We Are The Champions...

I noticed early this season, in a game played in Warden, that the Bronco boys were wearing new basketball uniforms. There are times when it may be difficult to remember what last year’s team wore compared with this year’s group, but I noticed it right away. The team was wearing red away jerseys, not the black ones that we have grown accustom to.

Why is this even important to me?

Well, I happen to remember which team, where and when the last time red uniforms were worn by a Bronco team. It was early January 1970, in a game played in Wilbur against the Redskins. This is not a typo. That was Wilbur’s mascot back in the good old days. By the way, that was also my senior year in high school.

New uniforms were ordered that year along with warm up tops and pants, which was also the first time a Bronco team wore warm up pants. Having warm up pants was a novelty in high school basketball in 1970. So of course, we thought it was kind of cool. Unfortunately, there were only 10 uniforms ordered, home and away and 10 warm up combinations. So when we went to the state tournament in March of that year we only suited up ten players.

I bring this up for a couple of different reasons. The Bronco basketball teams both girls and boys are the academic state champions in the 2B classification this year. This is a rare feat, indeed, for both teams to achieve in the same season. I think back on those days, in 1970, and if we were to add up the GPA for the ten players on our team and divide it by five we might have been close to the 3.717 that the boys attained this year. Not sure if we would have hit the 3.898 GPA that the girls’ team accumulated, however.

These young adults need to be congratulated for their endeavors in the classroom. We often forget how much more important academics are than athletics. But we don’t go into the classroom to watch these kids take a test or debate an issue, do an algebra equation or make an oral report in a classroom of their peers.

No, we have a tendency to judge students by how they perform on the gridiron, volleyball, basketball or tennis court, track, baseball or softball diamonds.

We have often seen these student athletes play a sport and think we know everything about them. I’ve had the privilege to meet and get to know many of these kids and I feel good about their future, and mine as well, because of them.

It would be hard to argue that their accomplishments in the classroom far surpass anything they will do in the athletic world. Most, if not all, of these students will attend college and graduate with a degree. Few, if any, will play a sport at the collegiate level. I say this knowing that a few have the opportunity but only time will tell in which sport or to what degree they may achieve or even pursue that goal.

It is my hope that a lot of Bronco fans will be in attendance on Saturday afternoon. The presentation of both teams will be at halftime of the 2B girls’ state championship game sometime between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. Maybe the song “We are the Champions” won’t be blaring over the PA system for these particular championship teams but you can always hum a few bars if you like.

I know I’ll be there, I hope you are too!