Here's something interesting that happened over the weekend -- the team from De La Salle High School in Concord, California, lost a football game. In most communities this happens a few times every fall, and it carries no significance. A quarterback might knock over a water cooler, a cheerleader might have to reapply her mascara after shedding a few tears, and the homecoming dance might not be as peppy as the activity committee had hoped, but life goes on. Losing, after all, is a part of high school football.
But here's the interesting part. The last time De La Salle lost a football game, the calendar said December of 1991. In between that loss and this one, the school had strung together 151 straight wins. They were so dominant that in recent years they had started to range out of their area looking for challenges. They played a home-and-home series with Long Beach Poly, the Southern California power (and Southern Cal feeder) that has sent more players to the NFL than any high school in the country. They flew to Hawaii to play another of the best the West has to offer, St. Louis High School. This weekend's loss came to Washington's Bellevue High, three-time defending state champs.
The streak is amazing. As I was thinking about it, my mind started to think about how best to appreciate the (almost) thirteen-year streak. Here's what I came up with:
During the De La Salle winning streak...
• Barry Bonds hit 555 homeruns.
• The Detroit Lions lost 112 games.
• Michael Jordan retired three times.
• Ricky Williams played an entire college and NFL career.
• The Atlanta Braves won 11 division titles.
• Emmitt Smith scored 146 touchdowns.
This is just the tip of the ice berg, but it's late. Suffice it to say, it was long, long, long winning streak.
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