As many people know, because I find a way to wind it into conversations, I played high school basketball at Newport High School in Bellevue (Go Knights!). We were awful as in pathetic, as in horrible, as in embarrassingly bad. We won one game and lost nineteen.
Attendance at our games was spotty, we rarely made it into the local newspaper and ESPN never really showed must interest in us either.
While working out today, looking at the little television screen in front of me for inspiration ("can a 43 year old make it in the NBA," I wonder as the calorie counter slowly clicks off calories), I see a promo for an upcoming televised double-header.....for high school basketball on ESPN this evening. What?!
I realize it is not 1986 (despite my musical tastes and sense of style) but to raise high school basketball to the level of being worthy of a national broadcast on ESPN seems to be just one more example of society making our children grow up faster and faster... and putting extreme, adult pressure on kids who should still just enjoy being part of a team. We were lucky to have enough basketballs for everyone to use. Nowadays, there are multiple assistant coaches, student trainers, flashy sweatsuits, and now television cameras showing up at regular season games. Maybe I am just jealous and I reserve the right to change my tune when my children make varsity, but shouldn't we let kids just enjoy playing the game in front of the pep band, student body and adoring parents?
