Opening Day

Oh, the avalanche of sports in September. College football starting up, along with the kickoff of the National Football League. Things are heating up for the stretch run in both Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball. There is no lack of coverage of any of these competitions on cable television, but there are still so many hours to fill.
That's why I am suggesting that ESPN send a crew out to my school to cover the opening of the Elementary Four Square season. There are plenty of returning stars, many of whom are now in fourth and fifth grade, really coming into their own. Along with them are some up and comers who had been hanging around by the jump rope area, just biding their time, waiting for their chance. Now is the time. Now is their chance.
We play "Regular Rules" on our playground. That means that if the ball bounces twice in your square, you're out. We don't allow holds, either. This makes it difficult for some of our younger players to manage the game when things start getting fast and furious. It also means there are a lot of tears when they have to give up their square. Well, not a lot. Shock and disbelief are more frequent reactions to the moment of clarity: "You're out." There is no instant replay. No slow motion. Just the sad realization that the end of the line is what awaits them. Some don't even bother. The end of the line is nowhere they want to be. They stomp off in the direction of the play structure, kickball, or the basketball court. Then there are the ones who will stand, hands on hips, defiantly announcing their unwillingness to let anything as trivial as a rule to take them out of their preordained position. Standard operating procedure would have the stubborn one doing a quick round of Ro Sham Bo with the other offended party. The problem with this process is that it depends on a certain amount of good sportsmanship, which is what really started the confrontation in the first place.
That's when I tend to stroll over. Without a central office in New York to call in to review the disputed play, it falls to me, as the authority, to make the right call. Will it end neatly and with an air of dignity, or will there be humiliation and degradation? Will it be me who ends up degraded? Hopefully not.
Hopefully there won't be any hurt feelings. Hopefully there will be more fun. More competition. More sport.