A grand homecoming

personnel scurried about with clipboards, and a pandemic-weary populace queued around the building in order to get our shots.

Just because it’s an oft-repeated cliche doesn’t mean it’s untrue; there really is no place like home. On Monday, Feb. 27, Section 1 basketball finally went home, returning to the Westchester County Center for the first Championship Week since March of 2020.

And boy, was it glorious.

When I stepped back into the venue on Monday night to catch the second half of the Ardsley/ Hendrick Hudson Girls Class B semifinals, it was the first time I had set foot in the Westchester County Center since receiving my first COVID-19 vaccination back in March of 2021. Back then, the place was unsurprisingly unrecognizable—the arena floor had been partitioned into makeshift examination rooms, masked medical

It’s not a stretch to say the place had been robbed of some of the mirth and energy that makes it such a desirable venue for hosting high school sports.

But fast forward to Monday night, the place was rocking like we hadn’t missed a beat; the emotion on the court was palpable, exuberant student sections were packed into the balcony, DJ Diz was spinning the tunes from the scorer’s table, and Nathan’s hot dogs were selling like hot . . . cakes in the concession stands.

I might have been back in 2010 for all I knew.

There were some notable differences, however; The most glaring was the fact that Keith Yizar wasn’t there in his courtside seats to cheer on the action.

Yizar—a longtime Mamaroneck resident and educator who was a basketball standout for Rye Neck High School—was a fixture of championship week, a man whose enthusiasm for the sport and support for student-athletes was positively infectious.

Yizar passed away in December of 2020, but his warm presence loomed large over the proceedings this week. The Westchester County Center honored Yizar’s contributions in a ceremony last week and his family was on hand to continue his legacy, all helping to bolster that sense of community that makes Championship Week about much more than final scores and Gold Balls.

Now that things are finally underway, it’s almost as if we never left; teams will battle all week long, champions will eventually be crowned and countless more Mecca memories will be made.

If absence makes the heart grow fonder, I can’t be the only one whose chest cavity is bursting at the thought of spending more days watching Section 1’s top teams duke it out on the biggest stage possible.

The championships are home, and that’s good for everyone.

Follow Mike on Twitter @LiveMike_Sports