BS'in with the Bull

Watered-down Playoffs

The high school playoffs are here, and for me this is one of my favorite times of the year. Especially now that I’m getting paid to cover them. That withstanding, I love high school football playoffs.

I’m not even really sure what it is about it that I love most. It might be the fact that you get to see some of the best and brightest from around the state on the field. Certainly one reason that is on the list is the fact that you get to see some teams play that you have only heard of. It could also be maybe the fact I remember playing high school and I start to feel nostalgic. Whatever it is there are a plethora of different reason.

There is one thing though, that taints the majesticness of the high school playoffs, and that’s the select/non-select split. Incase you don’t know the difference, and don’t feel bad I was confused on it as well, A non-select school is defined as a traditional public school that draws its enrollment from a defined attendance zone. Select schools are defined as private or public schools that have a policy that allows the selection of students, whether it is based on tuition payment and admission into specialized academic programs. This group includes private schools, charter schools, magnet schools, laboratory schools and dual-curriculum schools.

Basically, in laymen terms public schools have one bracket and everyone not a public school has its own bracket. This set up is a load of crap to me. Part of the thing that made high school football awesome was the simple fact that you would see a public school go up against the Louisiana power houses. That was fun to see the underdog play a close game and on several occasions beat the powerhouses. That was fun.

Everyone knows; John Curtis, Evangel, Catholic High and Notre Dame. Everyone knows that to play for a championship you were going to have to go through one of those schools and now you don’t. To me that just waters down the entire playoffs.

For me if I didn’t have to play the very best teams because there were never going to be on the schedule, I don’t know that would sit well with me.

Having said that I still feel the playoffs will be a whole lot of fun to watch, but instead of having first round match ups be fun and exciting I just have to wait a few more rounds.

It should be a whole lot of fun when that comes though.

 

Andy Bullard is the Sports Editor at the Abbeville Meridional

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