It was like the good ol' days.
Busloads of kids headed off to a sporting event.
In this case it's a multi-sport event along with some generous community spirit.
The spirit came with the crowd, and the spirit came with work done prior 2024 Battle for the Paddle which pitted Lakeland High School in Rathdrum against Sandpoint High School.
Yesterday morning, Debbie asked Bill and me to accompany her to Lakeland High School for the SHS girls varsity game.
Of course, our first concern was the dogs and not leaving them home alone for too long.
Happily, our neighbor Terra took care of that, coming over and letting them out for a play and potty break.
We also worried about the roads because the Lovestead experienced blowing snow swirling around most of the day. Once we left Sandpoint, however, that concern was put aside as the weather improved and the highway was just fine.
We had heard from others that the Battle for the Paddle was a noisy event. Ear plugs were a common sight as we walked into a gym bursting at the seams with fans, young and old, a generous blend of electric excitement and, yes, noise.
Lots of it.
Willie's team had already started playing. They were behind by four points when we found our seats. We sat, as we usually do, on lower seats behind the team.
And, yes, we did miss out on some of the action because there was so much activity along the sidelines with photographers, organizers and families still coming in to watch the menu of girls basketball, bands playing, cheerleader performances, wrestling and boys basketball.
That was okay.
It was an uplifting, exciting scene and a nail biter for fans with the Hawks and the Bulldogs slogging it out as they shot, rebounded, stole, passed, dribbled and raced from end to end on the court.
The second half saw the Bulldogs inflict more precision into their shooting and mercilessly pursue the ball from their opponents' hands.
Gradually, toward the end, as they've done in several recent games, the Bulldogs pulled ahead and held the lead.
Last night's win notches No. 16 for Sandpoint with just three losses. It also keeps them in the driver's seat for taking top spot in their league.
As I said at the beginning, the Battle for the Paddle reminded me of the good ol' days when I was a young teacher advising the Sandpoint High Ponderettes drill team.
District tournaments lasted over a couple of days. Many were played at NIC, and yellow school buses, loaded with fans, bands, cheerleaders, drill teams and players from four different schools came together to show their best talents and to win the right to go to State.
Twas long hours of hard work, great fun, raspy throats from yelling our hearts out, victories, losses, shining moments and always late nights injected with memories that have lasted a lifetime.
Having seen the much touted Battle of the Paddle for the first time, I think that students and staff have found that same magic that we experienced so long ago.
One difference: the event, these days, inspires community generosity as students collect thousands of dollars worth of donations for food or toy drives.
Hats off to the organizers.
This is a wonderful event. I don't know who won the Battle for the Paddle last night because we left before the overall competition ended to get home to our dogs.
Congratulations to all involved with this event and to all who experienced the wonderful joy of victory and pride in jobs well done.
It was a fun time filled with boundless energy, sportsmanship, smiles, loudness and endless excitement.
Thank you, Debbie, for taking Ma and Pa Love to this amazing event.
SHS athletic director T.J. Clary and, below, our lovely daughter-in-law Debbie Love
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