Monday, August 22, 2016

There's Only One Color Red White And Blue

The Olympics ended last night and there is one thing about the Olympics, for 16 days every country that has tv's focuses on the games.  Regardless of whether it soccer, basketball, track and field swimming every country that has an athlete they pull for their country first and for the person representing them second.

We pulled for everyone who wore the red white and blue.  My years covering sports for the most part I have covered mainly three teams.  Starting in 1971 through 1988 spring I covered Ahoskie High.  In the fall of 1988 Hertford County went to a central high school and then my coverage was Hertford County until 1993.

I spent 1993 and into 1995  covering sports in Fayetteville and it was a game of the week covering all teams.  1999 started covering game of the week on WHIG TV and in 2001 covered Gryphon Sports.  Since 2010 when I have been on tv or radio it has mostly covering all the teams.  Over the years I have been asked this question.  How many white players are on the team or how many are black.  My standard answer is, I don't know all I see is the A on the side of their helmet for Ahoskie, HC for Hertford County or RM for Rocky Mount.

If there is one thing that sports does better than any other it has no color barrier.  If you are the best you play.  Team sports because everyone on the team is working for the same goal everyone is a brother or sister because they work for the same goal, winning in what ever sport it might be.

Sports unites people who care about the same thing.  We all love it when we can say we are the best at something.  It doesn't matter what color they are we won.  The United States of America won many metals during the Olympics.  Can anybody tell me what color won any of them.  They were all Americans.  Each of us that have a certain high school they pull for an in  most cases you either attended that school or you children go to that school now.

I hear this all the time"he graduated from Northern Nash and I don't understand how he pulls for Rocky Mount now.  It probably has something to do with where your kids go.  We all have our reasons. I lived in Ahoskie for 40 years and never thought I could ever pull for any high school but my alma mater.

We all that live in the USA our  Alma mater is America.  All those athletes represented us so we pulled for all of them because we want to be represented by the best in the world.  The only color that counted was Red White and Blue.