Former Gaffney and current S.C. State quarterback Malcolm Long leaps across the goal line during the Indians' drubbing of Irmo in the 2006 S.C. Class 4A "Big 16" title game at Williams-Brice Stadium. Programs in the state's highest classification discussed the possibility of moving its two championship contests from the venue earlier this year. (Photo courtesy of Larry B. Littlejohn/ The Gaffney Ledger)
Some summers are best spent inside.
This year happens to be one of them, with temperatures near or surpassing 100-degrees, the easy stroll to the mailbox has become somewhat laborious. I almost feel sorry for those who must make a living in the sun — construction workers, street crews and especially the mailman who must deal with both the afternoon heat and a pit bull nipping at his heels.
It is hard to believe that in a few short months the temperature will go from the 90s to near freezing.
Being a football fan, each week sitting among the crowd at the nearest high school football stadium yields the opportunity to see nature at work. During the first few weeks of the season, it seems the sun does not go down until the second half, fans typically getting a glimpse of the sunset — the makings of a perfect date in my opinion.
My wife may tend to differ — yet she still winds up in the crowd with me every Friday night. Now, back to the subject.
With every week, it seems the weather gets a bit more nippy, with a torrential downpour every ruining the plans of those wanting to see the home team play.
Then just like that, it's the playoffs and a state champion has been crowned.
With the exception of a few years in which the games were held in Clemson and Orangeburg (Class 1A held state title games at S.C. State University for the past several years), Columbia and the University of South Carolina's Williams- Brice Stadium has been the goal of high schools throughout the Palmetto State. Providing the opportunity for some athletes to achieve the dream of walking onto the venue's hallowed turf, it is quite a reward for players and coaches alike — win or lose.
However, with each passing year it seems the debate of whether to move the event, aptly named the "Weekend of Champions", from the capital city.
Following last year's Weekend of Champions, the Class 4A football committee consisting of a representative from each of the classification's eight regions toyed with the idea of moving the Division I and II games to separate venues, with expenses from the event being at the heart of the issue.
Under the current format, the schools involved in a title game receive an equal amount of revenue from ticket sales despite the number of tickets sold.
In an effort to cut costs, the Class 4A football committee proposed the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) move its Division II title tilt to Saturday, being played the same afternoon as the Class 2A and Class 3A championship games. The committee went as far as to solicit bids from other venues including Clemson, Furman and Spring Valley High School in Columbia to host the games.
The Class 4A football committee later wound up keeping the state title game in Williams-Brice Stadium, deciding not to bail on their peers in Classes 2A and 3A, who would have had to find a way to come up with $62,000 for use of the venue and the fact it would not bring the savings once perceived by the governing body.
With school districts scrambling to stay afloat in today's unstable economic climate, I can definitely understand why Class 4A football officials at least looked into moving the game. After all, what should take preference — making sure every student has a book or how much money the school and school district should commit should it be lucky enough to advance to Columbia?
Speaking of Columbia, my hometown really is the one which benefits most from the weekend, bringing in a large amount of money from visitors lodging at the city's hotels and eating at the municipality's many restaurants.
Two years ago, the SCHSL tinkered with the idea of moving the Weekend of Champions to Clemson, which offered a change of pace for all involved. According to friends who went to games during the two-day event it was a resounding success, not to say if it were in Columbia it would not do well.
In my opinion, the state's high school athletic commission ought to follow the blueprint of its contemporaries in Alabama, which chose to alternate between Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Auburn, Ala., as hosts for its high school title games. The championship games were previously held in Birmingham, Ala., the home of the Super 6 Championships for more than a decade.
The school not hosting the annual Iron Bowl matchup between the Crimson Tide and the Tigers would a week or so later welcome the 12 schools advancing to their respective classification's championship game. For example, with the Iron Bowl being held in Tuscaloosa this year the Super 6 Championships will take place in Auburn this year, alternating each year.
If the SCHSL adopted this measure, it would have little bearing on this year's games as Williams-Brice Stadium would host the Weekend of Champions, with Death Valley being the site of the 2010 renewal of the Carolina-Clemson game.
While the plan would not necessarily ease all complaints or ever will, rotating the site of the Weekend of Champions would ease the burden of Upstate schools one year and those from the Midlands down the following season. It would also offer some student-athletes the opportunity to walk the same field Frank Howard, Woody Dantzler and more recently C.J. Spiller walked, instead of only being offered the chance to see where Gaffney product Sidney Rice spent four years.
It would offer the total experience for them — if they cared. These kids are only concerned with making their dreams of a championship come true.
However, if money is the issue, there is nothing wrong with looking at other options. When sports and athletic success becomes more important than the hard work necessary in the classroom, that's when I have a problem.
After all, that's why the word student comes before athlete when referring to athletes (student-athlete) in high school and college, right?
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