Where's the passion?

I am a huge basketball fan. If I were able to drive right now, I’d be out every night. Right now as I write this, I start and stop writing glued to the NCAA Tournament and some big early games.


While I picked Kansas to beat West Virginia in the two offices pools I have entered, I really love the high school playoffs, which end next week.

Last night I was able to make the trek to Coatesville for Hempfield’s second round PIAA playoff game with LaSalle College, the District 12 champs.

Columbia played there before and I can remember doing a game or two when I worked with WSBA Radio.

Now the gym bears the name of Ross Kersey, a coach at Coatesville. I heard the PA announcer say that during the introductions. What I found amazing is, that unless I missed it outside or even inside, I failed to see a mention of this. I mean, who walk into the gym on the hill here in town, you know who it is named after. Okay, enough of the soap box.

But in the many years of traveling from gym to gym and to the state finals whether it be in Hershey or State College, one of the things I marvel at is the passion of the fans, whether it be the student bodies or the adults.

I’ve seen some amazing student body support over the years, not only at basketball, but wrestling and football. I’ve commented on it as well, both good and bad.

The same goes for the adults.

But what continues to amaze me, no matter where I go, is that passion.

I will say this and believe it that Columbia has the most passionate and somewhat knowledgeable fans in all of high school sports, but mostly with the adults. The students are getting better, but they still have a lot of work to do when it comes to the passion of the adults.

I go to games not involving Columbia and I just marvel in the last of passion of the fans.

I’ll use last night as an example. I thought the officiating was great for the first half as they called just two fouls. It did change a little bit in the second half, but there was no one screaming or shall I say encouraging the officials about their calls or to make a call.

I just thought the crowd was too laid back for a state playoff game. I know it was about an hour drive to Coatesville for the game and it was a 6 o’clock start and it was a beautiful day out, but for most of the game, you could actually hear yourself talk (no I didn’t answer myself).

Perhaps too, we from Columbia over the years may have developed an “us against them” mentality, I don’t know. Or, it could be the fact that all of our players come from the same area and not from three or four boroughs or townships and they don’t mesh together.

But it’s very enjoyable to go to these non-Columbia games and being able to sit back, relax and enjoy a game, instead being on the edge of your seat, worrying about the outcome and taking an hour or two to calm down after you get back from the game.

I miss that passion at other games.

I’m proud to be a River Rat, oops, a Columbia fan to be politically correct and glad we all have that passion to support our teams in the good times and bad.