Man, you guys missed a great basketball game
Published 12:12 pm Friday, February 28, 2020
A few Sports Chatters ago, I expressed some things about the way fans should act at a basketball game and I couldn’t believe how many positive responses I got from that piece.
I know that basketball is down to its final games of the season but there is something else that I would like to share some thoughts on and this time it’s not at the fans but at the student body and I think it covers not only basketball but all sports at all levels from elementary to college.
It has been a great basketball season and two of the best boys games of the season took place on Tuesday evening at the Dyer Dome at Sullivan East High School.
In the first game, Sullivan East sent their head coach, John Dyer, off in style as in the consolation bracket the Patriots hit a last-second shot that gave East the third-seed out of District 1-AA as they defeated Unicoi County.
The fans saluted Dyer as he came to the student body section and they celebrated a win one last time inside the gym that bears the long-time head coach’s name.
The second game was between the Cyclones and Sullivan South – two teams that had fought, scratched, and clawed in two games during the regular season with each coming out with a victory on their home courts.
It was expected to be another fierce battle to see if the Cyclones could take their second consecutive district title or if South would finally break through with a title they have chased after for quite a while.
But something was a little different in this game as earlier through the pages of social media including Snap Chat and Facebook, a challenge had gone out encouraging all Sullivan County schools student bodies to unite against the Cyclones.
One had to figure that it wouldn’t take long for something like this to transpire especially since the recent success that Elizabethton had experienced, especially on the football field.
You see, it’s not much different in sports as it is in life as when people become jealous when others around them begin to experience success whether its a promotion on the job or perhaps a change that leads to something better in one’s life.
The first thing that happens is that people begin to listen to others talk and the jealousy just continues to grow and rub like small pebbles that get in the bottom of your shoes when walking until they chafe your feet.
That was exactly what happened on Tuesday evening as social media’s message was received and it was evident as soon as one pulled into the parking lot at East and saw the number of cars unlike I have seen at the school in recent tournaments.
What resulted was two games being played out with one taking away from the other as the one game that should have been front and center was overshadowed by the other one- the one taking place between the two student bodies separated by a basketball court.
Let me first say this – I love, love, love to see students fill the stands from the bottom row to the top to show support for their schools. That is why sports exist anyway to show one’s school spirit and to back your friends.
However, when these games become a place that turns into a match to see who can hurl the most insults and the action on the floor is being lost to these actions then it has gotten out of hand at some level.
Once again, I am not downing these kids – they are great kids who get caught up through the demons of social media and this is the end result.
My hat is off to the administrators from the schools as it was picked up on and kudos to all those men and women from the respective schools who came to help make sure things didn’t escalate to something much worse than a few words being exchanged.
It did take away from a great game that went double overtime with South coming back from a double-digit deficit to win the title. Both teams left everything and I mean everything on the court in this one.
It was a shame that a lot of the kids in attendance missed the game. More than likely they woke with sore throats and a headache from yelling at the other side.
It didn’t stop there either as sadly a couple of parents felt the need to approach the Cyclone student body complaining that the Elizabethton student body was saying bad things toward the other side.
Of course, my mind went to a scripture in the Bible that reads something like this in Matthew 7:3 ‘And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?’
In other words, how can you complain about something someone is doing when you are doing the same thing. It went both ways in both instances.
It was a distraction for the fans and the players as often the players on the bench were caught up in the fray going on in the stands.
It actually might have hurt the Cyclones just a tad because their student body was directly behind the bench and in the first overtime Coach Lucas Honeycutt tried to call timeout but the referees either didn’t hear him or ignored him.
The referees are another whole column by the way as I think the jealousy has even trickled down to them as well at the success of the Cyclone programs.
My word of advice in all these words is simple. Students enjoy your time in school and have a blast but do not allow what others want to do to alter who you are or who you represent.
You are representing not only yourself but when people look at you they not only see you but they see your family, your school, and even your community.
Shout your lungs out for your team each time they score and encourage them when they are down but don’t be drug into starting a war of words with opposing students that doesn’t do anything to enhance the game but brings only a bad light to your school and community.
Elizabethton is a great school in a great community and students need to remember that you have been blessed with great academics, great coaches and administrators, and a community that has always had your back.
The reason that others often come at you is because of envy of what you have been blessed with and not at you personally. Remember not to get caught up in these types of efforts to throw shade at you but relish it because you are part of something special and others want what you have.
Cyclone Pride, Bulldog Pride, Ranger Pride, Warrior Pride, and Highlander Pride – this community is blessed lest we forget that.
We have great kids, great schools, great administrators and teachers. Remember that and represent with all you have in a positive and reactive way that promotes that you are someone special and don’t have to lower your standards to others around you.
Let us all stand tall and stand proud of our community.
