Too crowded? No, these teams make football playoffs better

Once upon a time -- back when cameras had film and local calls required only seven digits -- it was extremely rare for a football team with a 5-4 record to earn a playoff berth.

But that changed in 2001, when the IHSA expanded the postseason palette and broadened the playing field from 192 teams and six classes to the current format that invites 256 teams and divides them into eight classes.

Thus, teams like Batavia, Marmion and St. Charles North -- local teams that finished 5-4 during the regular season -- were awarded at-large invitations to the playoffs. Before the expansion, these teams would have been turning in their equipment rather than ramping up for another opponent.

Some critics still howl that the current, more-inclusive format dilutes the field and cheapens each championship. I was among those skeptics initially, but it took me about, oh, one season to come around.

Perhaps the best aspect of the switch is that it eliminated the dreaded Wednesday playoff game. For those of us ancient enough to remember, first-round playoff games used to be played on Wednesday, followed by second round games on Saturday. Including the regular-season finale, it amounted to a brutal stretch of three games in eight days. Wisely, that setup was tossed.

I'm still not keen on the season starting so early in August when it's 90 degrees on opening night and fans come straight from the pool to the stadium. The payoff is delivered now, here, in October. This weekend was the first of an exciting, five-week stretch of playoff games that culminates Thanksgiving weekend in Champaign.

That's why expansion continues to be a good thing -- because it allows those 5-4 teams (most of them, anyway) to be a part of this memorable time of year.

Now, a detractor might ask, how beneficial can it be for Marmion to suffer a 25-point loss to No. 1 seed Prairie Ridge? How much fun can it be for St. Charles North to make a long road trip to Moline and come up just a few points short? And, in Batavia's case, how enjoyable can it be to sit for a 6-hour bus ride back home after a gut-wrenching, oh-so-close defeat to East St. Louis?

It may not be evident now, but there are plenty of benefits to be derived -- even in defeat. Because high school sports are about so much more than wins and losses and playoffs and records. Champions will always leave their legacy and folklore, but all the teams that vied for that same title can lay claim to glory in their own, unique way.

And that would include nearly all of them -- or 248 teams, to be exact. Every one of them will end this football season with a loss, with only eight state champions walking off victoriously. Viewed in that context, it's difficult to view the field as "watered down."

As the tried but true cliche goes, it's about the journey, not necessarily the destination. Half the field -- 128 teams -- fell by the wayside this weekend, but they're better off for being a part of the process. High school moments are fleeting -- they represent only a small fraction of life in the big picture -- which makes post-season participation all the more special.

"All those experiences help mold young people," Batavia coach Mike Gaspari said, "and are things they will always remember."

A romance novelist (or was it some guest on Oprah?) once said it's better to have loved and lost than not loved at all. Same applies in the rough and tumble sport of football. Batavia, Marmion and St. Charles North finished their seasons with 5-5 records -- the legal definition of mediocre.

But their inclusion in the playoffs was -- and will continue to be -- a win-win situation for the state playoff system.