Coach's Corner: Let's make the Battle of the Brook-View happen
Sometimes you have to plant the seeds before something starts to grow.
With time, some delicate watering and a lot of love, hard work and nurturing, it can take hold and turn into something beautiful. So, let me throw this out into the vast print land of new potential ideas.
How about a friendly competition between our two communities? The Battle of Brook-View we could call it. NorthBROOK vs. GlenVIEW. Don't like that name? "The Willow Road Border War," "The Glenbrook Cup," "The Braggin' Rights Games" and "The North-Glen Games" all could be considered as well.
Heck, I am open to other name suggestions, but here is the idea - and remember this is a work in progress, so any or all specifics could change.
How about the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we rent out a big gymnasium and have an all-day athletic competition between the two communities? Typically (note: this year and "typical" never to be confused), the Saturday after Turkey Day tends to be a quiet, laid-back day with not too many other activities or events to conflict. So the timing could be perfect for a community themed sports contest.
First and foremost, we would have to emphasize this to be a "friendly" competition, with the emphasis on raising money for any of the number of great charities our communities have to offer. The Northfield Food Pantry would be an easy choice. Glenview's Sister Paulanne's Needy Family Fund and maybe Northbrook's awesome Heartland Animal Shelter would be worthy candidates, but the choices here are endless.
Here is how it would work: An series of games challenging Northbrook-based teams taking on Glenview-based teams. Could be basketball. Maybe volleyball. Trivia contest? Tug-O-War? The possibilities both numerous and creative. Remember the idea here is in the early gestation period and would take some study, but you start to get the general idea.
The possibilities for competitive matchups are fun to imagine: The Glenview Fire Department taking on the Northbrook Fire Department (this one could be more hotly contested than the already controversial chili cook-off). Ditto for the respective community police departments.
How about the Village Hall employees of Glenview taking on their counterparts from Northbrook? The Glenbrook South faculty vs the Glenbrook North faculty - they already do a in-school version of this, and it is a classic. But hey, why not double up? While we're at it, let's match up Glenview District 34 elementary Schoolteachers vs. Northbrook's District 30 teaching staff members. And make sure we get the high school's special education departments from each school to put together teams as well.
More natural matchups would be Glenview vs. Northbrook park districts. A classic in the making, not to be outdone by maybe the centerpiece game of the entire competition pitting the South Titan basketball alumni vs the North Spartan alumni? Maybe even have a 40 and under version of this, and a 40 and over "Old Timers" game.
Would the game be big enough to bring back North legends John Scheyer or Chris Collins? Maybe not at first, but like I said at the top, as the competition grows, who knows? Titans could counter with big man summer NBA legend Jack Cooley, and I am betting if someone could find wherever Titan guard Dave Gershonzen is these days-he could still throw in 20 points on a moment's notice.
Village presidents Jim Patterson and Sandy Frum could be the honorary coaches for their respective communities, and maybe there could be special ceremonies between games to honor some of our towns' most respected dignitaries.
A warning salvo in advance, though. We tried something similar to this a decade or so back in the town of Glenview, and there were a few problems. It got too competitive, and the friendly matchups to benefit a good cause got lost on a few of the teams. My kids still talk about the classic matchup of Glenview Youth Baseball vs. The Glenview AYSO soccer coaches that got way out of control and nearly became an all-out brawl, including the volunteer referee quitting midgame and storming out of the gym.
Not exactly what we're looking for here.
We've got some time now to let this idea simmer. Think about potential possibilities, logistics, etc., and maybe aim for a year from now?
I am sure your trusty Northbrook and Glenview Herald will happily jump on board and promote this event. In fact, maybe we will even put our own team together. Based on our staff athletic talent level, we could be matched up against a local preschool or, better yet, any one of the number of senior assisted-living facilities in the area.
Something to mull over, at any rate, as we prepare for next week's Thanksgiving festivities, which of course almost always include a family friendly "turkey bowl" game.
Wait a minute. Maybe that would be the best name for this competition. The Glenview-Northbrook Ultimate Turkey Bowl. Has a ring to it,
Stay tuned.
• Jon Cohn of Glenview is a coach, retired PE teacher, sports official and prep sports fan. Any topics you'd like to see him tackle? Email glenbrooknews@dailyherald.com and include "Coach's Corner" in the subject line.