Shed a Little Light
Change is hard for me. Obviously, my employer has remained the same since 1978 upon college graduation.
So, when I attended the Texas high school state basketball championships in San Antonio last week, I was reluctant to buy in to a different venue and format away from the Final Four in Austin that I had experienced when my daughters played.
And yet, none of those changes seemed to warrant a call to arms on the UIL office.
Why?
We adapt, especially when we know that the most important aspect of the experience remains the same.
And what is that common experience, whether in Austin or San Antonio?
Community.
Players, coaches, four-yearold sons of an assistant coaches, eighth graders serving as a manager, administrators, school board members, grandmothers on walkers, eight-month-old babies who have no clue, loud aunts, or alumni with no relations just wanting to watch their alma mater.
All of these come together for a singular reason.
Community.
The spirit of pulling together is unlike any other human phenomena, I think. It’s why we love the Olympics every four years, no matter what country hosts them.
It’s why we drive to out-of-town ballgames on school nights.
It’s why we spend an entire afternoon sitting through five one-act plays in the spring to see how other schools measure up against our production of “Arsenic and Old Lace.”
Both Jayton and Turkey Valley communities were well represented in the Alamodome on March 12. Both teams went home happy, draped with gold medals and hoisting a big ol’ triangular/trapezoid trophy that proclaims them the 2026 State Champions.
No one seemed to care that Austin was 80 miles north on I-35.
I remember years ago when the University of Texas got a regional baseball bid in June, meaning that state baseball games would have to be relocated for some classifications. Smaller schools’ semifinals and finals were moved to Dell Diamond in Round Rock, home of the Round Rock Express, Triple-A minor league affiliate of the Texas Rangers.
I also remember some players’ family members being so angry with the UIL that their sons were being denied a chance to enjoy the university’s facilities.
They felt the 1A schools were being targeted and that their state experience was somehow diminished. Facebook posts, angry emails, and calls were made.
It made me sad that they made the state experience about something that was actually fairly superficial. It wasn’t as if their teams were being sent to an Austin high school field or a noname neutral site.
Community was going to show up wherever those games were played.
Thank you to the black and gold from Kent County and the red and blue fans driving all the way from Briscoe and Hall Counties. You and the players and coaches showed up, and that’s what matters.
P.S. Parking at the Alamodome was a heckuva lot easier than parking at The Dome.