Nick’s Picks: Going To Bat
Sometimes life just throws you a curveball, you swing, miss and move on. At other times life lofts you a fastball over the plate with a 3-0 count and you slam it out on to Waveland Avenue even though your coach told you not to swing because you’re losing the game 13-0.
Allow me to explain.
In this clearly, well-thought-out analogy, the 13-0 game is my life. I’m the batter. (Which, this is all just a bad example because I was terrible at baseball.) I’m swinging and missing most of the time. I get frustrated over things, like any average person, but I try keep my mouth shut. That’s the figurative coach here, the little voice in my head screaming, “Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. SHUT. UP.”
I usually listen and move on. But this past weekend, I didn’t listen. I was ahead in the count, having a great weekend. I was about to draw a walk and just enjoy being on base. But instead I decided getting one run, this one time, would just feel better. So, I ignored the signs and went yard. Frankly, I’m as surprised as you are. I never thought I’d be able to see that pitch coming all the way from Wisconsin, but I made sure the ball went back to where it came from.
Two weeks ago I covered Warsaw’s game against Elkhart Memorial. The theme was “America Night” and before the game the Warsaw cheer block account tweeted out, “Nothing like Merica Night. #buildthatwall.”
That one tweet unleashed a can of worms that nobody was prepared for.
At this point the story that followed this is pretty well known:
- Warsaw alumna from Wisconsin gets offended by said tweet, announces she’s “ashamed” to be a grad.
- Cheer block account replies, confirms they are also ashamed she’s a grad then announces they take Donald Trump’s political policies seriously. They also say how they “love America and everyone in it.”
- Wisconsin alumna notifies Indiana media outlets that she was attacked on Twitter and that the cheer block account was making racist remarks.
- Pandemonium breaks loose.
I did not chase this initially because I was in high school once, I did stupid things with no intent behind them. I figured it was kids being kids. I chanted anything that came to mind at sporting events and I was an idiot. High school kids are idiots, I mean that in the nicest way possible.
After I had dismissed this as just kids being obnoxious (as is the goal of a cheer block), I figured most other places would do the same. But one local station picked up this story, ran with it and even did an interview with the now ashamed alumna. She said the actions by the cheer block “tarnished” her experiences that she had in high school. This woman is 35-45 years in age. How her experience could be tarnished is beyond me. There were also racist allegations thrown around at the kids that ran the now defunct cheer block account.
This is where I stepped in to the mix.
I engaged this woman on Twitter and started to explain that these kids were not racist, they were not chanting at a person or ethnic group but rather just yelling so that they could be heard. Again, being obnoxious is the goal. Again, I was at the game, I know what I saw and I know these kids.
I jumped in because I was at the game and I know what I saw (have I mentioned that yet?) and heard. These kids, they are not racists and that’s a pretty serious term to be throwing around, especially at teenagers.
This whole situation smelled like Wisconsin dairy air.
So, yes, now I’m in the middle of this story. I’m getting messages from students, parents and teachers telling me their side. I even spoke with Latino students that said they were not offended. I know that there were Latino students that were offended as well. Both reactions are fine.
If you find Trump and his platform racist or offensive, that’s fine. That’s your right. But being offended doesn’t make you entitled to placing punishment on others. Just because you find something offensive doesn’t mean somebody else should pay the price.
In the midst of all this arguing that I was doing with this woman from Wisconsin, somebody threw a court case my direction: Tinker v. Des Moines. This is a case that deals with the rights of student speech., to put it as simple as possible.
I did some research, contacted an assistant district attorney in another county and found out that the kids involved with the cheer block were more than fine with their actions.
While many of these cases leave a gray area on what students can and cannot say, the commentary on political platforms is fully protected. Even more so with an account that is not school sanctioned.
The school could not take this account away, this woman could not take this account away. Yet, the account is gone. The students took it down to try and defuse this outrageous situation. I thank those students for that, they acted as the more mature party in the end. Even though they are dealing with people now wanting them expelled.
Teenagers are impulsive and immature. I know from the experience of being one. So, of course when you insult their school they will reply with insulting you. They have to learn and grow. That’s why they’re still in high school. An adult should know better.
While I don’t totally agree with every move the cheer block made throughout this ordeal, I do fully support them. They were wrongfully accused of being racists and have had their lives turned upside down this past week over something that they did not even intend to do. They intended to chant and be loud. That’s it. I’m sorry if you have a problem with the chant about a building physical structure, but that doesn’t get legally filed under “hate crime.”
I’ve written for 1,000 words at this point and I could go on for another 10,000. Most of you have skipped down to the picks at this point, I don’t blame you.
I just wanted these kids to have a voice after they had been silenced because of a person passing out judgement two states away. I will always have the backs of the athletes that I cover when they are being wrongfully accused or represented. That’s something I will never be ashamed about.
Thanks for reading.
Last Week: 6-2
Overall: 30-8
High School Football Week Six 9/23
Goshen (4-1, 2-1) at Warsaw (3-2, 2-1), 7 p.m.
The Scoop: The Tigers are rolling right now. Warsaw has put up 49 and 34 points, respectively in its past two games. Goshen is definitely a program that is reeling with new life over the past two seasons. The RedHawks are coming off their first win over Concord since 2005. Goshen has not topped the Tigers since 2007. While this Goshen team definitely scares me, I love how the Tigers are putting up points right now. That’s enough to sway me in the picks this week.
Nick’s Pick: Warsaw 41, Goshen 28.
Wawasee (3-2, 1-2) at Plymouth (3-2, 2-1), 7 p.m.
The Scoop: Let me get my green and gold poms poms for this one
Wawasee is a much improved team from last season. The Warriors play with more attitude, better leadership and a wealth of confidence. Plymouth is always good. I never count the Rockies out, but this year they’ve been inconsistent. They score big wins over Bremen (later forfeited) and Warsaw but struggle to beat Memorial (19-17) and lost to Northridge (22-14). I think Wawasee is playing better football right now.
Oh, also: 66-7.
Nick’s Pick: Wawasee 38, Plymouth 20.
Southwood (3-2, 1-2) at Whitko (5-0, 3-0), 7 p.m.
The Scoop: The Wildcats will finally face a team with a winning record.
Whtiko has rolled over five cupcakes to get to 5-0, but they’ve done it in dominant fashion, which is exactly what you want to see. Garrett Elder is averaging more than 18 yards per carry. That’s a level of ridiculous that I can’t even explain. While I doubt he’ll hit that average in this game, I still expect him to have a big night and I look for Whitko’s defense to step up yet again. The ‘Cats are surrendering 12 points per game on defense. Yeesh.
Nick’s Pick: Whitko 36, Southwood 20.
Tippecanoe Valley (0-5, 0-3) at Manchester (0-5, 0-3), 7 p.m.
The Scoop: Something has to give in this one. Both the Squires and Vikings enter this game with a lot of struggles, but someone has to leave happy. What concerns me here is the defense for Valley. The Vikings are giving up more than 50 points per game and only scoring around nine. Manchester is scoring just above eight points per game, but gives up less than 30. It’s hard to say too much about either team when both are clearly scrambling for answers. This is a coin flip game.
Nick’s Pick: Manchester 19, Valley 14.
Winamac (1-4, 1-4) at Triton (0-5, 0-4), 7 p.m.
The Scoop: Another matchup between two struggling teams will be happening in Bourbon.
The Trojans and Warriors should have a relatively even game, but Winamac has already figured out how to get into the win column with a victory against North Judson last week. I think that will play a role here. This is a very winnable game for the Trojans, but I don’t like them in a close game this week. If they can build a lead, I think they’ll be okay, but offensive production has not come easy this year in Bourbon. I might regret this one, but I’ll take the Warriors.
Nick’s Pick: Winamac 27, Triton 16.
Due to my long rambling at the beginning, I’m just giving scores for college and pro picks this week!
College Football 9/24
Nevada (2-1) at Purdue (1-1), noon.
Nick’s Pick: Nevada 24, Purdue 21.
Wake Forest (3-0) at Indiana (2-0), 3:30 p.m.
Nick’s Pick: IU 34, Wake Forest 20.
Duke (1-2) at Notre Dame (1-2), 3:30 p.m.
Nick’s Pick: Notre Dame 38, Duke 17.
Ball State (2-1) at Florida Atlantic (1-2), 6 p.m.
Nick’s Pick: Ball State 30, FAU 28.
NFL Week Three 9/25
San Diego (1-1) at Indianapolis (0-2), 4:25 p.m.
Nick’s Pick: Chargers 45, Colts 41.
Chicago (0-2) at Dallas (1-1), 8:30 p.m. Sunday Night Football
Nick’s Pick: Hold on. This is the second week in a row the Bears will be on national TV. Who the heck is making these schedules up? What a joke!
Okay, now here’s my pick: Cowboys 27, Bears 20.