Schneid Remarks

It just isn’t the same but I guess it is all we have at this time.
I have attended thousands of games during my newspaper career.
You get used to many things when traveling to different schools, gyms, and communities.
You get used to things at your own school.
The first thing is knowing where to park so you are as close to the front door as possible.
When you get inside, what is the first thing you notice? Of course it is the smell of either popcorn or pizza.
Jordan High School has carmel corn so that is a much different smell, but oh so good.
Other memorable items include Blooming Prairie with their little ice cream shakes.
St. Peter has one of the largest supplies of candy to choose from.
Many schools, especially during wrestling tournaments, feature the taco in a bag. I miss those.
Not only do I miss the concessions, I miss chatting with people who may not be affiliated with the team but come to our games because they want to watch a good team or a good athlete.
I miss seeing the smile on a player’s face after he pins an opponent, hits a last second three-pointer, or takes a charge on the oppositions best player.
I miss being able to sit anywhere in the stands I want and talk with opposing team’s parents.
I miss watching kids high five each other and/or shake hands with the other team.
I miss gyms full of fans, the excitement of the students, and the occasional interaction between fans and officials.
I even miss not being able to fold up a program, put it in my camera bag, and pull it out when writing the stories days after the games.
I understand that these precautions need to be done. I guess I am just glad I am able to attend games as a media member.
It isn’t the same as years past, but being able to watch games does bring back some sort of normalcy to our lives.
I did have a request from a couple of parents wondering if I could print the names and numbers of the basketball players, for those who watch on-line.
I would do the same for wrestling, but there isn’t an easy way to do so without a large number on the uniform.