The first day of fall sports practice.
It's today and it's great.
This should be a state holiday; the official beginning to the 279-day excursion we know as the 2008-09 high school sports season.
Today, so much starts anew. Last year is gone. All that matters today is hope.
Superficially, the hope is basic -- hope for a great day, a great week, a great season, a great school year.
Enjoy that hope; revel in it. Today, it feels like every team has an equal chance for a state championship.
Most likely, though, that hope will end sometime in the next two-and-a-half months. For a few, that championship hope turns into reality.
But no matter what, at the end of the season, everyone is better. Win or lose, sports mold character. When the season is done, the personal change is only beginning.
More than winning a championship, today's hope should be that two-and-a-half months from now, you're a better person because of your involvement in something great -- and greatness has nothing to do with winning or losing.
Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com
