SPORTS COLUMN
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oming to you live from Utah, where state’s high-school athletic association has made the decision to move forward with all fall sports. Bravo to them for not taking the cowardly way out because of legal concerns or fear-based ideologies. “Our state is very conservative and very pro-athletics and extracurricular activities,” Brenan Jackson, football director of the UHSAA told a regional newspaper. “I think the conservative background has contributed to looking at ways to make it happen instead of ways not to make it happen.” This is not to say the hearty folks from Utah are ignoring COVID-19. They have strict guidelines and have made it clear they will shut down sports if health officials dictate so. At the same time, the UHSAA fully intends to have a state championships in all sports, something Illinois hasn’t been able to figure out. With the rest of the world seemingly falling to pieces, it is refreshing to observe first-hand this can-do attitude. Volleyball, soccer, football - everyone is happy to be back playing after the March shutdown. There is also a great deal of gratitude from parents everywhere. UHSAA officials have received positive comments from mom and dad about the importance sports and extracurricular activities to their
COMMENTARY Andy Colbert
children’s mental health. There is a need for social interaction and whether it is IHSA or the UHSAA, these governing bodies provide it. Make no mistake about the impact the IHSA has on people’s lives. It is bigger than most people would like to admit, as evidenced by the long-awaited announcement on what the association’s plans were for the fall. Football games have been played for two weeks and the results have been favorable. Only a couple games have been cancelled. My favorite moment came this past weekend when the athletic director at American Fork stopped his team’s game with Timpview because fans weren’t following COVID-19 protocol. He warned fans that the game would not be resumed until everyone put their masks back on stayed in assigned seats. After the crowd adhered to his warning, the game was started back up without incident. Going back generations, monitoring student’s behavior at sporting events all over the country
is a tall task. It has gotten even tougher now. At Utah games, coaches and players on the sideline are also required to wear masks. No more than 50 players are allowed per team, which shouldn’t be a problem with schools in our area. With Utah being the first state to begin playing football, the rest of the country looked at them with a test-tube mentality. Neighboring states Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are following Utah’s lead and also planning on a full fall sport schedule. Those three states are noted for rugged individualism and is likely another reason for maintaining a business as usual approach. On a similar vein, I heard much outcry on sports radio from football denizens as I drove across I-80 in Nebraska. With no pro sports teams, Cornhusker football is king in Nebraska and fans, coaches, administrators and commentators are livid about the Big 10’s decision to postpone football until the spring. Folks questioned why 20-year old young men were being protected from a virus that has little impact on them. One caller cited evidence from the CDC that showed a zero death rate for that age group. Questions were also raised as to why the league commissioner Kevin Warren would allow his own son to play football at Mississippi State, but
See COLBERT COLUMN, Page 8
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OGLE COUNTY NEWS Ogle County Newspapers / oglecountynews.com • Friday, August 28, 2020
High school sports are moving forward in Utah
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