And they’re off!

T
hree weeks ago I was feeling a little verklempt. Anyone who knows me knows that basketball is my most very favorite sport, and with the spike in Covid-19 cases, I was afraid that the plug was going to be pulled on letting winter sports happen before they even got started.
I breathed a very long sigh of relief as I spent my Saturday glued to my television as I streamed Dogie and Lady Dogie basketball in my living room.
There weren’t a lot of fans in the stands, but I heard every cheer and every groan. And those fans were all wearing masks and seemed to be faring pretty well.
What was really kind of cool was that I could hear
the coaches as they coached their teams from the sidelines, and they were doing so
behind masks.
Our teams faced a huge challenge in their first weekend out, playing two games in one day, but what I saw on the court from every team inspired me beyond words.
Win or lose, there was not a single moment when I saw any player give anything less than their best. 
It was as if they were playing their last game of the season.
I feel like there is a good chance that our Dogies will be able to see their seasons to fruition, but I also believe that it’s going to take the cooperation of schools, teams, coaches and fans to make that happen. 
The WHSAA has worked with the Wyoming Department of Health, and in spite of the new mask mandate and the tightening of restrictions on business and gatherings, high school sports still have the green light to proceed.
Hopefully all schools will follow the mandates in order to keep the kids on the court, on the mat and in the pool, because I worry that one rotten apple may spoil the bunch.
Unfortunately as I was looking at WyoPreps and checking out the opening weekend of results, I was a bit perplexed to see that there were results of Wyoming teams playing out-of-state schools. It was my understanding that interstate contests were being cancelled due to COVID restrictions, however, there were results from Wyoming teams playing schools from South Dakota, Idaho and Nebraska last week.
And apparently protocol from one host school to another is also not necessarily consistent. Some places
are clearing and cleaning
the gym between contests as per required, while some are a bit more relaxed in their procedures. 
It’s nearly the end of 2020, the year that has been one for the history books, and we are all getting COVID weary. As I saw on Facebook today, the symptoms of that are trying to decide whether or not licking a public handrail in the hopes of contracting the virus would be a better option than doing everything we personally can to avoid contracting it.
I know I’ve felt like that recently, but I also know that we need to stay the course to allow our kids to participate in the sport(s) they love.
This week, the Lady Dogie and Dogie hoops crew have their home opener on Thursday and the Dogie swimmers host back to back meets on Friday and Saturday, and I know that I will be proudly wearing my mask as I broadcast for the fans watching on the NFHS. I also know that all the Dogie faithful will be doing the same.