Jon Tevlin: DeLaSalle wins, on and off the field

The scene at DeLaSalle Friday night looked like a movie set for one of those sentimental morality tales that use football as a metaphor: Technicolor green grass under bright lights. A swollen moon rising against the cityscape. The crowd that spilled onto nearby berms and a bridge. An offense rolling up points against a slow-motion defense.

You've heard of the Field of Dreams? This is the Field of Dreams and Nightmares.

The struggle for DeLaSalle's new home field lasted nearly six years. When the school started pitching the idea, the neighbors in this historic, at times hysteric, neighborhood reacted as though "Pig's Eye" Pierre Parrant were building the city's first saloon on the river, instead of some Christian Brothers wanting a patch of grass where boys and girls could kick a ball.

Before the first soccer cleat hit the turf Thursday night, the school had to go to the neighbors, the park board, the Metropolitan Council, the City Council and face three lawsuits brought by a local group that included powerful lawyers, preservationists and the Sierra Club. Pricey condos were going up directly across the river, but they went after the kids' lawn.

DeLaSalle had its own roster of influential supporters, from former alum and politician John Derus, to City Council and Park Board members and Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan. With that many egos on both sides, you know it wouldn't be a quiet battle.

On Wednesday, Dave Thorson, vice president for development and the former DeLaSalle athletic director, stood in the bleachers, his voice booming with enthusiasm.

"It was politics at its best!" he said. "It was politics at its worst!"

Judy Blaseg, a mother of two students, was at the first meeting about the field. She still gets worked up when she recalls Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, who lives on the island, telling her daughter, "you need to move to Fort Snelling" to play sports.

"Kids should have a right to play on a field in Minneapolis," Blaseg said angrily.

Kahn supported the project until island residents started to squawk. There's a reason Kahn has been able to survive -- I'm not making this up -- 18 terms.

Foes tried every argument, from environmental to church/state issues to historical compatibility.

They lost.

Now, there's a nice strip of green grass with kids playing ball on it in place of the scruffy lot with broken wine bottles and dog poop and some cracked tennis courts.

"It's mind boggling to me there would be opposition to this," bellowed Thorson.

In the end, the school spent $530,000 on lawyers to win the argument. Thorson said the school gave $1.5 million in scholarships last year to students who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford a private school. "That money could have gone to the kids!"

In some ways, the battle continues. One neighbor takes photos of people coming and going to the field. Just Tuesday, neighbors complained about a rock at the entrance to the field that says, "Welcome to DeLaSalle," and Friday night, tow trucks circled.

"It's ridiculous," said Thorson. "A small group of people have put us through the wringer."

But it has also been an education for students.

"What they don't realize is that they taught an entire group of children how to stand up and get something done," said Blaseg. "They were moments that defined those kids."

One of them is Blaseg's daughter, Meredith Engelen, now at the University of North Carolina, where she's studying political science and journalism. "The values I picked up in this, and learning the dynamics of city government, will be important for what I want to do," said Engelen. "I learned to gather my resolve, keep working and do the right thing."

Quentin Liggin was the school's quarterback four years ago and hoped he'd play on the new field. But he's not bitter.

"It's a tremendous accomplishment," said Liggin, now a senior at Holy Cross. "I learned that if you are working for a cause that will benefit a bigger group of people, it's all worthwhile. These students can have their senior day on a new field, and to me that's more important than me being able to play on it. I'm happy for them."

"This was all about the idea of community," said Adam Bledsoe, now at Dartmouth. "I learned about perseverance and hard work."

The victory DeLaSalle won on Friday, 53-22, was temporal. The lesson, everlasting.

"A lot of kids, some from pretty tough backgrounds, have something to call their own now," said coach Sean McNemony "It's like they're suddenly relevant."

jtevlin@startribune.com • 612-673-1702