Savage Words: One photo brought both sorrow and encouragement

Everyone’s got a different story about the fire at First National Bank Field last week.

I’ll be the first to acknowledge that many people in Brandon and Valley Springs – from players, to coaches, to parents, to sponsors, and many more – have a deeper connection to the facility that I do.

But I’ve spent my fair share of time out there over the last nine years, watching a ton of games. 

A ton.

I didn’t even know about the fire until late Tuesday afternoon of last week, hours after the event occurred. I got a call from Jill Meier, the owner/editor at the Brandon Valley Journal. She asked me if I’d heard the big news out of Brandon yet.

I had not.

She told me, and like everyone else associated with the stadium, I didn’t want to believe it.

I actually couldn’t believe it.

I immediately jumped online to see if I could find out more information. I’m sure you did the same. I almost thought it was AI at first, looking at the early photos of the damage.

But talking with Jill, I knew this was no joke, not Artificial Intelligence. It was real, and it was a gut-punch. Again, the event was a bigger gut-punch to many others, but still, I felt a tingle in my belly that wasn’t great.

As it goes with life, I guess, the events of last Tuesday kind of escaped my mind for a bit. The busy day, the non-important things we all stress about, consumed the rest of my day.

And, I forgot about the fire.

That was until Tuesday night when I did some work on my Journal assignments for the week.

I’m not a photographer, never claimed to be. Every once in a while, I’ll get something good for the paper. But my strengths – and I’ll be first to admit it – is in writing the content, not necessarily photographing it.

But occasionally, I’ll capture something pretty good in my lens. And whenever I do, I save the shot in a folder of the photos I’m proud of. Throughout the year, I change my desktop image on my computer to one of those saved photos.

On Tuesday, I opened my computer to see that current photo – one that put a lump in my throat. It’s a photo of a Legion baseball game this year between Brandon Valley and Sioux Falls Post 15 East from June 25.

I shot it from the riser in centerfield, which was put up for last year’s state amateur tournament. I didn’t know it at the time last summer, but that little riser offers a great view of the game, and it results in more than a few solid photos.

The shot in question is of Brandon Valley’s Brayden Knutson delivering a pitch, the ball still in his right hand. The SF East batter is already raising his left foot in preparation for Knutson’s delivery.

I always thought that the juxtaposition of Knutson still holding the ball while the batter was already preparing his swing was an interesting perspective.

But as I looked at the photo last Tuesday night, I couldn’t help but focus in on the grandstands, and the people sitting in them. The fans were enjoying a game, a game that will no longer be watched from those same grandstands. 

Those grandstands will be gone now, having forever overlooked their last game.

As crummy as that made me feel, I was also rejuvenated and encouraged as ever last week when I talked with players, coaches and BVBA board members when it came to talks of rebuilding.

I was around when First National Bank Field first opened nine years ago. It was inspiring then to watch a community come together and build one of the best baseball stadiums in South Dakota.

I’m doubly inspired to see what they’re going to do now. Because from what I know about the people in charge, FNB is coming back, stronger than ever.

And I can’t wait to make Opening Day next spring the new cover shot on my computer desktop.