Covering preps is a pleasure

Published 9:00 pm Monday, October 23, 2006

It’s a familiar scenario.

You meet someone for the first time and eventually they ask: “So, what do you do?”

In my case, if I’m being truthful, I say, “I’m a sportswriter.”

To which several people have actually replied: “Cool! Like the guy on ‘Everybody Loves Raymond!’”

Well, not really.

First of all, no TV producer is financially reckless enough (or adequately insane enough) to create a show based on my life. (But if it ever happens, here’s a possible title: “Most of Us Tolerate Whatshisname.”)

Another key difference between me and actor Ray Romano’s character on the popular “Raymond” sitcom: I cover high school sports and Romano’s character wrote about professionals.

After people learn what I do, most assume that I want to climb the sportswriting ladder and cover college or pro teams.

And why not? Athletes are bigger, faster, stronger and, for better but usually worse, more vocal. Pay can be significantly better, at least in journalism terms.

Also, college and pro beats, while extremely demanding, present many other perks for reporters. I got a brief taste of them over the past few years when I went to Safeco Field and wrote some Mariners-related stories, and most recently in September when I covered the Washington State-Baylor college football game at Qwest Field.

In the latter situation, I worked in an immaculate press box with sprawling windows, comfy chairs and plenty of space. Plus, TV monitors conveniently showed replays of key plays and a press box announcer summarized details of the action just for the media.

There’s more.

After every quarter we received sheets crammed with in-depth statistics. A halftime food buffet featured enough sandwiches, salads and brownies to appease a horde of starving offensive linemen. Post-game interviews were a snap thanks to a diligent crew of media relations folks who tracked down players.

For the most part, those luxuries don’t exist in the prep sports world. High school sportswriters learn to savor the little things: non-condemned press boxes with semi-useable chairs, non-lethal power outlets and considerate janitors who don’t immediately boot you out after the game ends.

But for all the benefits that come with covering upper-level sports, in all honesty I’ve never felt more engaged and inspired than when I’ve covered high school sports, especially football.

Here are a few reasons why.

* Community interest

People get fired up about prep football whether they know anyone on the team or not. Take an event like the Stilly Cup game, the annual rivalry showdown between Arlington and Stanwood: No matter how good or bad the teams are in any given year, it always attracts an overflow crowd and generates a ton of pregame excitement.

* Purity

As cheesy as it may sound, there’s something special about watching teenagers who compete for the love of the game and most likely will have no athletic careers beyond high school. On any given Friday, a mildly talented kid can become the town’s football hero.

* Atmosphere

This is the biggest factor, and in my four years of covering preps I haven’t found a place as electric as Oak Harbor High School’s Memorial Stadium. Oak Harbor is a one-school town and fans regularly pack the quirky, intimate facility to standing-room-only capacity.

It didn’t take me long to appreciate the place. The first time I covered a game there, Oak Harbor outlasted Marysville-Pilchuck 27-26 in double overtime in a key regular-season finale. The weather was horrible – cold, wet and windy – and I had to walk the sideline all night because the temporary “press box” consisted of a swaying, semi-tarped scaffolding that looked about as safe as skydiving without a parachute.

After the game, I did a few quick interviews, sprinted across the chewed-up, muddy grass field to my car and frantically typed a story from my passenger seat, barely making my deadline.

But none of that mattered, really. The game was jaw-droppingly good, the fans were intense and I became a believer.

Earlier this season I covered football at Memorial Stadium for the fourth and likely final time. After 60 years as Oak Harbor’s home field – it opened in 1947 – Memorial Stadium will be replaced by a new stadium with an artificial turf surface near the Wildcats’ campus. It’s scheduled to be ready for the start of next season.

The Wildcats played their final regular-season home game at Memorial Stadium last Friday, a 35-27 victory over Monroe. They would play any home playoff games at Mount Vernon High because Memorial Stadium doesn’t meet state standards for hosting postseason events.

I’ll miss the unique stadium, which might host non-high school youth sports events in the future. Quirks made it special: ridiculously small locker rooms, opposing players and coaches on the same sideline, and a wrap-around fence that let fans get close to the action.

“That stadium has hung in there for a long time,” said Oak Harbor head coach Dave Ward, now in his 16th season. “It’s been a nice home-field advantage because nobody is used to playing in that kind of facility.

“It’s a loud place. There’s a real festival atmosphere.”

Even Oak Harbor opponents appreciated the venue. Ward said several opposing coaches have told him after a game, “Wow! This is how high school football was meant to be.”

Not just high school football, but football in general.