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This global warming and the\u00a0end of the football season has really got me down.\u00a0I\u2019m trying to make the transition. I really am. But it\u2019s like going from filet mignon to Taco Bell, trading in the Lexus for a Pinto.<\/p>\nThis global warming and the\u00a0end of the football season has really got me down.\u00a0I\u2019m trying to make the transition. I really am. But it\u2019s like going from filet mignon to Taco Bell, trading in the Lexus for a Pinto.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s like moving from a three bedroom beach house in Newport to a studio apartment in Norco. Not that there\u2019s anything wrong with Norco. \u00a0<\/p>\n
And not that there\u2019s anything wrong with basketball. It\u2019s just that it\u2019s not\u2026well\u2026 football. There\u2019s no build up, no anticipation, no tension and really no excitement.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve once dated Eva Longoria but you end up with Roseanne Barr\u2026 well you get the drift.<\/p>\n
One weekend I was covering the Southeast and Mid-Valley Division CIF football championship games in stadiums that were standing room only \u2013 close to 5000.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A few days later (last week) I was at a basketball tournament with about 20 other fans. Yeah okay 20 might be an exaggeration. It was more like 10.<\/p>\n
You could literally hear every instruction the coach shouted to his players. You could hear the basketball dribbling, the ball bouncing off the rim on missed shots. Occasionally you could hear a fan yelling encouragement, \u201cLet\u2019s go Johnny, play defense!\u201d<\/p>\n
If you closed your eyes you would think you were at a summer pick up game at Live Oak Park.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not that the players and coaches weren\u2019t working hard. It\u2019s not that they weren\u2019t doing everything in their power to win. You could tell that they cared. It\u2019s just that nobody else did.<\/p>\n
This is nothing new. High School basketball has been this way, especially here in the San Gabriel Valley, for a quite a few years.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s only getting worse. Interest in basketball seems to be waning even while I write this.<\/p>\n
Why? There are several reasons \u2013 inconvenient tip off times, unavailability of rosters, and lack of administrative support to name a few.<\/p>\n
Last week I was snapping pictures at a game while standing at the north end of the court on the baseline beneath the basket. I wasn\u2019t in anybody\u2019s way. When a player came my way I would quickly move. The officials had even begun to make small talk with me as they recognized me as a reporter.<\/p>\n
After about 15 minutes of taking shots, an administrator approached me and asked me who I was. I showed him my CIF credential and identified myself as a reporter. But after several more questions he told me to move away from the baseline and over to the sideline, much farther from the action. Mind you there was nobody there. The bottom tiers of stands weren\u2019t pulled out and yours truly and Mr. Administrator were the only ones on the floor while the rest of the fans were in the balcony.<\/p>\n
I did as I was told without argument but it was just another example of why basketball suffers. This guy was more concerned with my position on the floor than why there were 10 people watching a tournament game. And he wonders why the coverage is lacking.<\/p>\n
Football will always be king. There\u2019s no changing that. But here are five things that CIF and the schools can do to make it a little better.<\/p>\n
1. Move the start of the season to January: In December everybody\u2019s mind is still on football. Wait until the gridiron is completely clear until tipping off. If it means canceling a Christmas classic so be it. Nobody is going anyway. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n 2. Start all games\u00a0at 7:00 pm: Football does it and those games last an hour longer. Allow the parents time to get to the games.\u00a0Teachers and coaches may have to stay a little later to lock up but\u00a0attendance numbers will double. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n 3. Have the cheerleaders attend all games: It increases enthusiasm and the players would love the encouragement. You never see them blowing out a football game. At the tourney last week there wasn\u2019t one in sight.<\/strong><\/p>\n 4. Announce\u00a0the starting five before the game: It helps to build the excitement of the opening tip off and lets the fans know who\u2019s who.<\/strong><\/p>\n 5. Realign the divisions to parallel football. Create the\u00a0Southeast Division, Mid-Valley etc. It\u2019s nice for the locals when Temple<\/strong> City<\/strong> makes the playoffs. But the excitement is quickly diminished when they learn they have to drive out to Avalon.<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s my principle.<\/p>\n