Bobref

And this is the problem. There is an entire generation of coaches and fans who have never known anything but the all in, and who, as a result, have been infected with the “entitlement” mentality. It is exactly the opposite of the valuable lessons football is supposed to teach us: that nothing comes without earning it, and that you only get back what you put into it. If the practical reality of trying to run an all in tournament with that many schools is the only reason states like Ohio don’t have an all in tournament, what about those states that have a lower number of football playing schools than Indiana? There are 33 states that have a lower population than Indiana, and about the same number that have fewer schools. What’s their excuse? Ohio has had their taste of the all in. If it’s a superior system, people are going to start beating the drum for change. But I certainly don’t hear anything like that coming from the East. The fact is, the all in format makes the regular season less than it could be. The adherence to the all in system limits Indiana football. Do you even know the history of the all in format? It wasn’t a measured decision, arrived at after conscious deliberation on the question of what is best for Indiana football. It was done to settle a lawsuit, and to avoid any criticism of the IHSAA over selection or seeding. Not very good reasons. But the “justification” for the all in has been lost to time, as the vast majority of coaches, administrators and fans have never known anything else. We went from 64 schools in the playoffs (a little over 20% of the schools) to over 300. If the problem was that not enough schools made the post-season, then increase the number. But the IHSAA just basically threw up their hands and caved to the easy way, the way that doesn’t require anything more than just showing up. Interesting, we laud the high school football experience for what it teaches kids about life: work hard and you will be rewarded, you get what you earn, etc. But our all in format teaches them the opposite: you can give less than your all, including basically giving nothing, and still make the tournament. By doing so, we are missing the chance to reinforce those life lessons. And it’s those valuable lessons football teaches that justify us letting our kids do to one another that which would get them arrested if it happened on the street.

Hard question to answer, as different places have different attributes. In terms of how they take care of the officials, probably Valpo or Crown Point. For “atmosphere,” I’ll take The Inferno during the Kennedy years, in a dead heat with the Boneyard in Russ’ heyday. As a big game venue, hard to beat a packed Demaree. Nicest playing field is probably Ames in Michigan City.

Was there many times ... and never once felt I had a good game.

Have I mentioned how much I hate the Brickie Bowl?

Wasn't that ultimately exposed as some sort or pyramid scheme?

Not sure what “grit” is, or how it differs from “toughness.”

Literally for decades Penn was the beast of the North. Granger is the quintessential white collar community. Somehow, those white collar kids found enough toughness for all those state championships.

I don”t believe both ND and Clemson will get in, simply because they don”t want as a potential playoff matchup, the 3rd game in one season between them. So, as it turns out, the ND-Clemson game a few weeks ago was the biggest meaningless game in history.

You think that’s the reason they won’t adopt it? It wasn’t Indiana’s tradition either when it was started.

With Hammond being open enrollment, Morton was already getting most of the players. Arguably, with the closure of Gavit and Clark, and their brand new facility, Hammond High is more likely to be on the rise than Morton.

It was at Roncalli. It was the night the kid from Boston College hit the 51 yd. field goal to cost the Irish the national championship that year.

Quite uncommon. But that time of year, you go where they send you.

Incorrect. An unsportsmanlike or nonplayer foul is always enforced as a dead ball foul, regardless of whether it occurs during or after the down. An unsportsmanlike or nonplayer foul is never paired with an opponent’s live ball foul to create a double foul, requiring offset and replay. This play was handled correctly by the crew.

You mean, when compared to the well thought out unseeded random ping pong ball draw “plan?” 🤣😂😅😄

For years, some of the more enlightened members of the GID Community — including the late Tim Adams — have advocated for a qualification format in place of the all in system we’ve had for 30+ years. As the lone holdout for an all in format, Indiana’s all in supporters consistently call for “evidence” that a qualification format is better, and smile smugly when qualification format proponents cannot produce any — simply because no other state has such a format. The fact that Indiana’s tournament is all in, and has been for 30+ years, but no one has seen fit to adopt the “Indiana example,” ought to tell you all you need to know about how other high school football leaders view our format. But now we have the opportunity for some hard “evidence” close to home. Because of the pandemic, this season Ohio went to a shortened regular season, and an all in playoff format. In a normal year, perhaps 25% of Ohio teams make the playoffs. This year everyone did. So here’s the question: Having had a taste of the all in format, will the Ohio powers-that-be recognize it as superior to a qualification format, and make changes to their system? Or will they revert to their seeded qualification format? I think we can agree that Ohio places a different degree of emphasis on football than Indiana. Now that Ohio can make an informed, intelligent choice, let’s see what they do? I’ve been listening carefully for the drumbeat of support from Ohio for an all in format. So far 🦗.

You’ll be hearing from my legal team in due course. Nothing personal. Just business.

Watch out! I’ve obtained a copyright on the term. 😉

Thanks for the heads up. The messages pile up this time of year. I’m on it.

The unsportsmanlike conduct was because the joke was so bad.

It wasn’t. The clear implication is that PPs “control enrollment” to manipulate their class positions, not to fit inside their physical space, so as to garner easier championships. Anyone who gives it a moment’s unbiased thought would realize how silly that is.

For the life of me, despite your eloquence, I don’t see the problem. And I do keep my ear fairly close to the ground when it comes to high school football. The sky is not falling. Everything is good. You’re beating the drum. But from what I can see it’s a very tiny one. And rightly so.

That’s all great. But there’s no reason to impose your values on that kid who originally went to Howe. You have no idea what his story is. Yet your anti-PP bent results in a post which clearly implies something nefarious — that doesn’t comport with your ideals — in the fact that the kid ended up at CC. I doubt you’d be saying the same thing if he’d ended up at Zionsville or any other public school.

This is the refrain of the anti-PPers that just drives me crazy. So blinded by hate/envy that it becomes a substitute for reason.

It’s not easy to decide which is more enjoyable: the games themselves, or the post Championship Weekend whining & sour grapes.

We can still have 1st and 25, but the foul must occur after the chains have been set and the ball made ready for play on 1st down. Here’s an example: 1st and 10 for Team A at midfield. Team A comes to the line for the play. The play clock is running. As the left OT gets down into his stance he says to the B player across from him, in a loud voice, “Yo mama's so fat, when she fell I didn't laugh, but the sidewalk cracked up.” The umpire hears this and throws a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct on the A player. After enforcement, it’s 1st and 25 for team A at their own 35.