I don't think Mater Dei has played yet; I think it may be tonight. They're playing Serra for a chance to win their 4th state title.
I'm not sure why De la Salle isn't playing in that division at the state level. I also didn't know Mission Viejo was still a power. I know they were in the Rob Johnson days, I just hadn't hear about them much in recent years.
Does anyone even attend the H.S. state championship games? I'll bet the Mater Dei-Serra game doesn't even top 7-8K, just watch.
I have no idea how it works. Like I said, few really care enough anymore to show up. Yeah, obviously kids from the school will show, parents, alumni jocksniffers, etc. But each year there are fewer and fewer fans, despite a population of tens of millions.
In the old days (1950s and 1960s), entire communities were really into it. People who had no real connection to the school -- other than being a citizen in the same city -- would show up to all the games to support the team and to show civic pride. And that was largely because the entire town was represented by one high school. You name it -- Downey, Fullerton, Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, Paramount, Tustin -- they each only had one high school for decades. It was only the bigger cities like Los Angeles (who didn't join the CIF in 1935 and became a separate entity), Long Beach, and San Diego that had multiple high schools.
Most of these communities were separated by orange groves, and there were far fewer freeways to connect them. So it was town vs. town, moreso than just team vs. team. It wasn't unusual to have a game draw 10,000 fans on any Friday, even with two schools from cities that totaled, say, 25,000 citizens. And that was just a league game, not a playoff game.
Today? Too many schools, too many outside interests, school pride fading, and civic pride all but gone. What's the difference between Anaheim and Fullerton now? Nothing. Santa Ana and Orange? Nothing. Paramount and Norwalk? Nothing. It's all one big megalopolis from Santa Barbara to San Diego. The bigger everything got, the smaller everything got. Throw in social media and home offices, and forget it. People don't even leave their homes anymore. It's no wonder the high school games draw fewer and fewer fans.
Plus, it's worse in California than elsewhere, given the ethnic makeup of the population, more entertainment draws, etc. But don't let that fool you, it's not the same as it once was in every state, even Texas. And it's not just football, although that's still king in most states. In Minnesota, the more the population has grown, the more the interest in the high school hockey championship tournament has waned. It's still a big deal, but it's nothing like what it used to be. That used to be the hardest ticket to score, even tougher than the Vikings or Gopher hockey. Not anymore. It's still a big deal to the schools and communities, but much less than it was.
Plus, most kids today are pussies and would rather play soccer to avoid gettng an owie. So, there's that too. It's the end of the world as we know it. We're fucked, Java.
I don't think Mater Dei has played yet; I think it may be tonight. They're playing Serra for a chance to win their 4th state title.
I'm not sure why De la Salle isn't playing in that division at the state level. I also didn't know Mission Viejo was still a power. I know they were in the Rob Johnson days, I just hadn't hear about them much in recent years.
Does anyone even attend the H.S. state championship games? I'll bet the Mater Dei-Serra game doesn't even top 7-8K, just watch.