Semifinals present challenge

I’m a journalist.

I take notes and photographs.

What I don’t take are sides.

However, I’m not afraid to admit then when covering a game, I have a tendency to, internally and silently, pull for the home team.

It doesn’t alter my coverage, and you won’t catch me cheering — even though by now I’ve learned the words to just about every dugout and sideline cheer imaginable. But hey, I can’t help it. I know these kids on a personal level.

To me, they’re not just some random name on a roster I grabbed from the press box. In reality, I’ve covered the vast majority of them for years.

I know their parents, siblings, their boyfriends and girlfriends and even a little of their high school gossip.

They trust me. So, yes, on the inside, I may have a tendency to pull just a little bit for the kids I know.

Last Friday in the Class 4A-Region 3 semifinals, I bounced between the Braden River and Lakewood Ranch dugouts, taking note of the game’s highs and lows. I chatted with parents, knowing full well that on more than one occasion a cheer or a grimace would ultimately cut into our conversation.

I saw the lead change hands while one team made history and another’s season came to an end. I saw four seniors walk out of Lakewood’s dugout for the final time.

Win or lose, I had a story. But sometimes, the story you choose to write isn’t the only story to tell.

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].