I did okay
October 8, 2013
By Mike Weland

There is an obvious theory rampant in Boundary County that an elite cabal controls Bonners Ferry Badger sports, and the school board of trustees is unaware or in cahoots.

As a school board trustee and worse, a reporter, I can tell you that this is a misperception ... we are all dedicated Badger fans. These are our kids, these are our schools.

Personally, I never made the team. I always wanted to wrestle and play football, but being a military brat I never stayed in one place long enough to earn a jersey, let alone letter. When I finally landed in a school after Dad retired my freshman year, and we stayed there, I thought of it as home.

I came to know the people, learned where the roads went for the first time.

Fletcher, Oklahoma, didn't have a football team. It had baseball and basketball. I was adept at neither.

My parents tried to enroll me five miles north, in Apache (it even had a swimming pool) but the law didn't allow it.

I had to go to Fletcher.

Having never played organized sports, I was good at a lot of things, but not good at anything. I tried out for baseball, but got cut the first round. I tried out for basketball, but didn't know the discipline.

I never made a team, but I kicked ass in sandlot, and tried to muscle what I might have done with finesse.

Kids who grow up from start to finish in any school system have an advantage, particularly in sports. They build a fan base. Team spirit, camaraderie.

I would not trade my life or experience, but I'd have appreciated having had the chance to try.

I got cut from every team I ever tried out for, not because I couldn't, but because I hadn't been privileged to develop the skills, while those with whom I competed had worked for years.

I never made a team, or had the chance to play on a team. I never wore a school jersey, never had my parents cheer me on in the stands or a town lift me to their shoulders in accolade.

I did okay.

I know many out there just like me.