Memories

My old high school has recently added a multi-million dollar addition, including a state of the art gym.  This Friday, they have invited former students, athletes, and fans to join together in celebration of the old gym where we shared many a PE class, dance, basketball game, and  pep rally.  All are encouraged to get together for one last hoop game and join hands in singing our Alma mater.  (Oddly the name of said Alma mater escapes me.  Probably because in the 6 years I spent there it was never mentioned...)

Like all former "Joe and Jane HighSchoolers", I have many fond memories of times spent in the old gymnasium.  The battles with Spa Catholic, cheerleaders back flipping down the court, sitting in the big bleachers, MM leading the "Hold 'Em, Contain 'Em" cheers.  And the heat?  Who could forget the temperature of those epic battles.  There was no opening the windows in those days.  We would jump on any advantage in our own gym!  But sitting through a game with today's players doesn't really spark nostalgia in me.  Somehow it is just not the same. 

I recently brought my young daughter to a game and was stunned at what I saw.  The gym was crowed, but with opposing fans?  The home team was trailing, the entire game?  I was struck by the total lack of pride and sportsmanship shown by both the players and fans.  What should have been an outstanding game, turned into a foul fest in which the home team could not make a shot.  They were trounced and had given up by the start of the 4th quarter.  One player may even have been sent into the game for the sole purpose of injuring an opposing player.  At least somethings never change...

By the end of the game, the fans had stopped cheering and the police were clearing the court.  I left with a feeling of disappointment and wondered how it had all changed since I last sat proudly in those stands.  So maybe a basketball game isn't the way that we should remember those great high school years...

Instead let's peg our jeans, loose our socks, unzip our jackets and head to the old gym for...  a dance.  After a brief stop at the tracks of course!  Anybody know where you can get a two liter of Bartles and James these days?