The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
With tradeoffs, state venue mystique only goes so far
There is a drastic difference between performing in community theater and reciting the same lines on Broadway.
The same theory applies for high school athletes.
Local venues are where you cut your teeth. But the work is ultimately — if at all possible — about aspiring for and getting to the big stage in your sport.
There comes a time, though, when it seems tradeoffs are made in order to ensure athletes are justifiably accommodated in being afforded those dreams. And sometimes, those concessions to make it there — despite the best intentions of all parties involved — go a little too far.
Texas football players can vie for state titles at AT&T Stadium. Indiana basketball players can go to Bankers Life Fieldhouse and compete for hardware. Oregon track and field athletes can aim for the iconic Hayward Field in Eugene.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association also does a wonderful job giving athletes the big stage for their state finals.
Football gets one of the best venues in the Buckeye State — the newly renovated Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium — and in years past they got Paul Brown Tiger Stadium and Ohio Stadium.
Golf, basketball, wrestling and track and field get to pursue Ohio State as well. Tennis can eye Mason and a venue home to the Western & Southern Open. Hockey can vie for NHL ice at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. Oh yeah, about that: This past week may have encapsulated what happens when simply too much is going on and high school sports has to somehow fit into that equation.
From March 8-12, Nationwide Arena was busier than even it usually is, playing host to:
• Blue Jackets home games March 8, 9 and 12
• A Big Ten hockey tournament semifinal between Ohio State and Michigan on March 10
• WWE “Fastlane” on March 11
• American Collegiate Hockey Association (club hockey) nationals at the Ice Haus next door
In turn, the high school hockey frozen four had to work within the means it’s given — semifinals March 9 at 10 a.m. (University-Toledo St. Francis) and 12:30 p.m. (St. Ignatius-Dublin Jerome) and the final at 2 p.m. March 10.
No one is suggesting high school hockey should get top priority here.
But a semifinal doubleheader that starts on a weekday morning in the state capital, preventing many interested parties from making the trek due to academic or work commitments? It’s an exception to the rule year to year, but still a bit much.
The state final between St. Ignatius and Toledo St. Francis went to double overtime, likely draining at least some of the prep time the arena desired for the OSU-Michigan game slated for 7 p.m. March 10.
WWE pay-per-view shows have elaborate stage sets similar to those seen at concerts. They typically prefer to get a good head start for production sake and didn’t get control of the arena until after the Big Ten game and when the changeover was made from hosting hockey.
Some of the Blue Jackets’ staff also has to double up for high school games, too, for arena operation.
On March 10, especially, it’s entirely possible Ohio high school hockey — simply by having a great state final — made life a little more challenging for Nationwide, the Blue Jackets, the Big Ten, Ohio State, Michigan and WWE.
I’m not saying they were angry at high school hockey, but they couldn’t have been doing cartwheels through the Arena District, either.
The timing — again, not maliciously — was forced to some extent so hockey could have its shot like every year on the big ice.
Then there’s the elephant in the room. Proud as we are in the high school hockey community of being a niche sport that fights valiantly for progress, Nationwide can be a cavern fan-wise for the frozen four. It’s an awesome cavern, but a cavern nonetheless. That’s only made worse when timing doesn’t let people support the sport.
Purists will argue hockey never should have left the Brooklyn/Bowling Green state rotation. I wouldn’t go that far, but more can be done to give Ohio high school hockey a true reserved spotlight on a deserved big stage.
If it’s on a Blue Jackets game day, great. There have been years in which players have mingled with NHL players — one year, US and St. Ignatius players chatted with Keith Tkachuk and Blues players.
But here’s to hoping the Nationwide schedule isn’t this packed again beyond the Blue Jackets.
If the goal is to let high school athletes know they are a big deal, they should feel like they’re on a big stage without what’s next eagerly waiting in the wings. They shouldn’t feel like they’re in an off-Broadway show or better off back in community theater.