THE CIRCUMSTANCES venture into "don't ask" territory, but I witnessed members of opposing softball teams dancing the Macarena over the weekend, during a long break in the action.
I instantly wondered how many ladies on the Marshall and Alabama-Birmingham teams were even born when that craze gripped America. I shouldn't admit this, but I knew that was 1995 without looking it up.
In 1995, Marshall football was seen on WSAZ, Channel 3, with home games usually at 7 p.m. Conference USA was in its infancy and I declined to pay extra for call waiting on my push-button telephone. We still had answering machines!
Now, Marshall is in finishing its 12th season in that C-USA, which has five schools that weren't even playing football in 1995. Finding the right channel - or device - to watch games is half the fun.
To write about it is no fun. Getting the correct outlet for an upcoming football game is cause for relief. Deciphering who owns what and who airs what can be elusive.
C-USA's TV landscape is becoming more convoluted - so much so, you'll be able to find games this fall on Twitter!
What the heck. Isn't that where a presidency was born?
Let's go back to the future of the soon-to-be-former American Sports Network, which carried six Thundering Herd games last year.
ASN remains on cable (Suddenlink 125) and over-the-air digital (channel 11.2), and will do so under a new Stadium name. Sinclair Broadcast Group still owns the venture, but has brought in a new managing partner in Silver Chalice, which operates internet-based Campus Insiders and 120 Sports.
I am already getting bored by this, so I'll skip to what it means for you: You should be able to see C-USA games on TV, including about the same number on the former ASN. More content is coming to your streaming devices, laptop, phone, etc.
(Alas, the 120 Sports app may not work on your phone. I read multiple reviews saying it won't run on Android 7.0, which I personally confirmed.)
And you'll be able to access the Stadium's digital component through Twitter, free of charge.
C-USA is undergoing a new round of negotiations for 2018, trying to recover from the collapse of rights fees in 2016. I'm hearing Sinclair wants out, which puts the whole ASN/Stadium thing in doubt, and beIN Sports wants out.
The league could land a game or two more from the ESPN empire, and all the ESPN3 games it can stand (with most of it university-produced, by the way). Expect CBS Sports to stick around; will another partner pop up?
Exposure should pick up in C-USA's next contract, but will the money perk up? Don't hold your breath.
nnn
C-USA could get a little weirder this basketball season. Do you know where Frisco, Texas, is, and what it is known for?
Frisco is roughly 28 miles north of downtown Dallas, and is known for a soccer-specific field that is home of the FC Dallas club in Major League Soccer. Also, the 20,500-seat stadium hosts the Division I FCS championship in early January, and is the new home of what was known as the Miami Beach Bowl.
(That is a C-USA tie-in game. Miami or Frisco? You make the call.)
Frisco is also home of The Star, the 91-acre headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys. That includes a 12,000-seat indoor football stadium, which is focus of a bid to host the C-USA basketball tournaments.
The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk reports the stadium can be configured to host both the men's and women's games under the same roof. The league needs a second site for the first two rounds of the women's tournament, which takes place on the same days.
The other bidders are Birmingham, which has hosted the last three years, and El Paso, which has hosted twice. Birmingham is a good location for many schools, but attendance is lousy after host UAB gets knocked out.
El Paso is hundreds of miles away from everywhere, but it is the one place the league tournament has truly been embraced. On top of that, the women's site is about 200 steps from the Haskins Center, and the mid-March weather is spectacular.
Frisco will present a unique venue and give the folks at the league office in Irving a short drive, but ... give me a break.
Contact Doug Smock at 304-348-5130 or dougsmock@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @dougsmock and read his blog at http://blogs.wvgazettemail.com/dougsmock/.