Category: News and Views
http://www.gazette.net/stories/092805/montcol164538_31899.shtml
Field hockey is one of many high school sports in the county that deserve more public support.
While attending a varsity field hockey game on Sept. 14, players on the field stopped playing at least once because of a whistle blown on an adjacent field where the football team was practicing.
The whistles continued throughout the varsity game. I found this to be disrespectful to the young women who have dedicated a lot of time and energy to this great sport. Had it been someone blowing a whistle in the stands at a football game, they would have been told to stop and⁄or escorted from the field.
On the same day, girls’ soccer games were postponed after a brief downpour in the mid-afternoon. The games would have not started for more than two hours after the rain ended. The soccer teams play on the sacred football field, which, rumor had it, was being protected from soccer damage.
Whether the rumor is true or not, the fact that people were thinking that is another indication of how the emphasis on football seems to have made all other sports secondary. Of course I realize there are many complicating factors such as the large size of football teams, their equipment, etc., but it is also pretty easy to rationalize that in order to play varsity-level soccer and field hockey, a better field surface is required than that for football.
This leads me to a series of challenges for high school administrators, students, parents and everyone in the community. There are a lot of great sporting events happening at a high school near you featuring highly skilled and talented young women and men competing in sports other than football.
Friday night football games can draw more than 3,000 spectators. Field hockey and soccer barely draw 100.
First, I challenge school administrators to publicize dates and times for all home varsity sports in a prominent location near the school (a leadership project if I ever heard of one).
Further, I challenge administrators to allow all varsity sports to use the best field available and schedule games at times more conducive to attracting spectators (3:30 p.m. varsity field hockey games, for example, don’t work well for a most of the community).
Second, I challenge the members and coaches of high school football teams to support the other varsity sports the way the other student-athletes support them: Go to their games.
Finally, I challenge the entire community, especially those of you who have, will have or have had children participating in any sport. Check out an exciting competition in softball, baseball, track, volleyball, soccer, field hockey or any of the great spectator sports at the high school near you. The student-athletes participating in all high school sports need and appreciate our support.
It's all about football, fuck the rest, I didn't get to play hocky.
fuck you, jared. Your just mad you didn't get to play a cool sport like field hockey.