[charlie22]

Yes, I know this is a Football thread in the Football forum........ But

The very worst thing the KHSAA Board of Control could ever do is Class Basketball on any level.

I don't even like the regional tournaments being played outside High School gyms.

I agree with you that classifying basketball would be the worst thing the BOC could do. However, if we are talking fairness to the kids in their quest to win a state championship, which seems to be the underlying theme of this thread, then you can't take classifying basketball out of the discussion.

The simple fact is that at a lot of the rural county schools, football has been neglected for decades upon decades. Due to growth in the popularity of the game, football is now receiving a lot more attention in those rural county schools. Which on one hand is great. On the other hand, it's not so great. In our "I have a right to have it and have it now" society, people are ignoring that the successful football schools are, for the most part, those that have placed a huge emphasis on football for a long time. A lot of the folks upset with the private and independents winning too many football championships think that because their school is now placing an emphasis, maybe a huge emphasis on football for the last 5 or even 10 years, they should be winning state championships in football. And if they aren't, the folks think that something is wrong or unfair.

Nothing is wrong or unfair. I could blow up the server for this site discussing in detail the advantages and disadvantages of public vs private; rural vs urban; county vs independent schools. Folks, it will never be perfect for every one, every school, in every circumstance. Such an effort would be analogous to Quixote chasing windmills.

Yeah, we could separate those successful programs from those that neglected football for decades but I don't think that is the right thing to do. I"m not of the "give everyone a trophy" mentality. To win a state championship, rural county schools will have to work harder to catch up. And I'm not just talking the kids working harder (not just some of the players; all the players). The coaches, administration, community, boosters and football fans of those schools will have to work harder to catch up. Personally I think the current playoffs helps create the environment to make that happen. But it will take patience; a quality that is sadly lacking in today's society.