Close to Home: An inflated sense of sports in school, life

The recent hoopla surrounding Jim Harbaugh’s departure from the 49ers provided yet another clear illustration of the outsized importance of sports in America.

Never mind the real news - the issues that truly impact our lives. Controversial sports stories will trump matters of national or global import almost every time.

So it’s no surprise that we were fixated on the fate of a multi-millionaire football coach. Sports obsession, of course, is not a uniquely American phenomenon. Consider the soccer fans all over the world who take zealotry to inexplicable and dangerous levels.

However, what distinguishes American sports fanaticism from that of most other countries is the huge role competitive athletics play in our colleges and high schools.

Full disclosure: I’m a sports junkie. Although I’m a professional musician, I attend more sporting events than concerts. I watch far too many games on TV. I’ve even been unfriended on Facebook for some of my sports opinions.

It’s safe to say that I have impeccable sports fan credentials.

It’s not news that college sports in America are mostly about money. Big money. They certainly aren’t about improving educational opportunities for the starry-eyed athletes whose efforts primarily enrich others.

In fact, the term “student athlete” is downright oxymoronic at many schools. Even the august UC Berkeley is culpable: A 2013 national study identified its men’s football and basketball teams as having the nation’s lowest graduation rate in intercollegiate sports.

In a December story that received little attention in the Bay Area, University of Alabama, Birmingham President Ray Watts made the bold decision to eliminate his school’s football program.

His justification? The football operation consumed a vastly disproportionate share of the university’s total athletics budget, and he sought to preserve a wide range of athletic opportunities for more students.

This shocking announcement was met with tears, anger and comparisons with death. It was as if UAB had lost its identity and its raison d’etre.

What is it that compels so many of us to invest so much energy on our alma mater’s athletic fortunes?

I’ve wasted many a weekend wallowing over the inability of other peoples’ kids to win a football or basketball game, simply because they wear the purple and gold of the Washington Huskies.

Is there any rational way to justify this behavior?

Clearly, I’m not alone.

On a recent Saturday, this newspaper’s sports section listed 45 televised NCAA men’s basketball games on that day. Forty-five! And Sunday featured a full slate, as well. How was I to plan my day when VCU and Duquesne tipped off in the late morning and TCU and Texas Tech tangled immediately following that game?

What’s worse, the evening also was a casualty. Who could miss CSU Bakersfield taking on Cal State Dominguez Hills?

If sports hold huge sway over our colleges, then their primacy in our high schools is not far behind. As a longtime teacher, I can attest that this is a multi-dimensional issue that defies easy characterizations.

Yes, athletes are coddled sometimes. However, the majority of our athletes are hardworking kids who do well in school.

But the truth is that high school athletes almost always are accorded more respect and elevated to a higher stature than any other students. Even though sports are extra-curricular activities, student-athletes are given carte blanche to leave school to travel to games and meets.

Almost no one questions these frequent absences, including teachers whose classes these kids miss. In contrast, field trips that support actual classes, such as a trip to an art gallery or an exploration of tide pools, are strictly limited in number, and teachers often are made to feel guilty for scheduling them.

Additionally, newspapers cover local high school (“prep”) sports on a regular basis while offering only the occasional or perfunctory mention of almost any other school activity. I should be indignant about this, but the Warriors game is starting.

Mark Wardlaw is director of instrumental music at Santa Rosa High School.