Can 91-0 Be Good Competition?

Estero High School’s football team lost to Naples High School last Friday by thirteen touchdowns, 91-0.  It was a difficult night, not only for Estero, but also for the Naples coach, Bill Kramer.  As soon as the scores were reported, he started receiving angry e-mails.  Some were from Estero parents, angry that they had run up the score.  Some were from Naples parents, angry that their boys didn’t get play more in order to pad their stats.

 

Kramer had kept his best players off the field, some for the entire game, and ran only 31 plays, and still scored 13 touchdowns.  The student bodies of the two schools are of similar size.  But while Estero is rebuilding a lowly program, Naples is the reigning Class 3A State Champion in Florida.

 

Unfortunately, Kramer received the angry e-mails, but those e-mails seem to be misguided.  If there is blame to be placed anywhere, it would be in arranging the Classes so that such a mismatch can occur.  But, if these schools are similar in size and are in the same region, perhaps this couldn’t be avoided.

 

Regardless, Kramer made the best of a difficult situation.  It was not the time to run up the score any further by playing the best players.  Those parents who complained were giving evidence of a few deadly sins – envy, anger, and greed among them.  Kramer also didn’t make a mockery of the game by having the quarterback take a knee repeatedly, or having the players intentionally fail in their efforts, which is apparently what the Estero parents would have wanted.  From what I have read, he played the second and third string (fourth?) players, and let them perform to the best of their ability.

 

This is the basis of competition.  Both teams striving to the best of their abilities so that they might display together the beauty and strength and skill that result from God’s gifts and the discipline of training.  It is unfortunate that the teams were so unbalanced, but Coach Kramer did the best he could to even the sides, while still letting the boys play to the best of their abilities.

 

Estero High’s right guard, Mike Perez seems to understand.  Back at practice on Monday, he said, “Our team might not be winning or might not be on top right now, but we all have to do the best we can do. We can’t forget that.”  Doing your best, so that together, God may be glorified in the event.  That’s what competition is meant to be.