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Maine’s month long all-you-can-watch buffet of high school state championships comes to a close this weekend with a pair of ice hockey titles up for grabs.

It all started back on Saturday, Feb. 10, when state champions were crowned in wrestling and cheerleading followed by the annual state competitions in swimming, indoor track, skiing, and boys and girls basketball. Any Mainer suffering from cabin fever obviously didn’t have a nearby high school sports program to cheer for.

I’ve seen my share of drama and emotion in the last four weeks. I’ve seen close games and fantastic finishes and I’ve witnessed blowouts and remarkable performances. Like any high school sports season, there were plenty of highs and lows and lots in between.

Some thoughts…

There is no other Maine high school sport quite like wrestling. The passion of wrestling fans is only surpassed by the passion of the wrestlers themselves. For most, wrestling is a year-long lifestyle and not just an activity to participate in from November to February. Some of the best moments I see in any calendar year take place on wrestling mats across southern Maine.

That being said, it’s time the state of Maine joins every other New England state by hosting its own tournament of champions. Everyone in the six-state region except Maine completes its high school wrestling seasons the week before the New England championships. (Actually, the state of Massachusetts has team championships after the New Englands.) And that final weekend of competition crowns the best wrestlers in those five states – regardless of class. Some of these events are called all-state meets, some are called meets of champions.

What are these competitions and why should Maine sponsor such a meet? To choose the top three wrestlers in each of the 14 weight divisions who will represent the state at the New England championships. Currently, each Class A, B and C state champion qualifies as one of Maine’s three wrestlers for the regional event. But that assumes the three state champions are the three best wrestlers in that weight class and in some cases that’s a false assumption.

There are a number of Maine wrestlers who finish as the runner-up in their weight division who are actually the second best wrestlers in the state, not just the second best in their respective class. In some cases, two of the state’s best wrestlers square off in the state championship final in either Class A, B or C. Whoever loses that match doesn’t get a chance at competing at the New Englands. If you’re going to actually send your best wrestlers to the New Englands, you should have a tournament of champions that decides who those wrestlers truly are.

The other problem a tournament of champions would solve is it would give these top wrestlers another week of competition where there isn’t one right now. Our state’s wrestlers had a three-week layoff between our state championships and the New Englands. They had to practice on their own and they had to try and stay as sharp as they could while wrestlers in the other New England states all continued their competitive season right up until the regional event.

And despite all this, Maine’s wrestlers had another strong showing at last weekend’s competition in New Haven, Conn. Kudos to those Maine athletes who made the trip south to represent our state.

Sportsmanship

I always think it’s a shame we have to be reminded how too act at sporting events. Before the competitions get going, the public address announcer informs everyone that they are about to watch young, amateur, high school athletes doing the best they can and that they no one in the crowd should boo, taunt, or de-grade their efforts. Most spectators heed the warning and behave with spirit and civility, but others choose to act inappropriately. Some people just don’t get it.

National Anthem

Anyone who goes to a lot of sporting events gets to hear many different renditions of the National Anthem. Some are simply recordings played over the loudspeakers while others involve a local singer who was selected to “honor America.”

And that’s what the song is for – honoring our country, especially those serving in harm’s way. The National Anthem should not be used as a showcase for anyone’s vocal talents – real or imagined. We’ve all heard those versions haven’t we?

Sing the song like it should be sung. Give it the respect it deserves. I understand these renditions are not meant to disrespect the National Anthem and the volunteers are doing the best they can. Call me old-fashioned, but I just believe that for a minute and a half, we should pay homage to the words and the music. It should be about the song, not the singer.

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