I was going over a little column self-assessment this week and realized that I put out a fairly crappy column last week. Kind of lazy opinions and such, which is probably not surprising to most of you. I’ll try to do better, but it’s unlikely, please don’t get your hopes up. There is no money back guarantee on these things.
There are few people that are upright that don’t have an opinion on the Missouri State High School Athletic Association (MSHSAA). This private organization of member public school districts brings out opinions from parents, coaches, and school boards en masse each year.
The Missouri legislature is at the very least poking them this year and at the most will establish a law that puts a state appointed board above them.
House Bill 2278 will require that any statewide activities association that facilitates interscholastic activities for secondary school students must be overseen by a board of directors appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The legislation might actually grow into law. Gov. Kehoe included it in his state of the state address last week. He said, in part, “As we talk about education and student success, we can’t overlook the role athletics and other extracurricular activities play in building leadership, teamwork and resilience. The organizations overseeing these programs must operate with transparency and accountability.”
“This is not happening now…”
That sounds not great if you’re running MSHSAA today.
If you’re a “less government” person, another level of government above MSHSAA might not help. I’m not sure that you could be more bureaucratic than that setup. First you have MSHSAA that is primarily operated by school administrators, one of the most bureaucratic groups of people on the face of the earth and then you are going to mix in some appointments made by the governor and confirmed by the Senate of the State of Missouri, a group that will obviously have a political lean with lots of co chair and committee experience and that’s some serious “sausage making” of public policy.
I have begun my research into this World Cup hosting that is coming to Kansas City this summer. I am mostly skeptical of sports and economic impacts. I typically don’t believe the bloated numbers that supporters throw out about all sports. They’re usually overblown.
So, this World Cup thing, which is huge to the world but a bit less to the USA, was hosted by the USA in 1994. Want to guess the score of the final game between Brazil and Italy in 1994? Ok, regulation ended in a 0-0 draw. 94,000 people packed into the Rose Bowl for a 0-0 match that was resolved through a penalty shootout with a 3-2 Brazil victory. I think that’s when all the guys stand in a line with their hands over their man parts.
The tickets look crazy expensive. As of this week, the lowest price on Stub Hub for the first game in Kansas City is $611, but most are well north of $1k. Not sure many soccer families are grabbing a $5K worth of tickets to see Argentina and Algeria square off, but I’m certainly no expert on soccer.
But if you are really rich, the pitch side lounge is available, and you can get in there for $10k a person, but you get all the wine or beer you can drink. Start brushing up on your soccer parlance and “offsides” rules and such, you’re going to need to speak soccer to be any help around here.
(Guy Speckman can be reached multiple ways if you have a pitch side lounge ticket to give him)
