Prep polls

Love how the USA Today poll leaves out St. Xavier (Louisville), but has Trinity ranked No. 21.

 

I know they're a big deal to people and to some people being ranked first in the big city paper's poll means just as much if not more than winning a state championship on the field, but I don't even put poll rankings in my paper. I'm not here to promote the competition.
That goes double for other papers' all-star teams.

 

... are complete and utter bullshit.

 

National high-school polls always seem a little ridiculous, but it's not like they're anything beyond conversation pieces. Same with state polls.

In a slight threadjack, I remember in my prep days, those who voted in the polls would put together a list every week for the folks in other parts of the state, suggesting who should be ranked and who shouldn't. I remember one guy put for at least one team, and probably more, that they should be "also receiving votes."

Umm...

 

Please note that USA Today has never published a prep poll.

The Super 25 is a ranking, generally compiled by one person.

It says it right there in the fine print: USA TODAY's Super 25 rankings were compiled by Jim Halley.

Whoever that is. Replaced Lawlor, is all I know.

I edited the rankings for a couple of years and even did two seasons of compiling the girls basketball rankings.

Is it complete and utter BS? Of course.

Does it generate reader interest? Of course.

Does it sell a few papers? Well, it certainly doesn't NOT sell papers.

Back in the day, when USAT's circulation was around 500K and most folks you called had never seen one, it was a kind of marketing tool, in a sense, a way to generate buzz – I'm not sure that term existed in 1985 – about the fact "we" were trying to develop a national high school sports beat.

I made a handful of trips each year to significant holiday tournaments and selected state tourneys to eyeball the best teams. Beyond that, you're using a certain amount of logic and gut feeling – and a lot of input from trustworthy college coaches with some sense of the national picture.

There were some of those in the women's basketball world, Georgia's Andy Landers first and foremost from my experience. In college football? Not so much, I suspect.

Twenty years ago – and I cringe to write that – it was supposed to be something fun and a good conversation starter. None of us had any idea what it would become. It weirds me out, honestly.

 

... are as legit as WWE championships.