Ten years ago ...
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
This past week, while working on a feature story about the 2001-02 Whiteoak Wildcat boys basketball team that reached the Division IV State Final Four, I realized a few things.
The first thing I realized when I began writing the feature was … 10 years ago, I was a senior in high school. Ten years ago, around this time I was probably studying for the ACT (should have studied more), going to high school basketball games (when I should have been studying), playing Madden on Playstation (again, why did I even take the test in the first place) and preparing for the baseball season that awaited (well worth it).
What I remember the most from that time was going to the basketball tournament games at the Convo at Ohio University and traveling with my old-friend Brennen and his family to those games … which 10 years later, I get paid to attend, instead of actually paying to go to the games. Nowadays, though, I have to drive myself.
[[In-content Ad]]I attended Washington Senior High School, and my senior year, the boys basketball team was really good. In fact, that year they reached the Elite Eight, finishing 25-1, after losing to Columbus Beechcroft, 81-50. (No, I didn't remember all of that in my head, but thank you to the good people at the OHSAA, I was able to find all of that information.)
Not really remembering much from the game itself, I do remember a lot from that season, though my old high school is part parking lot, part foundation for what is the monstrosity of a high school-middle school.
Soap box time: The new, bigger gyms just don't have the same feeling or game atmosphere as the older ones did. (Oh goodness, did I just do the old man thing where it's like, back in my day …? Maybe my publisher is right and I'm working too much.)
I remember being 17 years old and probably not having a care in the world. I remember going to games, hanging out with my friends, our student section getting in trouble on more than one occasion with cheers (Warning: Do not try this one at any game. You will more than likely either get yelled at by authority figures or kicked out of the venue. Trust me, I've seen it happen on more than one occasion.) such as "Nuts and Bolts! Nuts and Bolts … We got …" Um, I'll just stop there. We used our “Nuts and Bolts” chant whenever we didn’t agree with a call, but we didn’t overuse it.
When we had a player going for a scoring milestone (1,000 points, I believe), I remember one of my classmates had a T-shirt counting down the numbers, and every time he'd score a basket, the numbers would get "X'd" out.
Also, as I think back about the early few months of 2002, I wonder about the following:
• How did I live without a cell phone?
• How did Ja Rule get so popular back then?
• If I only paid attention more in Coach Smith's typing class, I wouldn't type with just my two index fingers and two thumbs, and this column would be going a lot faster.
• Did I really own every Creed CD?
• Just think about this … if 10 years ago the Whiteoak Wildcats didn't make it to the State Final Four, this past week in 2011 would have been just another week of traveling to basketball games.
Also, now noticing it's a small world … if my high school's basketball team wouldn't have won close to every game they played that same year, I wouldn't have the memories to write this column, and I probably would have bored everyone with a column on how ESPN is turning the new sensation that is Jeremy Lin into the NBA version of Tim Tebow.
Or, I would have given my opinion on how people who think Tiger Woods' career is over are completely out of their minds.
So, thanks to a team from Mowrystown achieving their dream of making the Final Four 10 years ago. It’s allowed me to look back on a happy time in my life, though not perfect. (Remember, fewer video games, plus more studying, equals more free money to college. Wait, did I just do a math problem?)
I was able to travel down the so-called memory lane, as I looked up the Billboard chart of that time frame (Really, Ja Rule was the No. 1 and 2 song for the week of March 21, 2002?), and just reminisce about times that I don't wish back (I like my life now), but remember with great joy.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com.
The first thing I realized when I began writing the feature was … 10 years ago, I was a senior in high school. Ten years ago, around this time I was probably studying for the ACT (should have studied more), going to high school basketball games (when I should have been studying), playing Madden on Playstation (again, why did I even take the test in the first place) and preparing for the baseball season that awaited (well worth it).
What I remember the most from that time was going to the basketball tournament games at the Convo at Ohio University and traveling with my old-friend Brennen and his family to those games … which 10 years later, I get paid to attend, instead of actually paying to go to the games. Nowadays, though, I have to drive myself.
[[In-content Ad]]I attended Washington Senior High School, and my senior year, the boys basketball team was really good. In fact, that year they reached the Elite Eight, finishing 25-1, after losing to Columbus Beechcroft, 81-50. (No, I didn't remember all of that in my head, but thank you to the good people at the OHSAA, I was able to find all of that information.)
Not really remembering much from the game itself, I do remember a lot from that season, though my old high school is part parking lot, part foundation for what is the monstrosity of a high school-middle school.
Soap box time: The new, bigger gyms just don't have the same feeling or game atmosphere as the older ones did. (Oh goodness, did I just do the old man thing where it's like, back in my day …? Maybe my publisher is right and I'm working too much.)
I remember being 17 years old and probably not having a care in the world. I remember going to games, hanging out with my friends, our student section getting in trouble on more than one occasion with cheers (Warning: Do not try this one at any game. You will more than likely either get yelled at by authority figures or kicked out of the venue. Trust me, I've seen it happen on more than one occasion.) such as "Nuts and Bolts! Nuts and Bolts … We got …" Um, I'll just stop there. We used our “Nuts and Bolts” chant whenever we didn’t agree with a call, but we didn’t overuse it.
When we had a player going for a scoring milestone (1,000 points, I believe), I remember one of my classmates had a T-shirt counting down the numbers, and every time he'd score a basket, the numbers would get "X'd" out.
Also, as I think back about the early few months of 2002, I wonder about the following:
• How did I live without a cell phone?
• How did Ja Rule get so popular back then?
• If I only paid attention more in Coach Smith's typing class, I wouldn't type with just my two index fingers and two thumbs, and this column would be going a lot faster.
• Did I really own every Creed CD?
• Just think about this … if 10 years ago the Whiteoak Wildcats didn't make it to the State Final Four, this past week in 2011 would have been just another week of traveling to basketball games.
Also, now noticing it's a small world … if my high school's basketball team wouldn't have won close to every game they played that same year, I wouldn't have the memories to write this column, and I probably would have bored everyone with a column on how ESPN is turning the new sensation that is Jeremy Lin into the NBA version of Tim Tebow.
Or, I would have given my opinion on how people who think Tiger Woods' career is over are completely out of their minds.
So, thanks to a team from Mowrystown achieving their dream of making the Final Four 10 years ago. It’s allowed me to look back on a happy time in my life, though not perfect. (Remember, fewer video games, plus more studying, equals more free money to college. Wait, did I just do a math problem?)
I was able to travel down the so-called memory lane, as I looked up the Billboard chart of that time frame (Really, Ja Rule was the No. 1 and 2 song for the week of March 21, 2002?), and just reminisce about times that I don't wish back (I like my life now), but remember with great joy.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com.