The Tradition of High School Sports and the Masters

By Gary Melle

As I settled into my couch last Sunday, ready to watch the best golf tournament in the world, I was immediately reminded about the greatness that is High School Sports. Throughout the week of the Masters, analysts, players and fans alike took turns offering their thoughts and opinions as to why this golf tournament is so special. History, traditions, familiarity, purity, passion and excitement were presented as initial evidence. It’s All-American, small town setting with a first class venue, loyal patrons and a wanting for more, were offered as further proof.

As I listened, the lines became blurred…were they talking about the Masters or high school games and events that we witness on a daily basis? CBS’ description of the Masters, “a tradition unlike any other”, could really be applied to countless high school teams and communities across the country. Unique game-day traditions are commonplace from coast to coast, sport to sport.

By comparison, the Masters is played during the first full week of April each year – a date golf fans know well. But high school football defines a term, “Friday Night Lights”. More than a phrase, it’s an obsession.

Bubba Watson received a healthy check for his recent win at Augusta, but his most prized possession from the victory, a simple Green Jacket - a symbol of accomplishment, excellence, and a lifetime membership to an exclusive group.

Although not as high profile, many youngsters will receive state championship medals around their necks this year, an indication that they too have reached their ultimate goal, most likely in a sport they will never officially play again. High school “state champs” are our first local heroes.

The Masters golf tournament maintains a pureness that is rare in professional sports, but evident everywhere in high school athletics. Although wishful thinking, sometimes I think golfers would play this tournament for free. High school ball players do so every day. And unfortunately, many are now having to pay to play.

As the telecast scanned the galleries that surrounded each hole, it was easy to see the different generations that follow the game of golf. Go to a high school game and you’ll see the same thing. And although Bubba had some close friends and family nearby as he sank his final putt, the high school audience is just different. The participants are family, they’re friends, they’re neighbors. Communities unite; they rally, they care.

High school sports produces a passion factor and a resonance that is unique. It can’t be measured and it can’t be duplicated. There is a mystique around the Masters that is well deserved, for it rarely disappoints. But for many of the same reasons, in towns all across this country, the aura of high school athletics is growing…it is America’s number one sports platform.