Please, don't let me down, high schools

Maybe you noticed over the years that I'm a bit cynical about college and professional athletics.

OK, maybe a lot cynical.

My view of high school sports is different. They're sports' last hope for, well, let's just say the last hope for hope.

That said, I better get to a high school game of some sort as soon as possible.

The last time I attended one it was, in concept anyway, an All-American activity played by All-American students representing All-American values.

Cheerleaders cheering - fans' faces painted in school colors - sportsmanship emphasized - the past frozen in time - the future nestled in good hands -

Recent events could shake a person's faith, however. Prep sports kept making national news last week for all the wrong reasons.

In Kentucky a football coach is arraigned on reckless homicide charges after a 15-year-old collapses during a steamy August practice and dies.

In Texas a girls basketball coach is fired and accused of unsportsmanlike conduct after his team wins 100-0.

In Chicago the Public League restricts admission to basketball games after fans brawl following a game.

What's the deal here, anyway?

Prep sports stories aren't supposed to be about a football player dying, a basketball coach running up the score and fans fighting.

Yes, I know, these things always have occurred in high school sports. Athletes were pushed too far, coaches were too score-conscious, and fans were too fanatical.

I want to remain naive and believe prep sports are the same fairy tales I imagined when I was in high school. But three terrible prep sports stories in about a week are enough to make you wonder whether things are terribly different now.

(By the way, the only encouraging aspect to all this is the athletes themselves weren't the culprits. Coaches and fans allegedly were.)

Anyway, at best these were isolated incidents among the thousands of games played by thousands of teenagers at thousands of schools.

At worst they represent the tip of a trend threatening the mission of high school sports in the 21st century.

I hope for the best and fear the worst.

Like, the best would be that we won't hear about any more incidents for a while anywhere, and especially not here in the suburbs.

The worst would be that prep sports are more than just fun and games now that college scholarships are more valuable than ever, winning is more important and society in general is more confused.

My goodness, high school games - to say nothing of youth sports like Little League Baseball - are on national television these days.

Heck, everything is TV programming fodder today, with prep football crammed between poker and scrabble.

With everything magnified, the stakes are so high that somebody has to monitor the adults who are supposed to monitor the youngsters.

It's easy for parents' self-esteem, coaches' ambitions and fans' moods to depend on children succeeding in sports.

So a Kentucky football coach might push his players too far, a Texas basketball coach might run up the score, and Chicago fans might fight after a game.

All I ask is for someone to assure me that these events broke all at once last week by coincidence and this isn't what prep sports are becoming.

mimrem@dailyherald.com