Generally speaking, I'm against media coverage of high school sports.
At that age, I think athletes should be playing for fun, for competition, for lessons about the value of teamwork and to acquire skills that might last a lifetime. I think publicity has a tendency to ruin that.
Watch one of the local TV stations on a Friday night, when kids who are on television act like they are drunk, stoned and crazy all in one tender package.
I think there is a pretty strong case that media coverage does not do much good for high school sports. But, there is an exception to every rule ... and here it is.
A couple of weeks ago, the state championships in cross country were held at a golf course in Wisconsin Rapids. The Whitefish Bay girls team participated. With about 29 runners and several dozen parents, siblings, relatives and friends, they had quite a crowd that made the trek to Rapids.
Long-time coach Mike Miller, who makes his living as the chief photographer at Northwestern Mutual, picked his top seven runners and sent them off.
After the race, they waited for the results.
And all of a sudden, there they were. In first place on the big digital scoreboard, Whitefish Bay.
Talk about pandemonium. The scoreboard kept cycling through the results, showing it over and over, and Whitefish Bay was on top, each time.
"You wouldn't believe it," Miller said. "All the parents and kids just went crazy. I thought we had a chance, but when they put it up, the shouts and the tears were amazing."
For 15 minutes, it was nothing but madness and frenzy. You couldn't find someone to hug quickly enough.
Then it happened.
"One of the parents tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to the scoreboard," Miller said. "I couldn't believe it. Arrowhead had moved to the top and we were second."
Miller rushed to the scoring area while his girls, still hugging, now did so in horror and anger and wonder and sadness and surprise.
The officials told him it was an error by the computer. They were very sorry. They were very, very sorry. It shouldn't have happened. But it did. And the results were final. Arrowhead won. Whitefish Bay was second.
"You know, they say you learn more about people in tough times than you do in the good times," Miller said. "Once they found out, the first thing my girls did, girls who are between 14 and 17, was say they had to go and shake hands with the Arrowhead girls. That was the first thing they said. The first thing."
I can't imagine how heartbroken these young women were. I've got two daughters who have always been athletes, and my heart goes out to the Whitefish Bay girls.
But here's something. Something for them to wrap their arms around and hang onto.
For 15 minutes they knew how it felt to be a champion. Something almost all of us never get a chance to do. They won the title, and they called each other champ.
That was on the field.
Off the field, their championship will last forever.
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.
This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.
Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.
