Football With Polar Bears

Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm mildly obsessed with all things Alaska. I'm even hoping to find some sort of summer school job in Alaska somewhere next summer. So of course when I saw this ESPN.com e-Ticket story last year, I read every word of it. It's a very interesting and well-written piece even if you don't share my 49th-State obsession.

To sum up the story for the lazier readers, the school district Barrow High is in got a large sum of money above their usual budget and the superintendent decided to dump it into starting up a football program. This is a bit unusual. There are no other teams for hundreds of miles around. It's the only team inside the arctic circle and it's a good bit from where the arctic circle meets the unarctic circle. They have to fly to their away games and their opponents have to fly in for the home games. Plus, they couldn't afford a proper field so they played on a gravel lot lined with flour. Some lady in Florida read the same article I did and decided to raise funds to install a proper field. Obviously they can't just plant grass. There's often still snow on the ground in places in August. So they're going for a Boise State style blue artificial turf that's thicker than normal to stand up to the harsh weather up there. I ended up donating a bit (not a lot, but I can't afford a lot) and bought a Whalers Football T-shirt.

I know it may sound like a frivolous charity, but you probably went to a fairly wealthy suburban school if it seems silly. I grew up in a poor rural school (kind of like Barrow except with no snow and fewer bears, and about 50 more degrees F) and I teach in one now. Football is the only reason some of these kids stay in school, and the reason some of those too lazy to quit actually try in class (they can't play if they don't pass). Basketball sometimes does this, but the teams aren't as big. And the other sports just don't seem to have the same sway as football, especially with the kids with less-than-ideal homelives.

And if you're thinking, "What about the girls?", you've got a good point, but more males than females are dropping out. Besides, educating girls just causes problems. If you want to keep the girls in school just have the cheerleading squad go competitive or something.