Savage Words: Last week’s game in Sioux Falls brought more than football

Covering games at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls is always fun, especially when you’re on the visitor’s side as it was Friday when the Lynx played Washington.

The view over there is cool with the Denny Sanford Premier Center overlooking the stadium. As dusk falls and the Premier Center lights up, it’s a cool view. It’s almost a tad imposing seeing that building come to life as it gets darker.

And darkness served the area well last Friday.

When Brandon Valley football games end, I wait for head coach Matt Christensen so I can interview him about the game. There’s usually a few other media members milling around, and we all take our turns firing dumb questions at him.

On Friday, I first grabbed Levi Veskrna when the team huddle broke postgame. He just got done running all over the Warriors, and getting his take on the game was warranted.

When I was done with the senior running back, I made my way over to Coach Christensen. Just as I turned on my recorder and started my first, question, there was a massive fireworks bang that startled me. I think it startled everyone.

But that first bang wasn’t it. Coach Christensen and I stood at about the 20-yard line on the south end of the field, and the fireworks kept going, and going, and going.

And going.

I did the entire interview with Coach and it sounded like the Fall of Saigon in 1975 in the background. The sky lit up with explosions and the fireworks just kept going.

And going.

I was finally done with the interview, but the fireworks weren’t.

I walked from the 20-yard line all the way down the field to the north end, under the scoreboard, through the locker room building, down a long row of parking spots, and the fireworks kept going.

And going.

I snaked my way through the parking lot on the north side of Howard Wood as and the rockets were definitely red glaring in front of me … still.

I finally figured out where they were coming from as I made the turn onto Western Avenue and away from the Premier Center as it towered next to me. The fireworks were coming from centerfield at Sioux Falls Stadium. The Canaries had just finished their game – well, not JUST finished because the fireworks had been going for several minutes – and it’s the team’s Friday night tradition to host a fireworks show after the final out.

But this wasn’t just some fireworks show. Good lord, it went on forever.

And it was impressive, even from a guy trying to conduct an interview within earshot.

I talked to John Gaskins on Saturday about it. John is a longtime radio and TV personality in Sioux Falls, and he’s currently charged with the Canaries’ Gameday Entertainment.

He said Friday’s fireworks show wasn’t different from any other Friday night. The Canaries always host a long, captivating show. 

“It’s not your garden-variety fireworks show,” he said. “We rip it off pretty good every Friday. We want people to have the same reaction you did.”

By the time the Bird Cage was at a distance in my rearview mirror, the explosions finally stopped. I could see a hue of smoke now bouncing off the horizon. 

It made me happy to live in a place like Sioux Falls and Brandon, where entertainment opportunities abound all the time. I told John that it was a “prideful moment” as I drove away, knowing so many people from Brandon and Sioux Falls had just been witness to such a cool event.

On Sunday morning, when the ringing finally left my ears, I listened to the Coach Christensen interview again. I smiled as I transcribed it and put his words on my laptop. The bangs and explosions were just as loud on my recorder.

There was even a, “Oh geez,” that I said as one went off.

If you’ve got a free Friday night next summer, go check out a Canaries game. 

And don’t forget sunglasses and some earplugs. Unless you want to soak it all in. 

I did, from the football field, the locker room, the parking lot and my car.

It just kept going, and was indeed impressive.