Going to a high school sports rally - as a reporter
When my editor called me and asked me to do a story about Firelight Rally at a high school within Niles Herald-Spectator's coverage area, I admit that my first response was to groan.
Back when I was in high school, I didn't like sports rallies for the same reason I didn't like pep rallies. Maybe it was because, as someone born in Soviet Union, the whole concept of cheering on command bugged me. Maybe it was because I felt far more kinship to goth, otaku and generally artsy-geeky kids who tended to spend pep rallies sulking (or, in case of goth kids, outright booing). Maybe it was because I could never really work up enthusiasm for any of the sports we were supposed to be enthusiastic about. Probably all of the above.
I attended pep rallies because I had no choice. But you couldn't drag me to non-mandatory, after school rallies. Not even if you promised a bunch of redhead college girls decked out in leather and awesome boots.
The prospect of reporting on one of those after-school events didn't appeal to me in the slightest. But I didn't really have a choice in the matter, so I gritted my teeth and decided to be professional about it, damn it.
And honestly, it wasn't so bad.
Mind you, it wasn't good. Now more than ever, I'm pretty sure my high school self would've hated it. But this wasn't my high school, and I wasn't 16 any more. I could see it as an interesting diversion, a chance to examine a facet of a culture I never really experienced. It's funny how different the whole experience becomes when you don't have any stake in anything that's going on. I observed social cliques, and while part of me smiled in recognition as saw the artistic crowd, I could see kids from other cliques as people. Regular people with worries and insecurities and a sense of humor. It was an interesting experience.
Before the rally, the high school boys soccer team played against another local high school. If it was a football game, or a baseball game, I probably would've been bored. But I could get into soccer.
(Incidentally, I've encountered Americans who seem to think that soccer is a boring sport. Watching kids kick balls across the field and pass the ball at lighting speed, I couldn't help but wonder where they could've possibly got that idea. (Then again, I find baseball incredibly boring. Maybe it's just a cultural thing))
Watching the rally, I was reminded of a lot of the things I disliked about those events. Even though the announcer billed it as a celebration of athletics and arts, it seemed pretty facetious, given that art was presented by a dance team. The crowning of homecoming royalty isn't particularly interesting when you're not rooting for anyone. But when the audio started glitching, I felt sorry for the students. Especially poor dance team, which got ready to perform when sound stopped coming from the speakers completely. The high school me probably would've enjoyed seeing the event derailed.
Ultimately, I guess the best way to describe my experience was "satisfied." I got a chance to see a part of high school life I never really saw, and it wasn't as awful as I feared. I got a few things I would be able to use in my writing. And while the article about the rally wasn't anything to brag about, I like to think it wasn't bad, either.
But I'd be perfectly happy if I'd never have to come anywhere near a rally again.