By Mike McGraw
HA.com Executive Director
It was a beautiful Saturday morning. It was the kind of day tailor-made for sitting back and basking in the sun while watching really good sports. That is exactly what I did, attending the Royal Relays at Hamilton Southeastern High School.
This was a classic track & field meet, featuring seven of the top 15 girls teams in Indiana. The only thing that spoiled this morning was the thought that kept going through my mind: â??Where is everybody?â?
This outstanding competition was held in front of less than 200 people. That goes way past unfortunate — it is disgraceful. These young ladies are athletes, too. They compete just as hard AND just as well as their classmates do in the gym on a wintry Friday night.
So, why doesnâ??t anybody come to watch their efforts? And more importantly, what can be done about it?
First of all, parents — shame on you! If we teach our children to work, sacrifice, and then compete their hearts out on a Saturday, then the least they can expect from us is our attendance and applause for their efforts. If the parents and families of just 70 percent of the athletes competing at HSE on Saturday had been in the stands, attendance would have tripled.
Secondly, the standard media outlets need to re-evaluate their priorities. Newspapers and radio love to boast of how much attention they give to high school sports, and in many cases that is true. However, when it comes to the so-called â??minor,â? or non-revenue, sports, they pay absolutely no attention. At best, they print capsule results — if they are supplied by the host school.
The idea of promoting a big event in an effort to increase interest is simple common sense. The media outlets will tell you that determining such editorial content incurs a financial decision based on the allocation of resources. And that, to a great extent, is true. However, an occasional promotional blurb for big competitions is neither expensive nor overly demanding on capacity.
Finally, school athletic departments need to do a better job of promoting the non-revenue sports. It is very easy to fall into the trap of believing that football and basketball must pay all the freight for the athletic department.
Donâ??t get me wrong. Nobody expects, nor should, that three or four thousand people are going to flock to a track meet in Indiana. That, however, does not mean that attendance canâ??t — and shouldnâ??t — be much better than it is.
If you will allow us a brief pat on our own back, this is one of the reasons that HoosierAuthority.com exists! We are here to promote and help give exposure to the great athletes that we so often never hear about. Together, letâ??s try to fight the good fight.
HA.com Executive Director Mike McGraw recently learned how to use a â??computerâ? and is currently working on the mastery of â??e-mail.â? He has coached hoops for quite a number of years, though, so presumably heâ??s semi-qualified to make the assessments above.
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