Dayton can't catch a break

Although the city of Dayton isn't my hometown, I'm a Daytonian.  I've never lived further than 50 miles from the city, and around here, that means I have lived in the Dayton region all my life.  I currently live where we can choose either Cincinnati or Dayton local stations from our stream provider, and we chose Dayton without thinking twice.  My husband went to college at University of Dayton.  It's who we are.

And the city can not catch a break.  In February of 2019, they suffered a water main break under the river.  Water supplies were shut off to the entire city, and even parts beyond the city into the county, for over 24 hours.  Next came a hate group choosing to demonstrate downtown, and legally the city could do nothing to stop it.  The safety response costs were staggering.  At the end of May, the north and northwest end of the city was struck by EF-4 and EF-3 tornadoes.  Nearly ten months later, the rebuilding and recovering is ongoing.

As if that wasn't enough, the city was the site of a deadly mass shooting in August.  Nine lives were lost in the Oregon District shooting, and countless more were changed forever.

Through it all, the region came together.  In fact, FEMA reported they had trouble getting people in the region to file claims to which they were entitled, because neighbor was caring for neighbor.  And starting in November, we had the Dayton Flyers to cheer about.  They ended the season as the #3 team in the country with an undefeated league record, and overall 29-2.  Those two losses were both overtime losses, and one was against highly ranked Kansas. 

This is the greatest team in Dayton history.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime team.  Special doesn't even begin to describe them.  The city of Dayton was looking forward to all March was going to bring...not just for the team but for the city.  Dayton hosts the NCAA "First Four", which pumps millions into the local economy.

And then the virus struck.  Not only did the best team in Dayton history lose out on the chance to show the nation just how special they are, and not only did the fans lose the chance to cheer them on, but the Dayton economy suffered a significant financial blow with the cancellation of the tournament.

We all get it, we all understand the seriousness, and I'm not complaining about the situation or the decisions.  I just wish Dayton could catch a break.