It's been a crazy couple weeks in my world. One of the high school teams I cover finished an undefeated season Monday and won the state championship. Woo hoo! Way to go, Exeter-Milligan Timberwolves! Plus, Monday was a whole lot nicer than the last couple games. The quarterfinals and semifinals were both in the single digits temperature-wise. Not the most fun to attend, let me tell you. While Monday was pretty windy, the temperature was nicer and the sun came out, which made it feel even warmer. And when you're shooting on the field at Memorial Stadium, can things get better? I submit that they cannot!
One would think there would be a bit of a break then. But alas, one is not in the cards. Concordia has already started its basketball season, and our winter sports preview comes out next week. That means high school wrestling and basketball are just around the corner, too. The good part is they're indoors.
I always look forward to the winter sports season because I get to cover wrestling. I know not all of you like wrestling, but we'll just have to agree to disagree on that. Wrestling is one of those sports that flies under the radar. The wrestlers spend just as many hours as the basketball players do, if not more in some cases, perfecting their techniques and improving their skills. It's a demanding sport, and a wrestler can't depend on a teammate to cover a mistake. It's mano a mano, as they say, and there's nowhere to hide on the mat.
I like covering basketball, too. I played basketball in high school. Well, I went out for basketball. I wasn't very good. I've never claimed to be an athlete, and watching me ply my basketball "skills" made that very evident. But I had fun on the court. I mainly played JV, which meant no pressure. If your team won, that was great. If it lost, it was JV and it didn't matter. I knew I wasn't anywhere close to varsity level, so JV was fine with me. My senior year, I got to sit on the bench for varsity, but it wasn't anywhere close to being as fun as playing at the JV level. Ah, well, one of the few regrets I have from high school.
Anyway, I love watching the improvements the kids make throughout the season. And I get to chronicle those improvements through the pictures I take and the stories I write. I just hope I do everyone justice this season. Go Bluejays, Eagles, Broncos, Clippers, Bulldogs, Timberwolves and Longhorns!
And Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
