard-line.

Now, every athlete takes a risk when they agree to compete. That is something understood by both the athlete and the University. But the question that should be asked is whether the risk of something happening while crossing the road is greater than the risk of actually competing? When athletes don’t stop to wait for the crosswalk sign to change green, they are really taking a risk when crossing the street. We don’t need to relive daily the episode of Seinfeld where George literally plays a game of human Frogger.

Other schools in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association have been making vast improvements to their stadiums. Missouri Western students approved a raise in tuition to better their facilities. And anyone who has seen Carnie Smith Stadium or Northwest Missouri State University’s Bearcat Stadium can attest to the possibilities of what we could have here.

To borrow a line from The Beach Boys, we need to be true to our school. When I attended an Oklahoma State University football game back in 2004, they were in the process of renovating Boone Pickens Stadium. I did find humor in going to the port-a-potty in the parking lot, but the support from the fans and students was still there. Improving our facilities would help all six varsity teams using Hughes Stadium. For the players and coaches, they would not have to risk their lives just to get to practice. For fans, they would enjoy better amenities and a better atmosphere to back our beloved Lions.