The start of something? (03/27/06)

How do you measure something like this?

Standing on the floor of Conseco Fieldhouse on Saturday evening, looking up, you see a sea of blue.

It’s young people and old, rich and poor, from all over Jay County, brought together for a single purpose: To root for their team.

Some of the fans have been coming to the state finals for years, but for most it’s a first-time experience.

We suspect it won’t be a last-time experience.

Something happened this year, and it’s going to take awhile to sort out its implications and how it can be measured.

But we’d guess Jay County High School’s first appearance at the IHSAA boys basketball tournament finals is the start of a new era.

Clearly, it wasn’t a fluke.

And it wasn’t an accident that more than 4,000 people came together in Conseco and thousands more were glued to the broadcast of the game.

Something new is happening. It involves pride. It involves a sense of community. It involves a commitment to excellence.

All of those, realistically, are difficult to measure.

But we think it’s there.

We saw it Saturday night in the faces of high school students and in the eyes of 10-year-olds. We heard it in the bubbling conversations of fans around Conseco and the roar when the Patriots took to the court.

Standing there, looking up at the crowd, a friend beside us beamed. “This,” he said, “this is what makes me proud to live in Jay County.” — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]