‘Everyone gets a trophy’

I read all the comments on our Facebook page. For better or for worse.

The replies vary. Some are happy all the time. Some are angry all the time. Others like to be trolls and don’t care what the real answers are.

One of the latest comments on one of my sports stories involves every high school football team making the playoffs this fall.

It seems a few folks have issues with that. They feel like it just proves that in today’s world, everyone gets a trophy.

In reality, not every team gets a trophy. The Iowa High School Athletic Association is only awarding team trophies to schools that reach the final 16 in each class, which is the current model for playoff teams that don’t involve a COVID-19 season.

When Newton walked off the football field for the final time on Friday night, they were not given a trophy.

The decision to put every team in the postseason was made only for this year. And it was mostly because the IHSAA didn’t want games lost because of COVID-19 to hurt a team’s chance to make the playoffs.

So they just said everyone is in and everyone plays. They limited the regular season to seven games at most. So in reality, Newton and Colfax-Mingo only played eight games, which is less than they play in a normal year.

And Lynnville-Sully lost Friday night, too, to drop the Hawks to 1-5 on the season.

So who cares if they play one or two more games? Is it really the end of the world, if in a pandemic, the IHSAA wants to give teams a few more games?

I don’t think it is.

Some programs aren’t even considering themselves a playoff team until they get to the round of 16. That’s what Drew Clevenger told me during an interview with him recently.

Clevenger, a PCM graduate, is the head coach at St. Ansgar. That program has won a state championship during his time there and made several trips to the Dome.

Clevenger’s programs expect to win a lot of games every year. He told me they don’t consider themselves a playoff team until they get a trophy in the case.

I’m sure that’s not the case for everyone. Grinnell hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2013 and Newton last went in 2014. Those two programs will likely call themselves playoff teams this year. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

The world is full of things to stress about, worry about and hate on, I don’t think putting every team in the playoffs for one year in a pandemic is something we should use much energy on.

I don’t hear the same arguments for other sports. Every other high school sport has some kind of postseason whether or not games are won or lost.

A wrestler can go 10-20 during the regular season and make the state tournament.

A track and field athlete can go all season without winning a single event and still qualify for the state meet.

And yes, a basketball, baseball, volleyball or softball team can go 0-25 and still advance if they win every postseason game.

We don’t care about those situations. How is this any different?

The truth is, I used to be one of those “everyone gets a trophy” type people. I think we do have trouble with the negative side of things. I think some of us are too soft.

I write a headline that’s not very positive and I expect to get a phone call or email.

There’s the truth and there’s reality. Then there’s the side that most people want to hear.

It’s OK to change our thinking. It’s perfectly acceptable to change our opinions if the situation dictates it.

This year, 2020, has been horrible. Kids have lost a lot of things. We don’t need to take more things away. Give them a playoff berth. I don’t think that’s giving them too much.

Whether it’s folks complaining about playoff berths or others complaining about our website not being free, the comments section on our Facebook page always keeps me on my toes.

Contact Troy Hyde at thyde@shawmedia.com