Feelings of a CIF champion

04-08-2006

By Jake Fisher, San Diego Hall of Champions Intern

Some of the most famous movies in history have focused on high school sports and championships. “Hoosiers”, a common pick for the best sports movie of all-time, was based on the real championship run by a small Indiana high school basketball team.

“Remember the Titans” used high school football to stress the important messages of camaraderie and trust. The reasons for the success of these movies come from the public’s emotional ties to high school and the integrity of its sports.

High school sports have distinct appeals that separate them from professional sports. Sports at the high school level are pure. There are no contracts, no lockouts, nor special treatment. High school athletics are about trust. They are about determination. And they are about hard work.

This winter season, I was part of a high school soccer team that won a CIF San Diego Section championship. At my school, Francis Parker, the boys soccer team had always been one of the weakest teams. There are dozens of banners from many sports dating back to the early 1970s, but only two display a league title for boys soccer and none show a CIF championship for the sport.

When we finally won it all, the feeling was as much relief as joy. Winning had lifted the failures of previous years off our backs. The joy of our victory was not influenced by money, free agency, or trades. All my team wanted to do was a win a championship for our school, for ourselves, and for each other.

Winning a championship ties teams together. My team, for instance, was given an identity through our championship. We are not just the 2005-2006 boys soccer team. We are the first boys soccer team to win a CIF title in our school’s history.

Without championships, the Detroit Pistons’ “Bad Boys”, the New York Yankees’ “Murderer’s Row”, and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “Steel Curtain” would never have been recognized. Winning brings a sense of camaraderie that losing does not.

My team also relished the championship because it was a fulfillment of our goals and the culmination of our hard work. For my team, which had to practice at 5:45 a.m. to adjust to field time, our championship showed that our hard work meant something.

We had talked all season about putting up the first CIF championship for boys soccer, and when we finally won, our emotions showed the accomplishment of that goal. Our championship was proof that preparation and a season of intense training actually amounted to something.

The CIF office is sometimes criticized for offering too many division titles, but my high school championship has meant much more to me than any club soccer championship.

High school sports are intertwined with my everyday life. My teammates are my classmates and my coaches are my teachers. Championships outside of school are fleeting. The feeling is great after winning but that emotion is soon lost.

A championship for my high school means much more. I will always be in contact with my teammates, since they are the classmates with whom I grew and matured. Other students will always be aware of our team’s victory when they see our banner hanging in the field house.

It is hard to pinpoint the exact feeling of winning a championship. When that final whistle blew, the only thing I can remember is pure joy and a sense of fulfillment. That is probably why high school sports movies are so moving. They show real emotions.