September 21, 2023 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Building a Sports Brand, High School Style:

The year that’s about to be in the books has been an interesting ride, to say the least, hitting more notes than Rialto-based saxophonist Vaughn D. Fahie, who performed at halftime of the Orange Holiday Classic boys basketball game between Mater Dei and Kentridge this week. If you are thinking, ‘why is this relevant to Santa Monica,’ let me put it in context. The tournament, in its fourty-sixth year, included the Samohi Vikings boys basketball team this year. When I asked the tournament’s director Mr. Abercrombie when the last time Samohi was in the tournament, he asked another organizer and neither could give me an answer. Luckily for me, the previous day Samohi assistant coach Brian Part and I spoke and he shared that Coach Hecht and the Vikings strategy this year has been to put the young team and its budding star, sophomore Jordan Mathews, against not just some, but the best teams on the west coast.

Audacious, right? Well … In the last week of 2010, Samohi found out exactly where they stood, and although they ended up on the wrong side of the win-loss column twice in the Orange Holiday Classic (it could be 2-1 now, I haven’t checked this morning’s score), the bottom line is that they have stepped up and competed. It’s that simple. Now, no one said it would be easy once you stepped up. The Vikings had their work cut out for them from the jump down at Chapman University campus as they faced Squalicum, the back-to-back defending state champs from the state of Washington. The Vikings lost by four but won in experience, no?

Keeping things basketball and on the girls side, the Lady Vikings are on a slightly higher level of competition, having won the CIF regional championship last season. They breezed through competition in two local tournaments before getting the reality check of all reality checks in the form of undoubtedly painful defeats to nationally ranked teams at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix. Still, when I ran into seemingly always droopy-eyed, University of Pacific-bound guard Kristina Johnson on Third Street Promenade a couple days after Christmas, that experience was clearly behind her as I’m sure it is for UCLA-bound guard Moriah Faulk.

Enough about basketball, though. Since I ball myself, I could go on and on about the sport and how I think yours and mine beloved Lakers will not win the championship in 2011. Football in and of Santa Monica has been nothing short of amazing for an assortment of reasons. Up there with the Santa Monica homecoming game against Beverly Hills, which went down to the wire, are moments like St. Monica’s improbably 8-2 run and playoff appearance and, of course, the youth football teams… If you read the Mirror, you know how they did down in Orlando. ‘Chip, baby.

The first couple weeks of the new year are all about college football, of course. And although the Mirror may not be able to go to Arizona on Jan. 10, rest assured that we’ll be right or behind the center of the BCS national championship game between the Oregon Ducks and Auburn Tigers. Much like Amar Pal, a Samohi alumnus who is now a tackle on the San Jose State football team. When Mirror photographer Margaret Molloy and myself ran into him on the Promenade after Christmas, he was already talking about next year’s schedule for his team, which includes some of the top teams in major college football. I asked if his coach likes to drive into brick walls, and we both laughed.

So what’s the conclusion? In this journalist’s opinion, rather than discussing branding – hey, the headline caught your eye, no? – it’s really just about going out on that old-fashioned limb. Stepping up, simple plain, a lot like Samohi football head coach Travis Clark’s brother-from-another Desean Jackson of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. Or Samohi alumnus, assistant baseball coach and professional actor Tony Todd, whose work in the community is nothing if not spectacular.

As this jazz played by Vaughn D. Fahie fills my headphones, stepping up is definitely the theme that resonates.

Related Posts

SMa.r.t.Column: THE ONCE AND FUTURE SANTA MONICA CIVIC AUDITORIUM

September 18, 2023

September 18, 2023

This week SMa.r.t. is focusing on the historic Civic Center Auditorium and residents’ efforts to save it from a misdirected...

S.M.a.r.t Column: The Battle for the Planning Commission: A Circus of Political Maneuvers

September 10, 2023

September 10, 2023

Ah, the wonderful world of city politics! Ladies and gentlemen hold on to your hats as we delve into the...

S.M.a.r.t Column: The 30 MPH City Part 2

September 4, 2023

September 4, 2023

Last week’s article discussed why we need to continue our program to slow down our streets to save lives, given...

S.M.a.r.t Column: The 30 MPH City Part One

August 27, 2023

August 27, 2023

Some ideas sound extreme when first presented but acquire more credibility when you think about it, and particularly when conditions...

Open Letter On the California Voting Rights Case Against the City of Santa Monica

August 25, 2023

August 25, 2023

By Oscar de la Torre Like many Santa Monicans and Californians who care about fair elections, I watched the California...

S.M.a.r.t article: Save the Civic – Keep it Alive

August 6, 2023

August 6, 2023

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium: A Historic Gem That Shaped Our City’s Cultural Legacy. Save Santa Monica’s Heritage The Santa Monica...

SMa.r.t. Column: Counseling The City Council

July 28, 2023

July 28, 2023

This week, our SMa.r.t. column is authored by concerned resident Nikki Kolhoff. Nikki has been an active voice in the...

SMa.r.t. column: The Impact of Private Companies on Our City Streets: A Call for Safety

July 21, 2023

July 21, 2023

As someone who’s always out and about, whether walking, biking, or driving, this writer has noticed a worrying trend that...

A Seismic Duality

July 21, 2023

July 21, 2023

Last month the City issued a follow-up report on its success in complying with its Seismic Retrofit Program. This 2017...

SMa.r.t. Column: The Future Of Santa Monica Airport (SMO)

July 4, 2023

July 4, 2023

On January 1, 2029, the City Council will be given the legal right to vote on whether to maintain the...

A Comfortable City for All

June 23, 2023

June 23, 2023

Picture this: a concerned citizen takes to Facebook to ask about the mysteriously vanishing benches and chairs on the Promenade....

An Open Letter To Santa Monica

June 16, 2023

June 16, 2023

Declining Business Climate in Downtown Santa Monica By Jennifer Rush, Blue Plate Restaurant Group To all that do business, live,...

Thirsty Santa Monica: Running Dry

June 11, 2023

June 11, 2023

The thirst is real, and Santa Monica is feeling it. The problem? Santa Monica relies on the Metropolitan Water District...

Landmarks Commission Back From the Dead

June 2, 2023

June 2, 2023

For over three years, SMa.r.t. (Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow) has consistently warned that recently increased intense development...

SMa.r.t. Column: Improving Santa Monica’s Future: A Resident-Oriented Master Plan

May 28, 2023

May 28, 2023

Improving Santa Monica’s Future: A Resident-Oriented Master Plan Santa Monica, like many cities, requires a well-defined master plan to guide...