Owning the Anthem

(St. Louis, MO) – Is it Kirkwood/Webster or is it Webster/Kirkwood? Or is it Kirkster or Webwood? No matter how you spell it, the two suburban St. Louis communities are forever linked to one another by geography and by sports.

As a veteran of prep sports broadcasting, I have had the privilege of announcing numerous games involving these high schools, and I never leave a game involving the Statesmnen or Pioneers without being grateful and inspired.

In the ESPN era when all sports activities seem to be about high lights, individual glory, Webster/Kirkwood kids, coaches and fans are a rare breed that thinks more about team and community than about self and stardom.

Recently, Kevin Paulus (Prep Sports Showcase) and I were broadcasting a basketball game at Webster Groves, when the recorded version of the National Anthem wouldn’t play over the PA system. While Athletic Director Jerry Collins scurried to correct the problem, the student section  in the bleachers below us took matters into its own hands.

“Oh Say can You See…?” They began singing the “Star Spangled Banner” in a boisterous, but respectful way. It was the best national anthem I heard last season. Better than any other high school or numerous college games I heard. Why? They owned it. They believed it. The students owned the anthem!

Both boys basketball coaches have special needs young men attached to their teams. We see that a lot on the prep scene. However, both Gus (Webster) and Chubbs (Kirkwood) have long since graduated, and they are still a part of the team. They aren’t tagged on. They ARE on the team.

These two schools knock heads in all sports and when they play one another, it is the biggest game of the year. The football teams play every Thanksgiving, and have done so for over 100 years. I’ve had the privilege of broadcasting many of those games. When I do, it is the highlight of my football broadcasting season. The game is typically on-line, on television and on radio.

Half the time, this game is a junior varsity game because one or both of the teams are playing in a State playoff game the next day. In those cases, there are still 4-5,000 fans attending on a cold November afternoon as the teams  compete for the ‘Frisco Bell.’ It is truly an amazing site.

When the teams lined up for a girl-guy basketball double-header this past season, it was ‘Senior Night’ at Kirkwood. All of the typical pre-game celebrations took place. Seniors honored, flowers given to parents, accolades on the big screen and a slide show. It was fun for the hometown Pioneer fans.

What happened next, surprised and delighted me. In the midst of the KHS celebration, the Kirkwood PA announcer started introducing the girls that were seniors on the WEBSTER team and they gave flowers and large rounds of applause for the Lady Statesmen playing in their final rivalry game. Who introduces and honors the opposing team’s seniors? Kirkwood did because they own the anthem!

From the ‘friendship dance’ the week of the ‘Turkey Day Game’, to a ‘Chile Cook Off’ that same week, to fierce rivalries on the field of play, these two schools and communities are unique.

You will see this kind of behavior and identity in more rural communities, but these two schools are located right in the middle of suburban St. Louis where there are a multitude of school districts on all sides, but these two share history, competition and yes, friendship.

When Webster’s boy’s basketball coach Jay Blossom became the all-time winningest coach in program history, one of the very first people to congratulate him, was Kirkwood coach Bill Gunn.

Speaking of Webster’s basketball team, they play one game every year as ‘Douglas High School’, wearing the Douglas purple and gold. Douglas was one of the last all African American high schools in St. Louis and was part of the Webster Groves area. To honor and remember that school’s great exploits and traditions, they intentionally remind fans and opponents of a different time in American history and show respect to those whose memories would otherwise be forgotten. They own the anthem.

Kevin Paulus and I have had scores of interactions with players, coaches, fans and administrators from these two great schools. Kirkwood Athletic Director Corey Nesslage and his Webster counter part (Collins) share information, tips on how to run programs and raise funds. They help each other because they have become friends, but also because the ‘get it.’ They know their schools are linked and in some rare way, they belong to one another.

You can bet when Kirkwood’s MyCole Pruitt was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in last month’s NFL draft, there were Webster kids bragging about how they played against, and tackled him in high school. Just like the Kirkwood kids did several years ago, when Webster’s Adrian Clayborn was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

A former Kirkwood Athletic Director lived in Webster Groves and former Kirkwood assistant football coach Matt Irvin was a huge success at a different St. Louis school as a head coach, but he returned to ‘the Wood’ to lead the Pioneers to their first ever state championship before retiring from coaching.

People may move from Kirkwood or Webster, but as the old saying goes, you can’t take the Webster or Kirkwood spirit out of those people. Why? They own the anthem!

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