Published: February 20, 2008 02:44 pm            

That's how you play the game...

It was a matchup between two of the top girls’ powers in the 16th region when Rowan County hosted East Carter earlier this week.

When successful teams battle in an athletic contest, especially basketball, a certain level of intensity is expected. Contact is anticipated and Aggressive play is the order of the day. All that comes with participating in contests with good teams.

That said, it’s still nice to see something, even if just a brief glimpse, that reminds the ol’ sportswriter that these are good kids out there battling it out on the court.

Late in the contest and with the Lady Vikings up by a pretty hefty margin, East Carter’s Lakota Burge fouled Rowan County senior Nicole Barr with some force. Barr tumbled to the floor under the basket and grimaced maybe a second or two.

As the whistle blew and the official announced the call, Burge immediately reached down to her opponent and offered her hand. Burge lifted Barr off the hardwood and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

As much as I like to cover high-quality games, I think I enjoy it even more when moments like this find their way into the action.

Burge and Barr are both great competitors and both give as good as they get in the physical play department. But once the call was made and the action stopped, sportsmanship immediately came into play. I like that. That’s what makes this job really enjoyable.

Burge could have stormed off after being called for the block. And Barr could have refused the hand extending in aid that just seconds prior had swatted her pretty good. But both young women acted with class, cool heads and best of all, with sportsmanship.That’s a great reflection of these two athletes, their coaches and their families.

I just wanted to share this moment for those of you who didn’t get to see it. Probably the vast majority of you would not have recognized that moment (obviously my little perch under the basket gave me a great vantage point!) because it wasn’t a game-winning basket, or a big technical foul or even a very exciting play. But all the same, thank goodness, it was very much a part of the game!

Thanks Lakota and Nicole… thanks for that little reminder of why I stay in this wonderful world of community journalism.



See you at the game.

        

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