High school sports can't start soon enough

Give me a few more days, and I'll have regained my bearings.

The nine weeks that fall between the first week of June and the second week of August are always a little disorienting for me.

I guess that's what happens when you're the high school sports editor for the Daily Herald. The school sports calendar tends to run my life, and without it, I'm a little bit lost.

But not for much longer. A new sports season is born Wednesday as high school football teams across the state have their first official practice. Mind you, most players have been conditioning themselves all summer, but this is the real deal.

The season-opening games aren't until Friday night, Aug. 24, which is earlier than normal but not soon enough for me.

Boys and girls golf players also have their first practice date Aug. 8, and golfers can have meets as early as Monday, Aug. 13. Most golf teams don't compete until much later, though, and with no offense intended to that great sport, the football openers signal the real beginning of fall sports.

Especially after a summer of acrimony from the pro sports world, high school football never looked so good.

For one thing, nobody in the high school game has been accused of dogfighting. That should come as a particular relief to football fans from Batavia, Wauconda and Fox Lake (they're all Bulldogs).

While the NBA tries to restore its integrity, high school basketball fans are more interested in seeing how the new four-class system works. I'm going to gamble and predict that most people will actually like it just fine.

True, the Cubs have been a fun story this summer, but they've been neatly negated by all that South Side angst.

As for the pursuit of records, well, many dozens of them will be smashed at the high school level this year. No one will care if the previous record holder is there or not to witness the record broken. The vast majority of folks will simply stand and applaud the achievement of a thrilled teenager or an appreciative coach.

I enjoyed the Bears' run as much as the next guy, but really, how much Bourbonnais news can a sane person take? Please alert me when, after their four preseason games, they're ready to play one that counts for anything.

Better yet, don't alert me. Because by the time the Bears line up against the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, Sept. 9, we'll have completed Week 3 of the high school football season.

A glance at the prep schedule that week leads me to believe I'll be much more interested in the outcomes of: Warren at Libertyville, Lake Zurich at Stevenson, Bartlett at Larkin, Johnsburg at Jacobs, Wheaton Warrenville South at West Chicago, Hoffman Estates at Prospect, Fremd at Elk Grove, Lake Park at Neuqua Valley and St. Charles North at Streamwood.

I guess the sports world I'm seeing on TV doesn't appeal much to me anymore. Thankfully, the sports scene in my neighborhood is better than ever.

The football fields across Herald City are empty now. I can't wait to hear them filled with people, and high school bands playing the best they can, under the stars on a warm August night.

Already, it feels good to be back on track. Even if it's only practice.