Why March Matters

Last year around this time I delivered a long treatise in my best Jim Nantz voice on my thirty plus years attending the state finals with my Dad. I waxed poetic and compared it to what I have heard about in regards to the Masters experience at Augusta National. How over the years virtually nothing has changed.

That must have ruffled some feathers in the MHSAA offices…… because hello general admission seating this year. I guess some things DO change. So where to go with my general interest tournament angle this year? Recently I was struck by the dichotomy within a two night experience at vastly different tournament sites. I was taken by how within two divergent environments. Six equally divergent teams were essentially chasing the same common goal.

Friday: District Final @ Byron Center

It doesn’t get much bigger than a Division I final in Michigan’s second largest metropolitan area. I went to Byron Center on Friday March 1st. If you have never been to the suburban district on the south side of Grand Rapids. I’ll set the scene. After leaving the freeway you drive past a large outlet mall replete with all the titans of American capitalism. You also have a myriad of dining options on your way to a sparkling and modern school. The “you can’t miss it” facility also houses an aquatic center with plenty of other auxiliary athletic facilities on your way to the gym. The gym itself features banners with state championships in sports ranging from Ice Hockey to Equestrian.

The host squad had advanced to the final where they were taking on East Kentwood. Consequently the Byron Center student showed out in full force. East Kentwood is the largest single high school by enrollment in the entire state (2,906 students) Their students showed up as well in corresponding large numbers. As previously stated, it literally cannot get any bigger than this in the state of Michigan.

As you can see from the photo above. The facilities at Byron Center were top notch. The cavernous gym was filled well before game time. I think Byron Center had an exclusive radio station or playlist serving as in game entertainment. The bustling student sections were enjoying the pregame festivities to the fullest. Man, that sentence made me sound old (I am) It was “lit”and or let’s try this it was… “hype or dope”.

Now that I have lost journalistic or cultural credibility with that last sentence. Let’s move onto the game. It was an intense back and forth contest won by East Kentwood. However I’m going to press pause for a second. We’ll return to the result later. I’m going to juxtapose this environment to where I went for the next round.

Tuesday: Regional Semifinals @ Baldwin

I want to put a gigantic disclaimer here. While I’m going to compare to the two settings. There is no disrespect for the communities involved. Baldwin is a community with a deep, rich, and unique history. However, as the picture below shows. It is…. small

Before leaving my executive editor (wife) was going over the expense report for the trip. She asked where I was going to eat with the 5:30 start time for the double header. I just laughed. She obviously had not made the trip through God’s country to the largest “city” in rural Lake County. If you are not stopping as such fine establishments as the Bucksnort Saloon or the Mushroom Bar (those are real places) you are not eating on the way Baldwin. When I couldn’t find the school. I didn’t consult my phone or even the old tried and true gas station attendant technique. I just rolled down the mywindow and asked the kid next me who was riding a quad. This was rural America at its finest and we were a long way from Byron Center.

However, once in the gym there were some similarities. There was DJ and the place was packed and brimming with anticipation. That’s about where it ends though. There were some nervous moments while the crowd waited for the PA system to work through some ominous feedback. There was no equestrian team here. Equestrian is just considered an alternative mode of transportation to school.

The first game was the headliner for the night. Two Catholic schools with state championship aspirations facing off in a regional semifinal. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart defeated Saginaw Nouvel decisively with a huge second half performance. Both student sections were boisterous throughout. However the Sacred Heart students sang poplar contemporary Christian songs and oldies such as “This Little Light of Mine” at various points in the game. I have been to a LOT of basketball games and grew up in the church as the son of a preacher. I have never seen these two worlds collide in such a peculiar manner.

The second contest was perhaps the most intriguing. Two schools who could not be any more different— yet also similar. Muskegon Heights and Marion have stark and obvious delineations. Both schools have long traditions of athletic success in bigger classifications (particularly Muskegon Heights)

So why are they facing off in a Division IV semifinal? Both schools were essentially gutted by Michigan Department of Education during the reforms of the last Governor’s administration. Their enrollments have dwindled and they have been threatened with closure. Yet here they are still standing. Marion has rebuilt their athletic program behind a 8-man football team that appeared in a state final this year.

The matchup was just straight bonkers. One student section featured a plethora of Bass Pro Shop gear. The other featured a step team. Muskegon Heights dealt with cramping and foul trouble. I thought for a moment they would have to play with four players. Especially after heading to overtime. However the “Heights” eventually held for the thrilling victory.

A Few Weeks Later: Why does this matter?

I did my best to outline to the microndifferences between these two settings. On the macro front. They are very much the same. That is essentially why I have not been able to escape this experience in my consciousness. I began my career in education. I greatly respect and admire the work teachers and administrators do in an increasingly hostile and politically fraught environment.

So please do not interpret this as anti “participation trophy” rant. In many ways it is the opposite. However athletics is the one area of education where the score is kept. Essentially everyone can get an “A” on their report card. In sports there is one clear winner and one clear loser. And in March the stakes are raised further. For most seniors it is their last chance to competitively play their sport.

Thankfully many will go on to do great things in their life. However they will not be feted with a parade of fire trucks welcoming them back into town. You can debate the merit of that on your own. The reality is that it scenes like this happen all over the country during multiple sports playoffs.

I’m still dancing around the central question of this piece — “why does March matter?” I’ll answer it with one final anecdote from the two night experience. After the Byron Center game I stopped to get a bite to eat before heading home. As I was eating I slowly began to notice a fair amount of Byron Center players filing up the restaurant for their post game meal.

They looked understandably disappointed. In my job as a scout and I had gotten know some of them superficially. As a former educator, and parent. My first inclination was walk over say hello and offer a word of encouragement. As I watched from a distance though I began to change my mind. They were fine. They had just finished a long season of being instructed by adults. They didn’t need to hear a word from me.

You have heard this coaching cliche “you win as a team, you lose as a team.” Here it was in action. That is why March matters. When East Kentwood lost on their home court the next Monday. I’m sure they had a similar meal together. The same is most likely true for the teams in Baldwin. That is part of being a team. It is why big corporations spends millions of dollars to recreate a “team” like culture within their companies.

It is also why they are largely pilloried for these efforts. It is hard to replicate the real thing. You are not going commiserate with your coworkers after a big sale is lost at your company. Fingers begin to point and people will begin look out for themselves. That is just the reality of our world. For better or worse.

In the second half of 2024. You are going near a lot about how divided we are as a nation. I for one don’t buy it. I’m not going to say it’s a complete falsehood. However for the people that push that narrative. It is advantageous, easy, and ultimately profitable for that to be true.

March shows that at our core we are people that want to win. We are a nation of competitive strivers. It is part of what makes us great. Whether you are from an affluent large district. Or from an extremely large and diverse district. You could be from a large or small metropolitan parochial school. You could be from an urban or rural district assaulted by the political system. The competition and desire to win is universal.

However the aftermath that I witnessed at a nondescript Culver’s has been lost. You compete, you will or lose, then you move on as a team. If you see a political statement in there— that’s your prerogative. I’m sure the players from Byron Center thought and discussed their just completed game. However I’m also fairly certain they were not consumed by the loss. I’m pretty sure they also laughed remembered the year. While also looking forward to what’s next. For those with eligibility left. They will be motivated to improve and go further next year. For the seniors they will move onto to next challenge stronger with a harsh life lesson.

That is why March matters. It is essentially competition in its purest and simplistic form. As the college version of “March” continues to change in unrecognizable ways. Savor the scholastic version for what is. Young people competing for their communities. Largely without the cultural baggage that has seemingly developed around those words.

Two nights, four days apart. Two very different sites. Six very different schools. All chasing the same goal. In there somewhere, is why March still matters.