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Sunday, December 28, 1997

What's wrong with a single-site playoff?

By MICHAEL A. LUTZ / AP Sports Writer

HOUSTON (AP) -- At my high school some years back -- OK, quite a few years back -- football players were considered downright sissified if they dared drink water during practices.

Then, one of our players dehydrated and gave everybody a big scare. It happened enough elsewhere that eventually it became wise to have water breaks during workouts.

It's called progress. Sometimes, the way we did things in the good old days weren't always that good.

So, in the name of progress, what would be wrong with a televised, single site playoff for all Texas high school football championship games, with a handsome payoff going to the participating teams?

It's a great idea if you're Fox Southwest Sports, which has been trying for years to set up such an event. It's not so good if you're the high school coaches, who see the venture as giving up control of their sport.

Other states -- Michigan and Louisiana, to name two -- have found success in having their championship games in the Silverdome and the Superdome, but Fox Southwest president Jon Heidtke has an even more elaborate and lucrative plan for Texas.

Fox wants to stage the playoffs over two weekends at a rotating site that would be determined at least a year in advance so there could be plenty of promotional buildup. Game days would feature a carnival-like atmosphere around the stadium with all sorts of interactive games promoting both the event itself and the rich past of Texas high school football.

Fox also is willing to pay up to $570,000: $50,000 for each of the four Class 5A finalists plus travel, hotel and entertainment benefits; $40,000 for each of the four 4A teams, $30,000 for 3A and 2A schools and $15,000 each for 1A and six-man programs.

The University Interscholastic League rejected a Fox proposal earlier this year because coaches are so against it. The field bosses don't like the idea of giving up control over the decision of when and where to play championship games, even if they sometimes use a coin toss as the deciding factor.

But Fox, which already had a contract to televise both 5A games, lucked into a mini-version of its plan over this year as the two 5A and the two 4A championship games were all held in the Astrodome, allowing the network to show all four games. Instead of the big payout it had offered, Fox gave the four 4A schools $1,000 each. The four-game program drew about 70,000 fans.

Because the schedule was set on short notice, Fox didn't have time to put together all the buildup it had in mind. Still, the cable network loved having the chance to show how its plan could work.

"What hurts in something like this is we have only six days to get ready for it," Heidtke said. "We've been talking to some of the coaches and we're telling them, ÔLook what we did in six days. Think about what we could do in 365 days.' "

The short notice prevented Fox from being able to create a bowl-like atmosphere.

"We'd like to make it a week-long celebration of high school football," Heidtke said. "We'd get sponsorships for coaching clinics, cheerleading and band contests and academic contests.

"For most of these kids, it's a once-in-a-lifetime event, so why not make it as exciting for them as possible?"

Sounds too good to be true and maybe it is.

Coaches like to play at sites that give them the best chance to win. They like to control the sizes of their squads. They don't want to be forced to travel across the state to a strange place with players who may never have seen the big city. The travel would be especially difficult for schools from smaller classes, whose fans may not be able to make it to the game.

"We've had great success playing our games in the Silverdome," said Jack Roberts, executive director of the Michigan High School Athletic Association. "But it wouldn't matter if there were complaints. Because of our weather, we don't have any choice. We have to play indoors."

The MHSAA has a two-day program beginning the day after Thanksgiving. This year's two-day final drew 67,000. Louisiana stages a similar program in the Superdome.

"I talked with a coach from Louisiana who told me there was a lot of resistance from the coaches when they first started it," Heidtke said. "Now, he says they wouldn't have it any other way."

As for me, I take the players' view. Years ago, if you'd have told me I could get on a plane, play a televised state championship game in the Astrodome, Texas Stadium or the Alamodome, you think that wouldn't be the thrill of a lifetime?

I don't think players have changed that much from just a few years back -- OK, OK, so it was quite a few years back.