The Real McCoy
It's all pretty much the same- just different
By Brent E. McCoy thereal@adelphia.net

I'm sure that you've all heard by now about the Moorpark High School Academic Decathlon team returning home after winning the California Academic Decathlon in Sacramento.

You may have heard about it, but there aren't too many people talking about it.

Not only did they win and get a chance to compete in the national competition in April, but they racked up an all-time record score in the process.

Yet I haven't heard anyone talking about it.

If it was the baseball team or the football team or the basketball team or even the golf team, I think you would hear talk of winning the state championship all over town. There would probably be a celebration or maybe even a parade. Instead, there was a get-together at school and a rally last Friday, (also at the school).

It's possible that there was a celebration and they only told the smart people. In that case, it would be understandable that I wouldn't have heard about it. I don't think this was the case.

I also think I might know some of the reasons for this.

First of all, most people don't understand how it works. I don't really understand it myself, which, of course, qualifies me to offer advice.

To be really popular, competition needs tradition, imagery and, most of all, a song. Even if people don't understand the scoring, if you have all of these things, it's bound to be a hit. For example, golf is popular, but there is no song, so not everybody plays and watches it. The same is true of boxing and hockey. These sports are just a catchy tune away from the pinnacle of competition. Baseball and football have all three requisites, and look at how popular these two events have become. It's true that NASCAR doesn't have a song either, but they do have really spectacular crashes which are just as good as a catchy tune.

I don't think that there is a song or a tradition or a particular imagery one thinks of when they hear about the academic decathlon. I'm even more certain that there is almost no chance of a crash at one of these events, unless, of course, the energy drinks run out.

You also need to give the fans something to scream about that has nothing to do with the competition. Get the high school cheerleaders out there. After just one round of "Give me an 'E'! What does it mean? It's 'M' 'C' squared!" the crowd would be whipped into such frenzy that it would warp space and time.

It's the lack of these things that keep the academic champions in the background. Perhaps someone will go to work on remedying the situation after reading this.

These students set an all-time record. But as far as I know there is no eyecatching memorabilia to display commemorating the event other than the championship trophy. In baseball or football, there would be a ball or a jersey we could hang up or put alongside the trophy for all to see.

Athletes often sign balls or jerseys before the big game to give away as collectibles- it is tradition. The academic decathletes can't do this with their score sheet because they don't even know what's on it until the competition is over. This is in stark contrast to some bigtime college athletes who receive their answer sheets days or even weeks before the test.

Congratulations, students, and good luck in Garden Grove.