Things change; lessons are the same
February 29, 2012
Let's start with the obvious: High school sports have evolved a bit since 1927.
But the MHSAA Bulletin from March of that year -- dug up by one of our directors on another research pursuit -- reminds us how some of our challenges remain the same.
Below are a few excerpts from the section titled "Baseball and Sportsmanship." Keep in mind, baseball was the football and basketball of the first half of the 1900s. The 1927 New York Yankees arguably were the greatest baseball team of all-time, finishing 110-44 thanks to Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and others.
Those names alone make us think in a historical context -- which makes the parallel between today and the following that much more intriguing:
Baseball games furnish a difficult problem to schools in the matter of sportsmanship, spectator control and their education.
Many more people are familiar with the game of baseball and its rules than is true of either football or basketball. Consequently, they feel even more qualified to criticize.
In many places, absence of seating facilities bring the spectators into close proximity to players with the result that criticism of players and of the official and sometimes abusive remarks to the visiting team can occur. No school can hope to improve this situation by ignoring it.
The MHSAA Bulletin went on to cite suggestions for improvement that had been published by the Delaware association. Again, a sampling:
Treat the visiting team as guests, not as deadly enemies. Small youngsters often offend through ignorance. Educate them along this line.
Fair and impartial applause of good plays by either side should be encouraged in the student body, and the outside fans will soon fall in line.
"Razzing" or "riding" visiting players is poor sportsmanship.
Caution your boys to pay no attention to the "grandstand experts" who feel it their duty to offer suggestions as to the work of the team. They can sometimes do more harm in an hour than can be overcome in days of practice.
And a final note from the 1927 MHSAA on the subject:
An athletic contest properly staged and handled creates a favorable impression on the part of visitors toward your school and community. A game that deteriorates into a backyard squabble hurts not only the school and its executives, but the town as well.
Battle of the Fans: Blue Crew Legacy
February 18, 2012
PETOSKEY -- Directly across the gym from the Petoskey student cheering section Friday, a toddler played on the first row of bleachers.
He wasn’t paying much attention to the Northmen’s boys basketball game against West Branch Ogemaw Heights. But he was wearing a blue T-shirt that read “Future Blue Crew” -- guaranteeing he will be soon enough.
At Petoskey High, a Class A school in a town where families have lived for generations, kids grow up aspiring not just to be the athletes playing for championships -- but also the Blue Crew members cheering them on.
While the other cheering section finalists in this season’s MHSAA “Battle of the Fans” contest were officially organized, for the most part, over the last year or two, Petoskey’s Blue Crew is nearing a decade as a constant at its school’s athletic events -- and a source of community pride.
“It’s such a legacy. Eighth grade, you’re looking forward to to being even involved in the Blue Crew, ... and now that we’re all seniors, everyone is listening to us, and we just want our teams to do well,” Petoskey senior Hayley Fettig said. “That’s a big part of it. We’re here to support our teams and cheer for our teams, and be a team ourselves.”
Petoskey was the fifth and final stop on the Battle of the Fans tour to find Michigan’s top student cheering section. Over the last five weeks, MHSAA staff and members of its Student Advisory Council also visited Frankenmuth, Reese, Grand Rapids Christian and Rockford. MHSAA-produced videos of all five finalists have been posted on the MHSAAsports YouTube page. Online voting will take place Monday-Thursday on the MHSAA Facebook page (you must “like” our page to vote). The winner will be announced Friday.
For most of its basketball history, Petoskey played in its old Central Gymnasium, an arena straight from the movie “Hoosiers” which seats about 1,500 fans and turned into a giant tunnel of cheers and shouts for every home game. But late in the fall of 2002, the newly-built high school opened a much larger gym that not only holds more fans, but also is more cavernous.
A bigger room meant a need for bigger spirit. And that sparked the Blue Crew, the brain child of members of the student council, some of whose names are still thrown around the halls to this day -- although the current seniors were in elementary school when it all began.
About 140 students piled into a “whited out” Blue Crew on Friday, plus 60 more in the jazz band that plays every home game and easily could be confused for one at the college level. To the left of the Crew sat about 50 more students not yet in high school. All sub-high school students are known as “Future Blue Crew,” while teachers are “Old-School Blue Crew.”
The Blue Crew often stands larger than it did Friday -- but on this night, the junior varsity and freshman basketball teams were playing simultaneously at other sites, and the hockey team was on the road. Petoskey’s Big North Conference foes are spread throughout the northern third of the Lower Peninsula, but the Blue Crew is known for making hours-long trips and constant support.
Members of the student council still play a big part. Those 12 students, plus 10 more take a one-hour leadership class taught by former girls varsity coach Matt Tamm. His classroom is a hall of memories itself, with photos of teams going back decades. Taking up center spot on a main wall is the original Blue Crew banner including its mission and three directives for generations to come.
“When I was younger, the older kids always told us, ‘You have to watch how we do this so when you’re older, you can do it how we did it,’ senior Brad Berkau said.
“You begin to learn when you’re younger what we do and how to go about cheering the right away. Not just boasting about our team, but not putting down the other ones too,” senior Nick Godfrey added.
That “right way” includes refusing to cheer negatively. Petoskey athletic director Gary Hice said it’s been four or five years since he’s had to tell the Crew that one of its cheers was crossing the line. Counselor Karen Starkey, who helps by coordinating parents to cheer with the students, said she hasn’t seen the Blue Crew respond to an opposing cheering section’s negative chant in at least two years.
Instead, the Crew pours its energy into more memorable ventures.
Starkey was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2011, and her first chemotherapy treatment was on a game night.
She showed up in white, anticipating a white out. Instead, she found the entire Blue Crew in pink -- before receiving a group hug from the 200 or so students there supporting her as well.
“Those are the things these guys just jump out and do,” Starkey said. “It’s so not necessary, but it was just so cool.”
PHOTOS courtesy of Larry Tracy and CMA Action Photography.