Why I Love Quiz Bowl

I've always been a fan of quiz bowl, but my appreciation has been growing for more than a few reasons.

First, while I love the passion and enthusiasm of fans at sporting events, it's a little refreshing to be at a contest where the spectators are required to be silent.

Secondly, the qualities that make for a good quiz bowl competitor are in short supply in our culture. A good quiz bowler has to know stuff. Increasingly our society seems to reject the idea that it is helpful to know facts. More and more we reward ignorance from folks who enjoy putting their ignorance on full display. Also, a good quiz bowler needs to be curious. Curiosity is a trait that is in short supply. In spite of the level of ignorance, we see folks rising in prominence who apparently believe they know it all. A dedicated quiz bowler is constantly seeking to increase their knowledge. More than anything, I appreciate quiz bowl because in quiz bowl knowledge is power. Correct answers and correct answers only score points, and while I do know of an instance of a fourteen year old girl bullying a judge into giving her a point, volume and bravado are typically not rewarded.

I have hopes that our society will self correct and begin to value knowledge and competency over ignorance and noise, but at the rate we are going there may be too few knowledgeable and competent folks left.

A time may soon come when quiz bowlers are society's only hope.

Buzzer Beater

"How hard would it be to call a fifth foul on one of those kids?"

I asked the question to myself as opposing players were introduced at a junior high boy's game. The host team only had five players total. As farms get bigger and families get smaller, population decline in rural areas creates interesting dynamics in schools. Two of the players on the team were girls.

Soon it was evident that the opposing point guard- pony tail and all- was an athlete. Her crossover kept defenders off balance and her passes to team mates were crisp, although most times they quickly passed it back to her. She had the best shot on the team, maybe on both teams.

The game was lopsided early, but there was an element of suspense. How would she hold up for four quarters?

I've used this space before to highlight how small schools are good for kids because each one is known and valued. Obviously a basketball team with only five members must value each kid, regardless of ability. But this extends beyond the team and even beyond the school.

Small communities are great about knowing and valuing each other's kids. You want your school to come out on top, but over the course of the seasons you get to know the names on the other rosters pretty well, and you wish them the best too.

This game was the perfect example. Throughout the game both teams' fans held their breath each time the point guard shot. Late in the game when it looked like she might be injured after a collision, both sets of fans expressed concern and applauded when she resumed play.

With less than a minute left, the Norborne Pirates led by more than thirty. The point guard had scored all but one of her team's points. As the final second ticked off the clock she threw up a three pointer. When it fell through the net, she was the game's leading scorer.

Everyone applauded.

Eight

"Some people try to find things in this game that don't exist, but football is only two things - blocking and tackling."

-Vince Lombardi

Twenty three Missouri schools play eight man football. 

At the fundamental level the game is not any different than the game I played, but the differences sure make a difference. Eight players on a field that is forty by eighty yards. The games are fast paced and can get lopsided early. In eleven man football having a fast kid who can get to the corner or behind the secondary is an advantage. In eight man, the corner is closer to the center and the secondary is usually two line backers who start the play a couple quick steps from behind the line of scrimmage. Tough, disciplined play from the line will win a game, but if it's combined with speed- look for a running clock. 

The game is a little different and so is the atmosphere. Bean and corn fields usually stretch to the horizon. There are chat tracks and trains within ear shot. The crowds, some watching from tailgates or utility vehicles, are small but passionate and knowledgable. Eight man is played in farm country, so you're as likely to see a McMansion driving to the game as a free safety or a team lining up to kick an extra point. 

“You must learn how to hold a team together. You must lift some men up, calm others down, until finally they’ve got one heartbeat. Then you’ve got yourself a team.”

-Bear Bryant

I spent most of this season watching the game on the same field that produced Max Lane, who played for the Patriots' 1996 Super Bowl Team. I watched some great athletes play this season, but I also watched young men of all abilities learn to support each other and overcome challenges. I watched communities support their kids, including the band and cheerleaders from the national anthem till the end of the fourth quarter. I also watched something that I didn't see as much in my own experience as a third string tight end who was small but really slow- one of over five hundred in my graduating class. All sports build camaraderie, but in eight man the platoon mentality is magnified.

What I saw in eight man football is a lot like what I see in the small schools that produce the teams. I see communities where each kid is known and valued.

That difference is valuable in itself. 

Vote For Left Fielders Not Lawyers

"Baseball is like church. Many attend. Few understand," Leo Durocher.

As a ball player who retired after the eighth grade, about the same time cuts were introduced, I am admittedly the type of fan Durocher described. When I watch our high school baseball team play, I know I don't appreciate fully the game's intricacies. I do, however, recognize one quality of the competition I appreciate a great deal: the opportunity it presents to develop leadership skills.

The character grown inside the chalk and in the dugout serve us well when we find them in our leaders. If given the option between a lawyer and a left fielder in the next election, I would choose the latter.

Responding to Forces Beyond Your Control
To borrow from Yogi Berra, leadership is about ninety percent being proactive, and the other half is reacting. The same is true of baseball. Baseball is a game of initiated strategy, but it is also a game of responses. Ballplayers are constantly required to control how they respond. JV hitters must respond to strike zones that grow as the umpires feel it getting late early (last Berraism...maybe). Fielders must respond to bad hops. Everyone must respond to the weather. Being a high school baseball fan in early spring requires the preparation skills of camping.

High school baseball players learn how to respond with efficiency and poise. If only our elected leaders could do the same.

Mentoring
True leaders know how to mentor. They aren't so afraid of losing their spot in the line up that they won't help a back up. True leaders also know how to allow themselves to be mentored. They're humble enough to learn. I see this in baseball.  This is particularly true for small school high school baseball where underclassmen fill starting varsity positions, and the amount of facial hair seems to have a correlative effect on position in the line up. Older players have no choice but to invest in younger players.  Their success depends on their success. Younger players have no choice but to accept the fact that pressure really is a privilege. This is how leaders are born.

I've watched a lot of baseball this spring. I don't know if I really know the game any better, but I think I understand the value of the game better for watching.

As a wise man once said "You can observe a lot by watching."