Having spent a week on a boat, stuck with weak WiFi and no drive to write about San Diego high school sports from a distant floating outpost on a river partly in what used to be behind the Iron Curtain, maybe I can make up for my profligacy then by writing more words now that I'm back in the free world with a reliable Internet connection close at hand.
La Jolla's little-engine-that-could football team has won its last three games, so my mind made the parallel this morning--as I drove to deposit a table and a turntable stand my now-deceased father made over 40 years ago (the latter for me, the former for our family room in Camarillo) at a Goodwill near the school I am substitute-teaching at--that the departed Chargers have also won three games in a row.
Besides their respective winning streaks, both teams play the same sport, football. If there are any other commonalities, I'm not sure.
The professional contingent couldn't get the stadium their owners wanted, so they burned bridges with San Diego and left for Carson. The prep entity enjoyed the reverse, the construction of the best playing facilities the program has ever had. That's since the public school was founded in 1922. The pro football team played its first season in 1960.
People in this city don't like the owner of the Chargers, while many persons attached to LJHS athletics probably are thankful especially to the athletic administration for the new playing surface and track, boys locker room weight room, trainers room, concession stands on both sides, press box, etc. Probably those whose teams didn't benefit directly from the recent upgrade--at least as far as their playing venue--would be less sanguine.
The trio of recent wins squared the high school team's overall record at 4-4. The Vikings jumped to 3-0 atop the City League. The Bolts moved up to 3-4 after losing their initial four contests as the L.A. Chargers, a major improvement. Sunday's shellacking of Arizona, though committed in London, counts as L.A.'s home game and so is the Chargers' first home win in the City of the Angels since 1960.
The status of the coaches? Tyler Roach, as a high school coach, probably would be less vulnerable to the winds of "win at all costs" than his Charger counterpart, Anthony Lynn. Marty Schottenheimer won games for the San Diego Chargers, and was fired. Rey Sanchez, a great guy, taught middle school at Muirlands and was a well-liked coach but struggled to win on the old Viking turf. He was able to retire on his own terms at the time of his own choosing.
Colors opposite: Black and red, versus power blue and gold. Any former student of mine who claimed allegiance to a gang would tell you red and blue don't mix.
My connection to the teams? My granddaughter attended LJHS, was a varsity cheerleader all four years, and graduated in 2008. She's the reason I got into this mess. (I'm kidding.) As far as the Chargers, one, football is not my number-one sport (I never played it), and two, I grew up in greater L.A. when the original L.A. Rams and the Fearsome Foursome were battling the Purple People Eaters and other NFL teams, so I'm not a dyed-in-the-wool Bolts fan. I think it's sad what Dean Spanos did to the loyal Charger fan base by leaving, but I am a fair-weather fan at best: When LaDainian Tomlinson was setting a league record by rushing for 31 TD's, I was aboard. Outside of that, I admire Phillip Rivers as a positive role model, team players, and striver for excellence.
And, if you've read any of my blog entries, you know that I support high school students attending their neighborhood schools (versus moving elsewhere for perceived athletic advantage) and playing on teams with the classmates they have grown up with. So, that would give the nod to the high school contingent over the professional (bless their hearts) unit.
Tyrell Williams, a receiver for the Chargers, visited Viking practice in the preseason and talked with the assembled team. He came on the invitation and through the friendship of one of the Viking assistant coaches. Unfortunately, Williams, who played at tiny Western Oregon in college and who had a breakout 2016 campaign with the Chargers before they left San Diego, has suffered through a paucity of receiving yards this season. He had only one catch Sunday in the shutout of the Broncos, covering 11 yards, and has 20 or less yards in each of his last four games.
Colors opposite: Black and red, versus power blue and gold. Any former student of mine who claimed allegiance to a gang would tell you red and blue don't mix.
My connection to the teams? My granddaughter attended LJHS, was a varsity cheerleader all four years, and graduated in 2008. She's the reason I got into this mess. (I'm kidding.) As far as the Chargers, one, football is not my number-one sport (I never played it), and two, I grew up in greater L.A. when the original L.A. Rams and the Fearsome Foursome were battling the Purple People Eaters and other NFL teams, so I'm not a dyed-in-the-wool Bolts fan. I think it's sad what Dean Spanos did to the loyal Charger fan base by leaving, but I am a fair-weather fan at best: When LaDainian Tomlinson was setting a league record by rushing for 31 TD's, I was aboard. Outside of that, I admire Phillip Rivers as a positive role model, team players, and striver for excellence.
And, if you've read any of my blog entries, you know that I support high school students attending their neighborhood schools (versus moving elsewhere for perceived athletic advantage) and playing on teams with the classmates they have grown up with. So, that would give the nod to the high school contingent over the professional (bless their hearts) unit.
Tyrell Williams, a receiver for the Chargers, visited Viking practice in the preseason and talked with the assembled team. He came on the invitation and through the friendship of one of the Viking assistant coaches. Unfortunately, Williams, who played at tiny Western Oregon in college and who had a breakout 2016 campaign with the Chargers before they left San Diego, has suffered through a paucity of receiving yards this season. He had only one catch Sunday in the shutout of the Broncos, covering 11 yards, and has 20 or less yards in each of his last four games.
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