Is it still relevant?
I was there. A lot of talk this week in the blog-world has focused on this Friday's Chesaning-Millington District Final game of the Division 5 playoffs and whether or not it is relevant to talk about 1998.
For those if you unfamiliar, let me summarize: 1998 was the last time these two teams met. It was the second round of playoffs, Millington was 10-0, which included a 29-26 win over Chesaning in week one of the season. The Cards were flying high; they had scored 444 points in 10 games and looked like the team to beat in the Class B playoffs.
The Indians, on the other hand, were 9-1 and came into Millington that day in November full of confidence. Coach Jim Szappan and his team had ran over nine straight teams and they came to play.
Unfortuantely for Millington, they were shut out by the Indians, 28-0, eliminated from the playoffs after a season which looked as though Coach Furno and his team had a legitmate chance at winning the school's first state title.
The outcome of the game isn't what has everyone talking this week...it's how the game ended. With 1:43 left in the game, and after several ejections of Millington players, the refs called the game and awarded the win to Chesaning. Now, I don't care who started it, and I don't care who is to blame for stoking the flames....the fact is, that Millington players were the ones suspended and a Millington fan was even arrested for charging onto the field, something which happened from time-to-time on Alumni Field. This was just the wrong time and wrong game to do it.
I was there...I saw what happened. For the first and only time in my life, I was embarrassed by the actions of my hometown and the team for which I had played. It was a totally classless and juvenile move by the players involved (again, I don't care who started it) and the Millington coaches should have put the lid on the situation long before it escalated out of control by simply taking the young men involved and making them take a seat on the sidelines. But this type of behavior had, until then, been not only tolerated in Millington by coaches, but it was almost encouraged.
Millington coaches had always thumbed their noses at MHSAA mandates regarding sportsmanship rules. I can remember a certain coach (who no longer roams the Cardinals sidelines) laughing and rolling his eyes when the topic of being a good sport would come up. If I remember correctly, this same coach found himself in trouble with the MHSAA in the early 1980's when he refused to allow the team to shake hands with Frankenmuth after a close loss to the Eagles, but that is a discussion for another day.
Coaches are a lot like parents...the kids the mentor and raise are a direct reflection of the leadership they have been shown. If a team or children are respectful, polite and accept losing like they should, then that reflects that those young people have been shown the correct way to live by either a good coach or a good parent. If a child or team is disrespectful, rude and deal with losing by throwing a fit...well, they are only acting out in a way in which they have learned.
People are not born sore losers...they are made that way!
What I am saying is this...lay the blame on that game in 1998 on the kids involved or on the officials who let it get out of control, and you are wasting your time. The blame in that situation should fall squarely on the coaches involved. Period.
Does the game still matter? Of course not! The only ones from that game back in 1998 who are still involved in the 2007 game are the respective head coaches, Furno and Szappan. Both schools have different administrations and the players involved now were probably eight or nine years old when the '98 game was played. The only reason this thing still comes up is for a couple of reasons. One, this is the first time since the two schools have played since 1998. And the similarities are striking: the game is in Millington....it's the second round of the playoffs....Furno and Szappan are involved. Two, sports writers act as the voice of the people. They also try to look for the behind-the-scenes drama involved in everything, because, lets face it, it makes for better stories. Plus, it gets people taking about the game, which in turn, will hopefully spike sales of the paper after the game.
So, no the '98 doesn't matter anymore, but it was a historically significant game because of the ramifications of the events. The third reason....that game is the reason why Millington plays their games behind the high school. The Cardinals played on Alumni Field for years. I played there in 1990-91...I love Alumni Field. I can remember scoring touchdowns and giving out high fives to the fans who were lining the back of the endzone, so the closeness of the fans was never a problem until that day in 1998. Now, Millington is like almost every other school in the area, with a football field inside of a track, which keeps the fans back and really makes for a poor experience when it comes to watching a football game. We have the 1998 game to thank for this, though.
So who will win? That's easy. Chesaning is a good team and they have a good quarterback, but Millington is peaking at just the right time.
Millington 29, Chesaning 12
For those if you unfamiliar, let me summarize: 1998 was the last time these two teams met. It was the second round of playoffs, Millington was 10-0, which included a 29-26 win over Chesaning in week one of the season. The Cards were flying high; they had scored 444 points in 10 games and looked like the team to beat in the Class B playoffs.
The Indians, on the other hand, were 9-1 and came into Millington that day in November full of confidence. Coach Jim Szappan and his team had ran over nine straight teams and they came to play.
Unfortuantely for Millington, they were shut out by the Indians, 28-0, eliminated from the playoffs after a season which looked as though Coach Furno and his team had a legitmate chance at winning the school's first state title.
The outcome of the game isn't what has everyone talking this week...it's how the game ended. With 1:43 left in the game, and after several ejections of Millington players, the refs called the game and awarded the win to Chesaning. Now, I don't care who started it, and I don't care who is to blame for stoking the flames....the fact is, that Millington players were the ones suspended and a Millington fan was even arrested for charging onto the field, something which happened from time-to-time on Alumni Field. This was just the wrong time and wrong game to do it.
I was there...I saw what happened. For the first and only time in my life, I was embarrassed by the actions of my hometown and the team for which I had played. It was a totally classless and juvenile move by the players involved (again, I don't care who started it) and the Millington coaches should have put the lid on the situation long before it escalated out of control by simply taking the young men involved and making them take a seat on the sidelines. But this type of behavior had, until then, been not only tolerated in Millington by coaches, but it was almost encouraged.
Millington coaches had always thumbed their noses at MHSAA mandates regarding sportsmanship rules. I can remember a certain coach (who no longer roams the Cardinals sidelines) laughing and rolling his eyes when the topic of being a good sport would come up. If I remember correctly, this same coach found himself in trouble with the MHSAA in the early 1980's when he refused to allow the team to shake hands with Frankenmuth after a close loss to the Eagles, but that is a discussion for another day.
Coaches are a lot like parents...the kids the mentor and raise are a direct reflection of the leadership they have been shown. If a team or children are respectful, polite and accept losing like they should, then that reflects that those young people have been shown the correct way to live by either a good coach or a good parent. If a child or team is disrespectful, rude and deal with losing by throwing a fit...well, they are only acting out in a way in which they have learned.
People are not born sore losers...they are made that way!
What I am saying is this...lay the blame on that game in 1998 on the kids involved or on the officials who let it get out of control, and you are wasting your time. The blame in that situation should fall squarely on the coaches involved. Period.
Does the game still matter? Of course not! The only ones from that game back in 1998 who are still involved in the 2007 game are the respective head coaches, Furno and Szappan. Both schools have different administrations and the players involved now were probably eight or nine years old when the '98 game was played. The only reason this thing still comes up is for a couple of reasons. One, this is the first time since the two schools have played since 1998. And the similarities are striking: the game is in Millington....it's the second round of the playoffs....Furno and Szappan are involved. Two, sports writers act as the voice of the people. They also try to look for the behind-the-scenes drama involved in everything, because, lets face it, it makes for better stories. Plus, it gets people taking about the game, which in turn, will hopefully spike sales of the paper after the game.
So, no the '98 doesn't matter anymore, but it was a historically significant game because of the ramifications of the events. The third reason....that game is the reason why Millington plays their games behind the high school. The Cardinals played on Alumni Field for years. I played there in 1990-91...I love Alumni Field. I can remember scoring touchdowns and giving out high fives to the fans who were lining the back of the endzone, so the closeness of the fans was never a problem until that day in 1998. Now, Millington is like almost every other school in the area, with a football field inside of a track, which keeps the fans back and really makes for a poor experience when it comes to watching a football game. We have the 1998 game to thank for this, though.
So who will win? That's easy. Chesaning is a good team and they have a good quarterback, but Millington is peaking at just the right time.
Millington 29, Chesaning 12
Comments
Then again, Millington could do like Reese - have separate facilities for football and track. I've always thought that should have been the way to go.