November 2, 2022 at 1:51 p.m.
Shoutouts & Callouts
Sports are better when all involved stay in their lane
Shoutouts & Callouts
Though the Hodags won a penalty kick shootout and advanced to the WIAA state tournament, the result is officially recorded as a tie because the game was deadlocked following regulation and overtime.
That seems fitting because, given how the ending of the game went down, it's difficult to argue there were any winners in that situation. I left Rice Lake with a hollow feeling. That's no fault of the players, coaches, officials or Rice Lake administration. It was simply due to the fact that some spectator apparently took it upon his or herself to create a distraction to alter the course of the game.
As I reflect on Saturday's events, I've reached an overriding conclusion - sports are best when everyone involved knows their role and sticks to it.
It's the players' job to play, the coaches' job to coach and the referees' job to officiate. The job of everyone else is to sit back, relax and watch the show - rather than try to become the star of it.
Someone stepped out of his or her lane Saturday night and sounded a loud, truck-style horn that forced two do-overs in penalty kicks. As someone who sat maybe 100 yards from where the horn appeared to emanate, believe me when I say as soon as that noise shook Pug Lund Field one side or the other was always going to feel cheated of a true result.
Rice Lake had a score that would have sent it to state negated by the horn and then hit the post on the do-over of that shot. The Warriors then had to witness a second mulligan that ultimately worked in the Hodags' favor because of yet another ill-timed blast.
Rice Lake athletic director Tim Lipke told reporters - myself included - after the game while administrators and local authorities were unable to pinpoint the source of the disruption, it appeared to take place outside the stadium.
"Lot of frustration, certainly, from the side of the Warriors tonight, for something we had no control over," he said.
Lipke did not respond to a River News email seeking to update the situation Tuesday, though he told the Rice Lake Chronotype that an investigation by Rice Lake administration and local authorities was ongoing.
Let's suppose all the circumstances remain the same except the officials do not award a retry after the first horn sounds. Rice Lake advances to state and cries of "foul" would have certainly come from the Rhinelander side, and would have been expressed loudly in this column.
Even so, there should be plenty of frustration from the Hodags' side that some fan's actions is the main story line instead of the team's triumph to finally reach the WIAA state tournament following a number of close calls over its 30-plus-year history. That isn't fair to the coaches, the players or the Hodag fans. While we highlight the team's accomplishments in today's state tournament preview, Rhinelander's run to Milwaukee will be forever tied to that moment.
The Hodags aren't "cheaters," as some Rice Lake fans yelled in their direction afterward. There has been nothing to suggest the team was responsible for the horn. Rhinelander simply made the plays when given a second chance and Rice Lake did not. So, to that end, Rhinelander absolutely deserves to be playing in today's state semifinal against Notre Dame.
However, fairly or unfairly, the question will always be asked, "what if the horn would have never sounded?" It's a question to which we will never know the answer.
All of it led to a less than friendly scene after the game, with Rice Lake students audibly hurling insults at the Hodags as they received their sectional plaque and medals. Typically, both teams are recognized and players introduced individually to receive their awards following sectional final games. That didn't take place Saturday night in what felt like the right decision at the time, given the animosity. Accusations of hard feelings and poor sportsmanship were levied against both teams and their fan bases afterward.
"I've never seen a situation like that in all my career," Lipke said. "Then of course to see that display on both sides was really unfortunate."
"Emotions ran extremely high and the sportsmanship, by both sides, was not to what administration would want it to be," added RHS activities director Brian Paulson, who did not attend the game but was briefed on the situation by Lipke and others.
There has been discussion about who gets to host sectional finals in soccer. Rice Lake was the predetermined site of the D3 sectional final and was able to host a de facto home game once its team advanced.
Should an alternate neutral site be found if the predetermined host reaches the sectional finals? That would possibly diminish the likelihood of having a repeat of Saturday night's events in Rice Lake but it comes with its own set of challenges. Given that the sectional semifinals take place on a Thursday, an alternate site would have less than 48 hours to prepare to host a sectional final.
The solution above addresses a symptom, but doesn't do much to treat the illness which seems to be a classic case of too much meddling in high school sports.
I'm reminded of a coaching clinic Rhinelander held in 2015 in which Mark Hull of the 3Dimensional Coaching program warned of the pitfalls of idolizing extrinsic motivators such as wins and losses.
"We've lost our way because we've lost the purpose of sport - which is joy and wonder - and inserted winning," Hull said at the time. "When you insert the wrong things, you become diseased. It becomes broken."
Whether it's disrupting a penalty kick, allegedly voting out of spite against a person or program in all-conference meetings, allegedly skirting WIAA practice regulations or a number of sophomore-to-be transfers conveniently making one school's programs significantly stronger, all of it can be traced back to someone losing sight of their role in high school sports, blinded by the desire to win at all costs. That's a troubling trend.
For all the negative, there is still plenty of good in high school sports. Despite the animosity, two poignant moments of good sportsmanship stick out in my mind from Saturday night's sectional final game. The first was Rice Lake keeper Sam Jevne doing his best to settle the crowd and yelling in the direction of the loud horn, imploring the person(s) involved to knock it off. The second came moments later after Jevne had a shootout-extending kick knocked away by Rhinelander's Cooper Radke. While the rest of the team erupted in celebration, two Hodags - Will Quinn and backup keeper Barak Rappley - paused to offer Jevne comfort and condolence as knelt on the ground in despair.
Those were two very adult moves by kids not old enough to vote, and examples we should all look to emulate. Ultimately, that involves everyone playing their role in the sporting ecosystem to the best of their ability, and not overstepping their bounds in an attempt to deny someone a rightly earned victory or award.
"In the end, let's do what's right for the kids," Paulson said.
I couldn't agree more.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
WEATHER SPONSORED BY
E-Editions
Latest News
E-Editions
Events
August
To Submit an Event Sign in first
Today's Events
No calendar events have been scheduled for today.
Comments:
You must login to comment.