Commentary: "Made for TV" High School Football

Last Friday, USA Today’s cover story “High School Showdown Is Shaped By Contrasts” made me smile. What really made me grin though was the second headline “Made-for-TV Games Raise Questions About What’s Right For High Schools”. For years I’ve been asking the question, and finally the national media is getting it!

Now, let’s get one thing straight, I am completely in love with the thought of a big high school football game, but not in the name of money.

I was raised in eastern Pennsylvania in Wilson Borough, which doesn’t even have its own post office. Wilson has its own government, fire and police departments, but most people think of us as part of Easton, which happens to have the second most wins in Pennsylvania high school football history. Easton’s also the fourth place where the Declaration of Independence was read back in 1776.

Yes, we’ve been around for a while. I was raised on tradition. And believe it or not, ESPN, you CAN’T manufacturer tradition.

In fact, the World Sports Leader has come to my town twice to televise our Turkey Day showdown between Easton and Phillipsburg. The last time that The Mouse stopped by was Thanksgiving 2006 for the 100th meeting between the two schools that are separated only by the Delaware River. It’s Pennsy versus Jersey; it’s the Battle for the Forks of the Delaware Trophy.

Every year, over 15,000 show-up for the Border War, and to use a cliché, “it doesn’t matter what the records are!” The game is so big that it has to be played at Lafayette College, but ESPN and all of its cameras and “Big Time” announcers have NEVER EVER been able to capture what this is game is all about.

It’s about the fabric of two communities and its people!

Recently, in two out of the three seasons, both of these schools have been the best in their respective states, playing deep into the post-season. What that means is that both schools had to play a Friday or Saturday playoff game, then turn around and play their annual Turkey Day battle six days later, and then turn around and play another state playoff game two days later!! Three football games nine days!!

Talk of canceling the Thanksgiving Day game or resting starters? Might as well have your tongue cut out because there’s no such talk like that allowed!!

Now fast forward to the USA Today article focusing on Saturday’s “Made-for-TV match-up between the papers two top-ranked teams Southlake Carroll from Texas and Northwestern from Miami.

The broadcast was on ESPNU, which you may or may not know really isn’t a juggernaut, with only 20 million households actually able to have a shot at seeing the network. FYI...ESPN is seen in 94 million households Actually the matchmaker isn’t ESPN; it’s Paragon Marketing out of Chicago, which has spent a number of years trying to pull a LeBron on the sport of high school football.

Yes, Paragon is the company that brought us those King James’ games when he was plying his trade at his tiny Ohio high school. I’ve spoken with this company in the past, and they’ll tell you there’s no money in this.

Yeah right! Nike…Gatorade…State Farm as sponsors??

I’m sure there’s no money in it for Paragon or ESPN, and I’m sure that both companies are busy right now filing their applications for their 501 C 3 non-profit status!!

I can tell you this, there is no money in it for the high schools involved. All teams that are a part of Paragon’s Made-for-TV schedule are paid a token amount. How’s about $500 to $1,000 sound?

What’s the point of all of this?

Well, first-and-foremost, I don’t want this sport to be bastardized by the greed of Corporate America. There are 1.3 million high school football players in this country, and out of that number only 2,900 are what are called “blue chippers” (Division I-A prospects), which are circled by vultures like Rivals.com and Scout.com.

Yes, there is a time and a place for big time college football and its chat boards, but what ESPN and Paragon miss is the great part of high school football is the fabric of communities big and small that support the sport.

I guarantee you that last Friday night’s match-up between Chicago Catholic Schools St. Rita and Mt. Carmel had more energy than every Made-for-TV match-up combined this year.

My girlfriend and myself ventured to Canton, Ohio for the Kirk Herbstreit Ohio Vs. USA Challenge III earlier this month. I was excited to see Poly (Long Beach, CA) play Ohio’s own Glenville. What a dead crowd, which contributed to a boring game. There was no reason for these two to get riled-up over each other, other than the fact that USA Today said both were in the Top 15 in the nation…. PLEASE!

I will tell you that the night before Ohio Vs. USA, we stopped in Monroeville, Ohio and saw real passion for a Week 2 showdown between backyard rivals Monroeville and Edison. The place was packed, the fans pumped, the bands and the cheerleaders were into it…there was no need for Paragon and company to show-up…they would only have messed it up!!

Secondly, I can’t believe that Paragon and ESPN didn’t pull the plug on this one after learning that Northwestern had almost shutdown it’s entire program a couple of months ago over a serious criminal case involving its star running back on the Bulls 2006 state championship team.

The case centers on senior Antwain Easterling, who had consensual sex after a game with a 14-year old freshman girl on the floor of a school bathroom. School authorities failed to notify police when they learned of the incident weeks later, even though they assured the girl’s mother that they had.

According to a Miami-Dade County grand jury report, he Miami-Dade County State Police only learned of the incident during a chance encounter between officers and the girl’s mother in December. Then on December 9, 2006, two days before the state championship game, Easterling was charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a minor.

How did Northwestern officials act? Well, school policy states that a student arrested on a felony charge should be suspended for at least 10 days or expelled. Northwestern’s decision, let Easterling play in the state title game where he rushed for 157 yards and a TD in Northwestern’s 34-14 against Altamonte Springs Lake.

Only after the ugly stuff became public did school officials act. The district suspended 21 employees. Head coach Roland Smith and his staff was let go, and there was thought of suspending the 2007 season.

Hah! Not with Paragon signed-on to do The Showdown!!

Paragon should have stepped-up and shut this down!! No questions asked…it would have been the right thing to do!!

In the end, Paragon and ESPN should be called on the carpet for letting this match-up continue. I’m not a bleeding heart liberal who says don’t support the sponsors, but at least think about the ramifications of what Paragon and ESPN are doing to this sport…especially since neither is making a profit on ANY of this!!

Don’t watch the Paragon broadcasts. Go take-in a local game in your area and enjoy the bands and the cheerleaders. Support your state athletic associates that prohibit out of state travel.


Jeff