High School Sports….The Finality of it All

By Neil Hernandez

November 2, 2006

They say Chicago is a Bears town. It’s easy to be a Bears fan with them starting out 7-0 for the first time since the Super Bowl shuffling team of 1986. Others stay faithful to their beloved lovable losers the Chicago Cubs who just finished the season with one of the worse records in baseball and still drew about 3 million fans. Recently, some have jumped on the White Sox bandwagon who are fresh off a 2005 World Series Championship. Then there are those who love the Chicago Bulls, whose fans still have memories of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman winning all those championships for Chicago in the 1990’s.

But, Chicago is much more than a professional sports town. I was at the Lane Tech vs. Lincoln Park homecoming football game on October 6, 2006 sitting at the 50 yard line with a group of loyal Lane Tech Football fans. This group of parents and alumni have been going to Lane Tech games for years now. It was before game time. The players were still warming up, the cheerleaders were preparing their cheers and socializing with each others, Lane Tech fans filled with an inordinate amount of Myrtle and Gold clad students were streaming into the stadium, and the marching band just entered the stadium. The Lane Tech side of the stadium was completely filled with fans and this is a 3:30pm game held on a Friday.

To top it off it was about 70 degrees with a light wind and the sun was shining. The scene was site to behold on this beautiful fall day. So I mentioned to this group of Lane Tech fans how there is nothing better in this world than going to a high school football game like this and that I don’t think I’d rather be anywhere else right now. They agreed with me. One of them even said they would rather be here than a Bears game.

So what makes going to games like this so special? There are a lot of factors. One of the biggest ones is the short duration of high school. High School lasts only four years. For most athletes, their involvement in high school sports is participation on a sports team freshman or sophomore year. It’s hard to make the varsity team in a school the size of Lane Tech. The baseball team for example can only accept a certain number of players from those who try out and the same goes for most other sports. Even in a non-cut sport like track, at most major meets each team can only run a limited number of entries (usually 2). So what that means is that if you are the 3^rd or4^th best 3200 meter runner in the school, you are probably not going to run the 3200 meter race or any race. Then, even if someone makes the varsity team, there is still the question of how much playing time you are going to get. Also, the high school sports season is short. For a sport like boys golf, the regular season lasts from the end of August to the beginning of October. That’s only about 7 weeks. That’s not a lot of time. Whereas a professional football regular season plus pre-season games lasts over 20 weeks.

Then there are the games itself. A couple weeks ago was senior night when Lane played Curie for the final regular season game of the season. For a senior playing his last game at home or a senior cheerleader performing for her last time at home, this is a special moment in their lives. They’ve practiced hard for the last 4 years and now it will be ending. Their high school playing days will be over and after their last game, they will only be able to tell stories. I attended the Cross Country Northwest Sectional meet at Horner Park Wednesday, October 4, 2006. There I spoke with Joel Wojcik and Hugo Ramirez two seniors on the cross country team running their last meet on their home course. I congratulated them on their efforts so far and to really work hard these next 10 days before the city championship. I also stated how they should cherish these couple of weeks of their high school cross country season. Their season will end but the memories and habits they developed will remember for a lifetime. It is my hope that the seniors at Lane Tech remember the school motto: “Wherever you go, whatever you do, remember the honor of Lane.”

So, put fourth the effort and keep your commitment to the competitive excellence. Ultimately, the only thing you can control is your effort and commitment. If you can do that then you have done your part to help you and the team succeed.

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Senior Banner at the 2006 Homecoming Game