Deep Down, We Knew ... And It Still Vacuums*
April 3, 2020 at 2:39 a.m.
Deep Down, We Knew ... And It Still Vacuums*
By Mark Howe-
Thursday, in a statement far more brief than its impact, the IHSAA did what had to be done; cancelling the spring sports season.
And it truly sucks. (* – I wasn’t sure the boss would like the word “sucks” in a headline, but this whole thing with the coronavirus does.)
I commend the IHSAA for holding on to hope as long as humanly possible, and its announcement came within a couple of hours after Gov. Eric Holcomb closed school buildings while education continues electronically and via the US?Postal Service. Again, there really weren’t a lot of alternatives.
There’s a lot of computer games out there, but I’ve not seen one for high school sports. So no simulations to tide us over until fall.
It’s bad for high school seniors, who look like they may have to have a drive-through high school graduation (it might be kinda cool to let each senior set up a booth in the parking lot and let people come through in cars to check things out.) Hard to say whom, but some of these student-athletes needed a good spring to help secure sports-related scholarships.
It sucks that there will be no come-from-behind wins, no dog piles, no heartbreaking losses, and no trophy-hoisting. At this point, it hurts that there will be no late-night bus rides, no stopping for a quick meal at a Dairy Queen or other drive-through restaurant, and no Senior Day/Night celebrations.
No freshmen in their first varsity competitions, no pushing toward personal bests, no “did you record that” moments to post online.
It all went away for good, officially Thursday but in reality three weeks ago.
Make no mistake, the first Friday night after the restrictions are lifted will be epic. People will flood to places like restaurants, golf courses, lakes, bowling alleys ... really anywhere people have fun together.
And shortly thereafter, we will have sports to cheer. In August, I believe high school sports will return with more enthusiasm than ever, because what we’ve taken for granted since any of us can remember will have been gone and returned to us.
On Aug. 21, The Warsaw Tigers travel to Huntington North to start high school football season. Manchester hosts North Miami, Triton travels to South Central - Union Mills, and Whitko will host Prairie Heights.
Tippecanoe Valley and Wawasee still have holes in their schedules for that date, according the JohnHarrell.net. Hmmmm ...
It might be a great thing to treat homecoming games as a de facto Senior Night for spring sports. That would provide a chance to hear the cheers one more time, but obviously not everyone would be able to attend. In that regard, there is no perfect solution.
But make no mistake, we will get through this, and we will be better than we were before.
There’s a lot to which we can look forward. We may as well look ahead, as the present, well, you know ...
Thursday, in a statement far more brief than its impact, the IHSAA did what had to be done; cancelling the spring sports season.
And it truly sucks. (* – I wasn’t sure the boss would like the word “sucks” in a headline, but this whole thing with the coronavirus does.)
I commend the IHSAA for holding on to hope as long as humanly possible, and its announcement came within a couple of hours after Gov. Eric Holcomb closed school buildings while education continues electronically and via the US?Postal Service. Again, there really weren’t a lot of alternatives.
There’s a lot of computer games out there, but I’ve not seen one for high school sports. So no simulations to tide us over until fall.
It’s bad for high school seniors, who look like they may have to have a drive-through high school graduation (it might be kinda cool to let each senior set up a booth in the parking lot and let people come through in cars to check things out.) Hard to say whom, but some of these student-athletes needed a good spring to help secure sports-related scholarships.
It sucks that there will be no come-from-behind wins, no dog piles, no heartbreaking losses, and no trophy-hoisting. At this point, it hurts that there will be no late-night bus rides, no stopping for a quick meal at a Dairy Queen or other drive-through restaurant, and no Senior Day/Night celebrations.
No freshmen in their first varsity competitions, no pushing toward personal bests, no “did you record that” moments to post online.
It all went away for good, officially Thursday but in reality three weeks ago.
Make no mistake, the first Friday night after the restrictions are lifted will be epic. People will flood to places like restaurants, golf courses, lakes, bowling alleys ... really anywhere people have fun together.
And shortly thereafter, we will have sports to cheer. In August, I believe high school sports will return with more enthusiasm than ever, because what we’ve taken for granted since any of us can remember will have been gone and returned to us.
On Aug. 21, The Warsaw Tigers travel to Huntington North to start high school football season. Manchester hosts North Miami, Triton travels to South Central - Union Mills, and Whitko will host Prairie Heights.
Tippecanoe Valley and Wawasee still have holes in their schedules for that date, according the JohnHarrell.net. Hmmmm ...
It might be a great thing to treat homecoming games as a de facto Senior Night for spring sports. That would provide a chance to hear the cheers one more time, but obviously not everyone would be able to attend. In that regard, there is no perfect solution.
But make no mistake, we will get through this, and we will be better than we were before.
There’s a lot to which we can look forward. We may as well look ahead, as the present, well, you know ...
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