Column: And Just Like That, It’s All Over.
Clark Ramsey (right) and Mark Gainforth (left) call the District 95 Championship from Lakers - a gym that has played host to countless postseason memories.
The following thoughts are some season-ending ramblings from Clark Ramsey.
March 07, 2025 /// By Clark Ramsey
And just like that. It’s all over.
The end of the MHSAA Tournament is abrupt and it never seems to get any easier. It doesn’t matter if you’re a player, parent, coach, sports trainer, teacher, administrator, alumni, broadcaster or just a casual fan, after that final buzzer, it hits you like an oncoming freight train. There are feelings of remorse, sorrow, melancholy, relief, rejuvenation and hopefully, pride.
For some, this will be the last time they ever put on a uniform of their soon-to-be alma mater. Unlike a sport like football, it’s likely they’ll play a game of basketball again, but not in a sanctioned tournament in front of a packed gymnasium or with so much meaning. The next time will be a game that afterward, they’ll have shooting pains in places they didn’t even know could even hurt, amplified especially by the number of years separated from their playing days. Moments that make you question every single life decision when simply just trying to crawl out of bed. But, I digress.
The end of the season hits everyone differently. I still remember when we lost to Reese in the opening round of the district tournament in my senior year. The long bus ride home, huddled up in my varsity jacket, wondering if we would ever and actually get to experience weather before graduation that matched the name of “spring” sports. I wasn’t even on the active roster of the team, but as the student assistant coach – basically a fancy title for a manager or whatever random tasks that Ron Wruble needed to be completed in that exact moment with little or no explanation. But again, I digress.
My point being, high school sports mean something and stick with us the rest of our lives, one way or another, for better or for worse. I was reminded of this just on Tuesday during the regional semi-finals. I was on-air discussing the first time that Harbor Beach had made it to the Regional Finals back in 1965. My phone buzzes and reveals a text from my dad, who was a junior on that very team, and says that they played Saginaw Saints Peter & Paul in the finals and lost, 61-58. That was sixty years ago, yet brain cells are still being used to store those exact memories.
My wife, sometimes jokingly…sometimes not, asks me why I pour so much time and effort into each of my broadcasts. I have yet to find a good enough answer that gets me dispensed from my house project obligations, other than, “because it just means something.” The basketball season is especially long. It starts officially in early November and runs through the middle of March, longer than any fall sport and rivals only that of a recreational bowling league. A jump shot is developed back in the summer months, perfected in the fall when they’re not playing other sports and weight training is a year-round commitment. All of that preparation comes together for a slim 10-14 day window in early March that, more times than not, is over in an instant.
That’s why I always enjoy the season surrounding the MHSAA Tournament. It’s one filled with big moments, overheated gyms filled to the rafters with fans, overwhelming school pride and memories that will last a lifetime.
We owe it to these kids that for small moments of the year, they represent our entire community. Not the politicians on TV, not social media, not marketing campaigns, not tariffs; high school sports allow our students to properly and deservingly be in the spotlight. The same goes for FFA, quiz bowl, NHS, student council and anything else that might not garner the attention like football or basketball does.
High school sports are perhaps the only pure form of the game remaining. NFL television contracts now regularly reach into the tens of billions, baseball players are paid more than the GDP of some small countries and more money is flowing through college sports than ever. Our local sports moments aren’t trending on TikTok or Twitter, but instead are life-teaching moments. They encourage teamwork, hard work and dedication – three things that last a lot longer than a highlight on SportsCenter.
So, in short, thank you for being an active participant in keeping our communities alive and well. It doesn’t matter what or how big or small of a role you might have played, you were there to help create a moment that will last a lifetime. Together, we can influence our future by ensuring the next generation is raised with the same morals that we were taught…and perhaps in the exact same tournament.