It’s often easy for fans and sports writers to get caught up in streaks.
I’m as guilty as anyone in pointing out that a team has won 15 games in a row, or another team hasn’t beaten a certain opponent since Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.
We praise winning streaks and then, like vultures hoping for road kill, anticipate when those streaks might end. Sometimes, we even muddy the lines that differentiate between sports, drawing comparisons where there is none to be made.
Those of us in the media understand that there are times when the sensational headline draws readers or page views. Most of us try to stay in the bounds of journalistic integrity, but even the best might push the envelope when trying to find the best angle for a story or column.
In reality, no streak, good or bad, is quite what it might seem. High school and college level teams have a complete turnover every three or four years. And no team is the same from one year to the next as players graduate, transfer or have injuries that force them to give up their sport.
There is a yearly turnover even in professional sports.
Bad teams cut players and bring in new players, trying to reach a level of competitiveness. Good teams do the same thing, trying to reach a level of greatness. And great teams make changes trying to stay ahead of the competition.
It is a never-ending circle for teams trying to get to the top and then trying to stay on top.
The problem is we fail to recognize the difference between a team and the school or professional organization that team represents. We also forget that no two teams are the same from one year to the next.
I think it’s OK to put pressure on professional teams and athletes, pointing out how long it has been since, say, the Oakland Raiders won a championship or how many consecutive losing seasons they’ve had.
I see nothing wrong with pointing out that Florida Gators football team has problems on offense this year. I don’t have problems with addressing bad coaching hires a college or professional team makes.
I shouldn’t be so quick to put the burden of history — good or bad — on the shoulders of high school student-athletes trying to play their sport and represent their school.Yes, school traditions mean something and every athlete should strive to uphold their school’s winning ways or break the bondage of losing.
But at the end of the day, they are just high school kids.
We will always make comparisons because it is human nature. I know, in the future, I’ll write about winning and losing streaks. But I hope I’ll do so in a way that reflects the realization that no streak, good or bad, should be placed entirely of the shoulders of the current generation of athletes.
EmailNews Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, follow him on Twitter @BigRandle or call 682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Streaks are not always what they seem