Colbert: Wrapping up another high school sports year in Ogle County

With Forreston’s loss in sectional baseball, it’s a wrap for another high school sports season in Ogle County and also for this column. Both will return in August.

There was a time when I kept track of everything I covered and would give a yearly recap of the highlights and the interesting people met along the way. Anymore, I don’t cover enough events to do that.

Even my favorite game of the year was viewed online instead of in person. That was the Byron-Tolono Unity 3A championship football game.

Just like all the talk about the Chicago Bears stadium deal, I’m probably like the vast majority of fans. I don’t care where their venue is, because the games are easier to watch in the comfort of home.

Thankfully, Illinois politicians haven’t caved in to the team’s desire for taxpayer funding. At least, not yet. Those skewed economic impact studies are propaganda put out by professional sports teams that have been fooling politicians all over the country.

It’s not just major league sports. I also believe minor league sports teams have fleeced taxing bodies just as effectively.

Hopefully, the political stewards of our tax dollars have woken up to the reality that billionaire owners don’t deserve our money.

Enough complaining about pro sports. Let’s complain about college sports.

It is totally out of control and they have the audacity to ask for help from the government to straighten out their mess. The economic chaos they are in is self-induced.

One would think an institution of higher learning would have the knowledge base to manage itself.

But, they probably didn’t count on an arms race to build the grandest palaces for their football and basketball teams, along with paying millions for the best players and exorbitant salaries to not only coach, but be paid not to coach.

For example, LSU’s contract for new coach Lane Kiffin is $91 million. But, two former coaches are receiving $54 million and $17 million in contract buyouts after being fired.

It is absolute madness everywhere at the collegiate level. And, to think the power conferences are receiving a boatload of TV money and that isn’t even enough.

I’m convinced that the No. 1 priority for universities is not about learning, but developing the best football and basketball teams possible.

It’s as if college sports have become a mutant virus that is taking over. I can remember catching the bug in 2013 when my alma mater, Northern Illinois University, went to the Orange Bowl.

Shortly afterwards, I snapped out of it, but can see how dangerous and deceptive winning can be, especially at the highest levels. Add money to the mixture and we’ve got real problems.

Can high-school sports still remain somewhat pure?

With all the transfers, club sports, specialization, private school recruiting, parental pressures, officiating shortages, sportsmanship issues, enrollment imbalances, conference realignments, declining participation, etc., there is an ongoing challenge to maintain that wholesome era of a group of kids from one town playing another for the simple joy of competition.

I saw that play out at the IHSA boys state track & field championship, with pole vaulters Andrew Nuyen of Rochelle and Isaiah Whitaker of Bloomington Central Catholic engaging in competition at its best. Here were two kids that had worked so hard to be among the best, not just in Illinois, but in the nation.

In other sports, it can be difficult to determine who is best in the country. Not so with track & field, where times and marks are the defining feature.

Besides Nuyen and Whitaker putting on a magnificent display of athleticism, it had special meaning to me. It was 50 years ago that I had a chance to pole vault at the state meet and can still remember it like it was yesterday.

While high school sports have changed so much since then, the pure essence of competition hasn’t. Though I wasn’t anywhere near the level of Nuyen or Whitaker, there is a gratitude for having had the opportunity to compete with the best in the state.

Interestingly, Whitaker was already clearing 15 feet as a freshman compared to nine feet for Nuyen. Now, both are around 17-6 to 18 feet, with perhaps Nuyen having a better upside as he goes on to the University of South Florida.

As much as there have been complaints about how the IHSA functions or the problems seen in today’s high-school sports scene, there is still the drama of great individual contests and team games.

The Byron and Tolono football game was a perfect example of this. Speaking of Byron, a good way to put a close on the column for the year is this piece of trivia:

Byron’s Everett Stine coached Caden Considine’s father Sean during his 222 career football wins. This spring, Caden broke the IHSA baseball record for runs scored with 222.