A CELEBRATION OF COMMUNITY
Written by Dan Salzwedel
During the winter events, and this one in particular, we’ll celebrate wins, crowns, dry tears and experience a gathering of groups not necessarily homogeneous in other forums. Emotions will range from the highest to the lowest, just because of the very area of education that we happen to be honored to be a part of-interscholastic activities. Jb~re will be indiscriminate expressions of hope without regard for affiliation, ~er a sense of loyalty to a team, a school, a sociological sub-set, a community, with only the promise of a crown that carries with it no monetary value and only rewards us with memories that contribute to a collection of experiences we’ll view as an accumulation of wisdom.
It has been said that society’s best creation is the children. Through this period of time, certainly the regular season, regardless of activity, we’ll be enjoined and adjoined by a variety of different groups and communities which possess by definition similar characteristics, having a common goal which is to be a part of this culminating event. Communities represent many things. Conventionally, we think of communities as towns or cities, yet can be operationally defined as churches, groups within a city, schools, clusters of people within a school, inclusive of team, among other subsets. Probably no event in a child’s educational career better celebrates the homogeneity and commonness of purpose as a value than high school sports. The NMAA basketball tournament is the epitome of a community/team which is pursuing a common goal irregardless of gender, origin, socio-makeup, or background. This event has, for over 80 years, brought people together with common as well as uncommon interests, and in a way presents for the public a confession of their character. As the author James Michener once said, “sports are a microcosm of our society.” Taking that as fact from a sociological perspective.tthis interscholastic ‘experience represents a vehicle which, regardless of result, will memorialize for their remaining years the many values learned for each person who experiences this event, whether they are direct or indirect participants.
In a part of education that espouses values, the latter is often misplaced in our cupboard of experiences. While students, adults, direct or indirect participants, will all share many positive memories of this experience, win or lose, perhaps the one most cherished yet unheralded will be their understanding of a sense of purpose that is characterized through one word, that being “community.”
Community, like life, in many ways is accessible only to the wise. A collection of experiences realized through this forum represent the ultimate celebration of that concept. While this event is a kaleidoscope of communities, it may be one of the very few common denominators or vehicles in which everyone will claim at one point in time of their lives to have been a part of a successful experience, regardless of the outcome. All can say that “I was there and participated in an activity which shaped the leaders of the future.” Examples of the many community definitions which are a part of this wholesome experience are voluminous. What makes this a celebration of community is the fact that every generation contributes to the growth and development of the present generation by making this event an important part of their daily lives. People who have made attending this event a tradition in their lives and in doing so, have created a community which perpetuates itself by association over a period of time.
This event offers an opportunity to showcase various groups within, as well as outside of the educational community to be a part of what has become New Mexico’s “greatest show on earth.” It is the forum chosen to present the awards honoring what we as a community or sub-society value most. The Hall of Fame induction and the Sportsmanship Awards are prime examples. We demonstrate the importance of not forsaking the future by forgetting the past, as well as honoring the past champions from 10, 20, 25 and even 50 years ago. Every ticket holder and each person who performs a function at this event is a member of this community and all are represented in this greatest of all components of our laboratory for learning.
Over a period of years, we’ve celebrated greatness in approximately 20 different non-athletic activities, officials, administrators, coaches, thousands of teams, indirect participants, past champions, Hall of Fame members, among others. We’ve entertained and embraced guests from outside of our geographical boundaries. We have mascots which symbolize the positive experiences realized from this and other events. We have people here who have contributed to the growth and development of literally thousands of young people by being a part of this educational environment in supporting the achievers: corporate partners, commercial executives, dignitaries, politicians, all of whom are a part of our celebration of community.