One of our favorite times of year is here – a magical time of year when children’s eyes sparkle with delight and parents relive the joys of childhood through their offspring.
It’s basketball season!
We cover every sport in The Lincoln County News – from arm-wrestling, equestrian, and mixed martial arts to baseball, football, and soccer.
But here in Lincoln County, no sport draws as many fans or elicits as much passion from its fans as high school basketball. Doubt it? Just try to find a parking spot at Lincoln Academy next time Medomak comes to town.
We plan to attend as many games as we can this year, and we encourage our readers to support their hometown teams too.
We would rather sit in the stands at our local high school any day than at Fenway Park or Gillette Stadium or TD Garden.
When we attend high school games, we support the hard work of local athletes and coaches.
Just as importantly, our modest admission fees and purchases of concessions and raffle tickets support local athletics.
We love Boston’s professional sports teams as much as the next guy, but we would rather see our dollars buy new uniforms for our high school basketball team than become a drop in the bucket of David Price’s $30 million salary.
The greed in professional sports – among owners and athletes alike – and the complete disregard for the average fan has become outrageous.
Working-class families can’t afford to attend games anymore. And who wants to part with a week’s pay to travel to Boston, fight the crowds and the traffic, spend $5.25 for a hot dog, and watch the game from another level of the atmosphere? We’ll watch on TV, thanks.
High school sports remind us of why we love sports.
Go see your local high school basketball team play this year and you will see some excellent athletes, though none are likely to play professionally or even for a Division I college.
These students play for the love of the game – and they play harder and display better sportsmanship, in many cases, than their professional counterparts. They deserve our support.
The next home game for each local high school’s varsity teams appears below. We’ll see you in the stands.
Boothbay Region High School boys vs. Mountain Valley, 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 9. Girls vs. Madison Area Memorial, 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 12.
Lincoln Academy girls and boys vs. Maranacook, 5 and 6:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 9.
Medomak Valley High School girls vs. Gardiner, 6:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 9. Boys vs. Erskine Academy, 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 13.
Wiscasset girls vs. Mount Abram, 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 9. Boys vs. Monmouth, 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 13.
