A good week

For four days each year I plan to attend the State basketball tournament in Spokane. The tradition of going to the tournament started when my brother played in 1960. My dad took us to at least one day each year sometimes two if I could convince him that all of my school work was finished. I’m not sure if he cared about that so much as let’s go watch some basketball.

I’ve had to get a ticket or a pass for every year except 1970 when our team made it to state and we got to play in the Spokane Coliseum. The building was 16 years old at that time but the history was what made the building a mecca for small town basketball. The tournament has changed over the years largely due to the changes and additions of classifications and how each classification is counted and split and also the rule changes. There will be changes again next year but for at least four years, which I was told, the tournament will remain in Spokane.

I meet people each year that are from the west side of the state and they love to go to Spokane because the Spokane Veterans Arena is a great place to watch a game and there are plenty of places to take up residency for the three or four days that your particular team is playing. Or if you are like me and many others you don’t have to have a team in the mix you just have to like basketball.

I really like to see the young families with a little one in tow. Get those kids excited about going to the state tournament. It is a good tradition to get started. I can’t imagine not going to the tournament. The bands and cheerleaders and the fans from each community are unique but still small town. Even the private schools that play there are just a small community in a larger city. They want that small town feel but are stuck in the big city because of careers but still want to make sure their kids don’t get lost in the shuffle in a large school setting.

I met up with my good friend Tug who is from the Westport area and we had a great visit. We met through a mutual friend at EWU football games. What is great is that Tug knows so many people from several west side communities and I’ve met several of them and I look forward to the visits again next year. These people are small town and care about their kids and of course hope for their success. They all dream of a state championship but making it to state is certainly a dream in itself.

We all know who won and which teams came up a bit short but there are a few things I saw that that I would like to relate now. When I got to the Arena on Wednesday the very first game was in the fourth quarter. All of the games played on Wednesday are winners move on to the double elimination part of the tournament and the loser is out. For some of these teams it is a long trek to Spokane but it’s the opportunity to play in a large venue with more fans than they would see in home or away gyms all season. Playing for a chance move on or heading back home makes these games highly competitive and very emotional. Ending a career on Wednesday of State is tough, and a four hour bus ride home makes it even tougher.

But these kids all had that dream of playing at State and even though their last game ended in a loss they still had the opportunity to play at State and a lot of other young athletes will never know what that feeling is like.

In one of the first games played one of the referees was a woman. Actually there were two women referees doing the boys’ 1B and 2B tournament. The two ladies did a great job and I was impressed. Sitting with Tug and a couple of new friends I met we talked about who we thought would be refereeing the State Championship games. The lead official of the 2B game was a young woman who must have played some ball. Tall and athletic, she kept the game in control. The refs were matched up with others during the tournament. Interestingly enough the two worst officials from my perspective were better officials when she was on the court with them. I think there is a good chance she will be reffing at the big school tournament next year.

I had a great week at the State B Tournament in Spokane but it is always good to sleep in my bed again.

— Dale Anderson is a sports columnist from Ritzville. To contact him, email [email protected].