Looks like a happy ending for everyone

It's not going to take long for the buzz to build.

Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles East and St. Charles North in the same conference?

This is going to be fun.

It certainly wasn't a happy end to the Western Sun, but I'd say this is about the best thing that could have come out of it.

If it indeed becomes official in the coming weeks that the Upstate Eight is expanding to include Batavia and Geneva, area fans are in for some treats throughout the school year.

In football, a third of the schedule for St. Charles North, St. Charles East, Batavia and Geneva would be against each other. Think of the hype now for those matchups, and now we'd be getting that throughout the year.

Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles kids grow up knowing many of the same families in the Tri-Cities from playing in various youth leagues together. Now those friendships and rivalries can continue in each sport throughout the year at the high school level, with conference championships on the line.

Every so often you still hear people who don't think Batavia and Geneva play tough enough teams in the Western Sun. The great thing is now they'll get to prove how they stack up on the field in sport after sport against these Upstate Eight teams.

While the future sure looks like fun, I have to give a short send-off to the Western Sun. I might be one of the few, but I'm going to miss the conference. For starters, I enjoyed the drives west any day of the week instead of waiting at another red light on Randall Road or Rt. 59.

More than that were the games on the field, some truly remarkable ones. I remember the Kaneland-Rochelle football game with a 44-40 halftime score. Or how hard it was for Batavia basketball trying to win at DeKalb, including an unforgettable half court buzzer-beater one year.

Until Batavia's baseball team ran away with the Western Sun title this year, you could always count on a crazy final week in that sport with four or five teams still having a shot at the conference crown. Or Geneva's remarkable fourth quarter comeback to beat Glenbard South in football this year.

Or take any of the Kaneland-Batavia football games. Every year those were instant classics and it always seemed the Knights played their best against the Bulldogs. There really were some great matchups that will be missed and I agree that the conference wasn't given enough time to see how it would work out. That's too bad.

But I'll also say that there was a growing imbalance in talent levels. I know this goes in cycles at public schools but I have a hard time picturing some of the Western Sun teams being competitive with Batavia and Geneva. In the Upstate Eight, the Bulldogs and Vikings should see their athletes pushed on a consistent basis in almost every sport.

Maybe it's a win-win scenario for everyone. A better match for the Western Sun schools leaving and a better match for Batavia and Geneva, which is what every athletic director I've talked to the last few weeks has been looking for. They want the best fit for their kids to have a chance to compete.

And, while I realize it ranks about 1,000th on the list of potential good things to come from these moves, us writer types are going to get even better storylines.

jlemon@dailyherald.com