Where Did All the Rivalries Go? High School Sports Fizzle

Are the once-great rivalries still alive? Have high school sports started to lose their luster? I was looking at some of the pictures from Friday night's game under the lights at Daylis Stadium and was shocked to see all the empty seats. I remember from all my years of going to high school games—basketball, football, volleyball—that whenever you had a big cross-town rivalry game, you better get there early, or you wouldn't get a seat.

There was another big one this weekend between Central and Laurel, and I wonder if that was standing room only. Some of the games in the past, between schools like Shepherd and Huntley, had people standing all along the fence or on the sides of the gym just to be there.

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I know one thing: the student populations and support at games now have really fallen off. Schools are lucky to get 20 percent of the kids there unless you're a Class C school. I don't know why—maybe it's the cost now. I'm a big believer that all the kids at the school should get in free and support their school and classmates. They will all spend that money on pizza sticks and ice cream anyway.

I think participation levels in extracurricular activities at schools are down as well. Fewer kids participating means fewer relatives at the games. Maybe there are just too many other things now occupying people's time. For me, watching kids was better than playing, but I guess times change.

See ya back here tomorrow at 5.