National TV and lots of hype

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It’s an hour before Sherman Oaks Notre Dame takes on Birmingham on ESPN2, and let’s just say high school football isn’t the same since the cable networks discovered they can find a national audience.

A cameraman is on his knees pointing the camera in the face of Birmingham junior quarterback Morey Croson, who just a couple weeks ago was a nervous wreck making his first varsity start and now gets to play on TV for the second time in three weeks.

ESPN2 is supposedly spending $125,000, and they’re using the same truck that was at the Michigan-Notre Dame game last weekend. Half of Birmingham’s press box has been turned over to the ESPN people who are trying to make sure the referee is miked and his calls can be heard over the P.A. system (bad idea considering City games sometimes deteriorate into penalty-filled contests).

Birmingham people think they might lose $10,000 in gate receipts from people deciding to stay home on a school night and watch from home. But this is what high school football has become, a make-believe idea that the players are on the level with college and pros.

Please let me know how many times the ESPN2 commentators mention that Notre Dame’s offensive line might be better than the University of Notre Dame’s offensive line.

- Eric Sondheimer