As noble as all that may be, current reality is far different:
• You saw it at Welcome Stadium on Sunday night, Sept. 6, where Virginia Union hammered the undersized, non-scholarship Marauders 45-0 in the fifth annual Dayton Classic.
• You saw it in the run-up to this season when, rather than expansion plans, Winslow had to deal with more pressing reality like redoing the “potholed and uneven” field at CSU’s McPherson Stadium that he felt was “unsafe for football.”
He gave the dressing room a facelift, adding new carpet and a paint job and fixing showers that “either scalded or froze you.”
• But the biggest reality wake-up comes today when he plans to join sports information director Ken Marshall in the dressing room to scrub the old, rusted and stained trough urinals.
“I’ve got a pair of rubber gloves and I’m going to help him,” Winslow said. “They didn’t play football at CSU for eight years, and when they opened the program back up, they did it without a lot of attention sometimes. The dressing room has to be a place the players feel pride in.
“When I took the job, I had high expectations, but when I got into it, I realized, ‘Wow. I’ve got to get down there in the weeds and deal with things.’ Regardless, I promised the guys a great sports experience, and I’m going to try to provide that in ways big and small.
One of the most ambitious ventures — after hiring new coach E.J. Junior, the former Alabama All-American and NFL veteran — was an upgrade in the schedule that right now looks quite daunting.
At the end of the season, Winslow will make another evaluation of dreams and reality. He is putting together a feasibility plan for the board of trustees and CSU president John Garland.
“One thing I do know,” he said. “The team is in good hands with Coach Junior — though I would imagine some of the challenges probably seem a little greater to him right now, too.”
And that made for a memorable scene some 30 minutes after the game had ended. The field was already deserted, except for Junior who stood alone near the 50-yard line, glaring off in the distance, his back to the scoreboard which still burned with the 45-0 rout.
That’s when Winslow approached, put an arm around him and quietly said something.
Maybe he was talking football dreams. Maybe he was mentioning he had an extra pair of rubber gloves.
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