Bruce Socha is a very well known sign maker in the area. For many years in my past life, I would go to him and say "be amazing" and he would design something amazing for me. I got the credit. But believe me he was "The Man".
I never knew he was a Chicopee High Grad. He told our media partner Western Mass News "Anything to do with tradition, we sweep under the rug, and I don't like it." Neither do I.
This week officials announced that because the people who run high school football were changing the playoff format again, they were eliminating some historic games.
In the case of Chicopee it means that the Turkey Day game between Chicopee and Holyoke ---which has only been played for more than 100 years--was going to be no more.
It was being replaced by The Sword Game. The one between Chicopee and Chicopee Comp.
Those who make these decisions say it is because attendance is down for games across the board. That is correct but it has been that way for decades rather than years.
But does history have any method to survive in this day and age?
We forget our history. We forget where we come from and therefore we never know where we are going or how to get there.
The ultimate problem is everyone wants to run high school sports like in this case it is the NFL.
They are kids. Almost all of them will never play in the NFL or even in college.
Can't we let them play just to play?
Henry James wrote, "a tradition is kept alive only by adding something to it."
Are we adding too much? Too little? Or not enough?
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)