Viking ing magazine
Volume XII, Issue 5 March 2019
Pay to
Play
The rising cost and exclusivity of club sports can push out lower income athletes, barring them from athletic growth opportunities. This has implications on and off the field and perpetuates a detrimental cycle of inequality. p. 22
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
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Edgewood Plaza, 2190 W. Bayshore Road Palo Alto www.baptistesv.com FB: Baptiste Power Yoga Silicon Valley Instagram: @BaptistePowerYogaSV
LINE UP 4 Zooms
10 Editorial 12 Intro 16 DI Deception 18 Facing the
Challenge Head On
Photos by David & Jenna Hickey
20 Columbo 22 Pay to Play 28 Dean Dominates 29 Crazy Sports Stories 32 March Mischief 34 Top Sports Video Games
36 Champion 42 Viking Tries 44 Animal Planet 47 Final Word @vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
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Focus
Venus Sandoval (‘19) races in the 4x100m relay against Los Altos. Photo by David Hickey
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
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Seven
Abby Ramsey (‘19) nets one of her season-high seven goals against Willow Glen. Photo by David Hickey
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
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Get After It!
Hyunwoo Roh (‘19) disrupts the tag at the play in Paly’s 7-1 victory over Willow Glen. Photo by David Hickey
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
Viking Editors-in-Chief Maria Fletcher Ellie Jeffries Stan de Martel
Volume XII, Issue 5 March 2019
Staff Writers Alana Abeyta Ryan Bara Lincoln Bloom Sam Cleasby Kevin Cullen Sanaz Ebrahimi Dexter Gormley Gerzain Gutierrez Ella Jones Griffin Kemp Tina Lagerblad Joshua Lai Conner Lusk Joey Passarello Danny Rabello Ya’el Sarig Ryan Stanley Jack Such Sofie Vogel
Managing Editor Lauren Daniel Design Director Zach Phillips Multimedia Editors Mallory Kuppe Cole Sotnick Business Managers Eric Aboytes Summer Daniel Beat Editors Zach Baumgarten Ryan Strathearn
Photo Editors David Hickey Jason Shorin Copy Editor Nathan Seto Video Editors Tyler Foug Nick Welch Head Columnists Nathan Ellisen Wes Walters Executive Senior Staff Writers Jackson Chryst Joshua Kasevich
Social Media Director Will DeAndre
Adviser Brian Wilson
Viking Magazine Palo Alto High School 50 Embarcadero Road Palo Alto, CA 94301 650-329-3837 Email contact: vikingeds@gmail.com Advertising and Sponsorship Contact: vikingads@gmail.com Viking, a sports magazine published by the students in Palo Alto High School’s Advanced Magazine Journalism class, is an open forum for student expression and the discussion of issues of concern to its readership. The Viking is distributed to its readers and the student body at no cost. The staff welcomes letters to the editor, but reserves the right to edit all submissions for length, grammar, potential libel, invasion of privacy and obscenity. Advertising in Viking The staff publishes advertisements with signed contracts providing they are not deemed by the staff inappropriate for the magazine’s audience. For more information about advertising with The Viking, please contact the The Viking by email at vikingeds@gmail.com Printing Services 2,500 copies of The Viking are printed, six times a year by Folger Graphics in Hayward, Calif. Logo Font Courtesy of Måns Grebäck All photos taken from Creative Commons unless noted
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From the
editors
Hello Vikings! After a long year of growth and learning, this will be our last letter from the editors. Reflecting on our time as a part of Viking magazine, we will be taking away countless memories, lessons and skills that are sure to endure in the next leadership class. Change is inevitable, and the time has come for a new Viking
Staff
View
Students banned from rivalry games
This year targeted spring sports will be missing a key component of high school sports: student fans. On Thursday, March 7th, a joint statement between Paly and Los Gatos administrations announced that no students will be able to attend any games between the two teams for the rest of the school year. There will also be a Positive Sport Summit with 20 Paly and Los Gatos students, administrators and coaches will meet at the neutral site of Fremont High School, which is scheduled to be on April 29th. Paly played Los Gatos twice in basketball on January 11th at home, winning 62-50. Police arrived at the end of the game to resolve a conflict between opposing fans. The two teams also played on February 1st at Los Gatos, winning 62-50 again. This game was heavily supervised by both administrations, but an object was thrown onto the court from the Los Gatos stands while Jamir Shepard (‘20) shot free throws. Los Gatos athletic director Ken Perrotti threatened to forfeit the game if such behavior persisted. Once again, post game conflict between Los Gatos and Paly fans ensued. During the football season, Paly played Los Gatos twice, once on October 26th during homecoming, winning 35-10, and once more for the first round of CIF CCS playoffs, winning 35-21. The playoff game was at Salinas High School due to poor air quality in Palo Alto, so few fans attended. At both games, unsportsmanlike penalties plagued the game. Paly-Los Gatos football games have historically been full of such penalties, resulting in numerous ejections. Despite the confrontational history between the two schools, Viking believes that students should be allowed to attend the remaining Gatos-Paly games this spring for numerous reasons. That said,
leadership team. We could not be more confident in the next editors, and foresee big things from them in the upcoming issues. With that said, the current leadership team is still in effective and doing better than ever on our last issue. We hope you are able to enjoy this issue while at last enjoying the warmer temperatures. Our cover story, Pay to Play, is written by Dexter Gormley (‘20), Ella Jones (‘20), Summer Daniel (‘20), and Conner Lusk (‘20). Over the past few years the cost of playing club sports high steeply increased, leaving those unable to pay
the price behind and reflecting the increasing wage sap in youth sports. Our second feature, by Yael Sarig (‘20), Tina Lagerblad (‘20), Will De Andre (‘20), and Josh Lai (‘20) is a profile on Jason Fung, a man who has worn many hats in Paly’s athletic and physical education communities. All in all, it’s been a fantastic ride, Vikes. To all the non-seniors, keep bleeding green and white. To all the seniors we hope you continue to bleed green and white through the next Ellie Jeffries chapter of your educaStan de Martel tional path. Maria Fletcher
Viking sees the Positive Sports Summit as necessary in order to successfully make the Paly-Los Gatos rivalry healthy. First, sports are meant to be watched so a minimal crowd makes them not nearly as exciting or fun for players. “By putting [the ban] in place, they are taking away chances for us to support our athletes and show school spirit which I think are important things,” Maddie Yen (‘19) said. Similar to many Paly students, Los Gatos students feel that the ban is unnecessary. “I feel that banning students from watching their peers play is excessive,” said a female Los Gatos athlete who requested to remain anonymous. “I think that the ban is not a solution because there will be no change in the behavior of students.” Secondly, the spring sports have not been historically as tension-filled as basketball or football games, also drawing smaller crowds. Because of this, the athletes should have a chance to play in front of their friends like fall and winter sport athletes had the chance to do. “I found the banning to be irrational and the completely wrong approach to the situation,” Yen said. On top of that, the boys and girls lacrosse teams are slated to play Los Gatos at home on their senior night. So not only do the seniors lose the opportunity to play in front of fans when they play against their rival for the last time, they do not get the opportunity to have friends support them at their senior night. Senior night is one of the most important games of the season for the senior athletes, and not allowing fans at the game will not create the best experience as possible for the senior athletes. Now, spring sports athletes will be deprived of the true experience when
playing Los Gatos. Viking still supports the Positive Sports Summit that is to be held on April 29th at the neutral site of Fremont High School. Representatives from Paly and Los Gatos, both student athletes and administrators, will meet with SCVAL and CCS commissioners to create an “alliance” between the schools. This summit will be beneficial to creating coerciveness if taken seriously by both parties who are willing to find a solution. In the fall, when issues between the two teams arose during the regular season football matchup, a meeting was proposed. “We will, at some point, have a joint Paly-Los Gatos student meeting with athletes and ASB that’s going to come up,” Paly administrator Jerry Berkson said in November. The April meeting will help improve the nature of this rivalry as student fans begin to fully recognize the seriousness of the situation. The numerous technicals and unsportsmanlike penalties that have been issued during these contests may have determined the outcome of the game and taken away from the actual team effort. If both sides do not understand the consequences of this summit, then any hope of finding an immediate solution would be lost and the ban on student attendance should be enacted. However, up until now, no major effort for a summit of this magnitude has been attempted, so no real solution could have been found that reflected opinions and situations of everyone involved. Thus, the implementation of such a policy is too harsh for both sides, since the summit should determine what should happen so that all sides can be heard and taken into account.
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
POP CULTURE GRID Movie you are looking forward to?
Jack Callaghan (‘19) Diving
Star Wars Episode 9
Avengers’ End Game
Faisal Ojjeh (‘20) Boys Lacrosse
Halle Gelman (‘19) Track & Field
Pre-game Song?
Scootering
Can’t Stop by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Clarinet or Orchestra
Toy Story 4
Doesn’t like movies?
Best nonsport activity?
Jazz Music
Book club with friends
Eating food or hanging out with friends
Captain Marvel
The Enforcer by Monster Truck
Look Back at it by A Boogie wit a Hoodie
Hanging out with friends or eating
Love It If We Made It by The 1975
Favorite team Best post to play? game meal?
Los Gatos
Los Gatos
Los Gatos
Los Gatos
Los Gatos
Kirk’s
Hyunwoo Roh (‘19) Baseball
Jeffrey’s Hamburgers
Double quater pounder with a 20 piece nuggets
In-n-Out
Laney Henry (‘21) Girls Lacrosse
In-n-Out
Moment of the Month Boys Basketball wins CCS
Boys basketball defeated Piedmont Hills 43-33 on February 23. 12 | V I K I N G M A G A Z I N E |
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10 Questions With
Viking had the chance to ask Paly swimming star Mary Fetter (‘19) 10 Questions. We then asked her coach, teammate and friend what they thought she said.
Mary Fetter
as told to Ryan Bara, Lincoln Bloom, Lauren Daniel, and David Hickey
Mary Fetter (‘19)
Danny Dye Coach
Hana Erickson (‘21) Teammate
Abby Cummings (‘19) Friend
Questions
Hana Erickson
Funniest Teammate?
Chesnie Cheung
Ashley Guo
Hana Erickson
Avocado Toast
Pre-game Meal?
Yogurt
Avocados
Avocados
Biking with no hands standing up
Secret Talent?
Cello
Ability to wear birks 365
Math
Don’t have one
Celebrity Crush?
Denzel Washington
Troy Bolton
Doesn’t have one
Black Mirror
Favorite TV Show?
The Simpsons
The Office
The Office
Maya Dirado
Swimming Idol?
Katie Ledecky
Simone Manuel
Katie Ledecky
The people!
Favorite thing about Paly?
Coach Dye
The ez-pz biking distance
The Band
Flying
Super power of choice?
Her smile
Flying
Flying
Firework by Katy Perry
Favorite Song?
I’m a Believer by the Monkees
Tequilla by Chuck Rio
Firework by Katy Perry
The Sun
Favorite thing about the spring?
The Sun
SWIM SZN
Graduation
10%
20%
50%
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
Inside The Mind of What is the best part about the Boys Lacrosse team?
Tyler Furrier
The best part about the boys lacrosse team is definitely team bonding. Nothing improves the lacrosse team as much than the tightly knit community of teammates.
Pre-game ritual?
Before a game, I eat a good meal so I don’t run out of energy after halftime. Also I try to exercise my eyes by looking at different objects quickly. For example, I’ll try to read license plates as they drive by, if I can read seven characters that fast, I can hopefully read a shot and make a save. Finally, I just stop thinking about the game because I play best when I’m relaxed.
What stresses you out?
I get stressed when I can’t stay on top of school, when I play poorly, or when I simply am out of energy and don’t feel incontrol of my schedule which includes seven classes, varsity lacrosse, advanced choir, and a bit of social life.
Future Plans?
I plan on going to college and ideally doing a dual degree between music and business. 14 | V I K I N G M A G A Z I N E |
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816
181
MINUTES
SAVES
PLAYED
6.9
AVG. GOALS AGAINST
60.7% SAVE
PERCENTAGE
10.6 SAVES PER GAME
Spring Sports Home Calendar Boys Lacrosse
Date: 3/21 3/26 4/11 5/2
Date: 3/20 3/29 4/10 4/20 4/24 5/1
Time: 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent: Carlmont Los Altos Mountain View Los Gatos
Baseball Time: Opponent:
4:00 PM Mountain View 4:00 PM Los Gatos 4:00 PM Wilcox 12:00 PM Burlingame 4:00 PM Saratoga 4:00 PM Los Altos
Boys Volleyball
Date: 3/22 3/29 4/10 4/19 4/22 4/24 5/1
Time: Opponent: 6:45 PM Santa Clara 6:45 PM Sacred Heart Prep 6:45 PM Fremont 6:45 PM Burlingame 6:45 PM Cupertino 6:45 PM Eastside College Prep 6:45 PM King’s Academy
Swim & Dive
Date: Time: Opponent: 3/14-15 3:30 PM Los Gatos 4/18-19 3:30 PM Saratoga
Girls Lacrosse Time: Opponent:
Date: 3/27 3/29 4/12 4/19 4/22
7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Date: 3/19 3/20 3/22 3/29 4/16 4/24 5/1
Time: 4:00 PM 4:00 PM 4:00 PM 4:00 PM 4:00 PM 4:00 PM 4:00 PM
Date: 3/21 3/26 4/11 4/16
Time: Opponent: 4:00 PM Milpitas 4:00 PM Cupertino 4:00 PM Los Altos 4:00PM Gunn
Los Altos Mountain View Gunn Los Gatos Abraham Lincoln
Softball Opponent:
Saratoga Monta Vista Gunn Fremont St. Francis Cupertino Lynbrook
Boys Tennis
Track & Field
Date: Time: Opponent: 4/10 3:00 PM Milpitas 4/16 3:00 PM Gunn
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
D1DECEPTION Since the college scandal’s erruption into the stratosphere, anger among students and parents alike has surged, with a wave of blame striking the implicated most strongly. But we’re missing a central culprit: us.
A
by ZACH PHILLIPS and YAEL SARIG
s if bound together, eight people move as one: symmetrically straining against the footplates, forcing the blade of each oar through the shimmering, cold water. Quick hands! Eyes in the boat! Nervous newcomers grunt as the coxswain’s voice pierces the still morning. The sun hasn’t even risen, and the dark night has brought the river temperature to near-freezing. The eerie silence is a stark contrast to the jarring alarm that blared for each of the rowers at 5:00 a.m. They’ll be on the lake for at least an hour or two, rubbing their callused, blistered hands against the wooden oars. Their grip on the oars is so tight that it breaks the skin, revealing bright, rich blood that quickly dissipates. Sometimes, it’s unclear whether the sheen covering their faces is really sweat or tears of exertion. They’ve learned not to pay any mind to their discomfort. The sport breeds it. The environment is undoubtedly intense. But no one expresses any pain. No one cares to leave.
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Some stay for the camaraderie and competition. Others stay to pursue recruitment. As seen in her athletic profile, sent to the University of Southern California (USC), Isabella Rose Giannulli had chosen to stay. She had pushed herself to the brink of human endurance. Her hands were blistered and her feet had callused. She had won awards; there were photographs. She was the type of athlete that USC needed. Her athletic promise was clear. Only, it wasn’t. It was all, allegedly, fake. The sweat was embellished; the leadership was fabricated; the photographs were staged. USC was duped. We were duped. On Tuesday, March 13, U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling and FBI Special Agent Joseph Bonavolonta announced the indictments of 50 people involved in a college admissions bribery scandal the likes of which have never been seen before. Along with Tuesday’s announcements, nearly all details of this criminal
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case were released: including a list of indictments and a 204-page affidavit in support of the criminal complaint. Beginning in 2011, William Singer, alleged mastermind of the scheme, purportedly began taking payments from desperate parents in the form of contributions to the Key Worldwide Foundation, a charity set up by Singer. According to the affidavit, Singer would then pedal this money to college entrance exam proctors and coaches, among others, in order to guarantee acceptance into the nation’s top colleges. Mossimo Giannulli was one of Singer’s clients. In an email exchange on July 24, 2016, Singer reportedly advised Giannulli that his older daughter’s academic resume was teetering on the lower end of USC’s admissions standards. The average student might resign themself to a different school, or put their head down and work harder to bolster their GPA and class rigor. Giannulli, though, wasn’t an average student, nor did she come from an average family. During the fall of 2016, the Giannulli
COLUMN family allegedly colluded with Singer to create a fake athletic profile for their eldest daughter. In the affidavit, FBI Special Agent Laura Smith alleged that “On or about November 28, 2016, CW-1 sent Giannulli confirmation that his daughter had been provisionally admitted to USC based upon ‘records [that] indicate that you have the potential to make a significant contribution to the intercollegiate athletic program . . . .’” She had, by all accounts, never rowed a day in her life. While we have chosen to highlight one case of this scheme, it must be said that the same likely occurred for students at schools across the nation. Dozens of fake athletic profiles were, allegedly, created. Dozens of students were admitted under false pretenses. We are sick to our stomachs. The “side door” revealed by Singer purportedly allowed for the admission of a thus-far unknown number of students through the bribing of college coaches. And while the fraud itself is particularly unconscionable, we, as journalists for Viking Magazine, find ourselves compelled to analyze not just this fraud, but the situation that allowed it to be successful. It must be said that, in the revelation of this case, we have seen the most central tenets of our society trampled, and the trust we have placed in others slain. Deception. Collusion. To many, Singer may feel like a rather remote figure: a name and face seen only over a single news cycle. As a result, many have quickly painted Singer as another corrupt businessman, one in a long line of those in power who have abused their position for a quick gain. Each parent’s role in their respective community makes it easy to point blame. They can be found at the supermarket, and in the carpool lane. And each day, we unconsciously place our trust in them. We hope that they will support us in our time of need. We hope that they will follow the same rules we do. Thus far, more than a dozen Bay Area parents have been implicated. And although crimes on such a massive scale are normally too disturbing and too remote to point fingers, this one’s easy. This time it’s personal. This time, a culture of corruption was revealed, and so many were thrust into the spotlight. It must be underscored that these parents have not been unfairly treated. Their actions are unquestionably evil. But in
the furor of anger and pain, we’ve defaulted to the easiest targets. How could they? What were they thinking? Didn’t they know it was illegal? On what seems like an infinite loop, media outlets have analyzed nearly every angle of the fraud. There is an unequal playing field. Wealthy people did abuse their wealth. We’ve heard it all before. However, there is one fact that has yet to be explored: the circumstance, built by us, that allowed for this fraud. We are responsible. We are the ones who, over the course of decades, have held athletes to lower standards than their peers. We have told them that poor grades are acceptable given strong arms and an outlandish vertical. We’ve emphasized wins over GPA: luring athletes towards schools far better than their grades and standardized testing scores could ever legitimize. We’ve set the benchmarks for sports stars so low that it’s disrespectful to the athletes themselves. But the bigger problem is not just the disrespect towards the athletes; it’s that those same lowered standards create a system prime for exploitation by those who lack the athletic talent, but meet the same academic standards we set for our athletes. A route we designed, designated for truly stellar athletes, has backfired. The current minimum GPA for members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association is 2.3. Is it right to tell athletes, from their first game under the lights, that they need not strive for academic excellence? That they are more valuable as athletes than students? That same view, those same values, has now allowed the perpetration of the crimes to begin with. Derrick Rose failed to meet the NCAA’s minimum ACT score on three occasions. Just a few weeks later, he passed the SAT in Detroit. But it wasn’t Rose suffering through the arduous 3-hour process for the fourth time; it was a friend of his who had taken the test in his name. The score qualified him to play for the Memphis Tigers. Rose cheated. He never had to pay the price. Memphis, however, was forced to vacate all 38 of their victories from the 2007 season, a punishment exacted on them by the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions. The school took the entirety of the blame and paid the consequences for a crime that wasn’t their fault. While Rose could be blamed, it must also be said that the
crime was a product of what Rose had been told his entire life. We are now the victims of our own creation. A flawed system has been recognized. Don’t however, take this column as a critique of athletes. They are not to blame for the abhorrent view of their own capacities. In trying to make the lives of athletes easier, we’ve created a loophole in the admissions process. Athletes that worked extremely hard on their respective sports do deserve a leg-up in the admissions process. However, to those affluent enough, and immoral enough, our system has bred a question with an uncomfortable answer: Why not portray yourself as an athlete? Those same standards have reared their ugly head in such a public and disgusting way – but really, why are we so surprised? This was a system that was prime for rigging. For us, it is easy to imagine a student frustrated by the fact that their own work condemned them to a certain limited scope of colleges while their 4-star recruit classmate with lower grades was looking at offers from Berkeley and Duke. For us, it is easy to imagine a parent with the ways and means to pay for that 4-star designation. It must be noted that, throughout history, the super-rich and super-unethical have been the first to exploit any loopholes in our supposedly fair and just systems. However, we have now seen the news media place the blame squarely on the shoulders of individuals doing what they have always done. What, however, do we do? We have seen our system, our expectations, tossed to the wayside: trampled by the well-to-do. And while it’s easy to blame the wellto-do for their actions, we should not waste an opportunity to pass a judgment far more introspective. Anger is normal. Frustration is normal. But now that the wound isn’t quite as fresh, and the pain not nearly as sharp, we must take time to analyze the system that allowed for this fraud to take place. It may take months, maybe years, but one day we will forget the perpetrators of this crime. We may not remember the facts as we do now. This is why it is essential for us to take the time, while we can, to change. Only we can fix a broken system.
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
Facing the Challenge
As more concerns arise about the life long dangerous consequences of football the NFL fires famous reporter Bob Costas in order to keep it under wraps. After he speaks out on the devastating affects of CTE.
by JOSH KASEVICH, ZACH PHILLIPS WILL ROBINS, and SOFIE VOGEL
T
he year is 1939. It is 4 P.M. in New York City, and the Philadelphia Eagles are about kick off to the Brooklyn Dodgers. This game is more than just another Sunday afternoon game. This one will change American entertainment forever. It was at that game where the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) would become the very first major television network to cover an NFL game. Over the years, watching professional football has become a staple of the American culture: No body brings each game to life more than commentators.
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Famous have been the tenures of Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, Fran Tarkenton, and scores of others. Perhaps the most famous commentator, Bob Costas can be seen covering nearly every major professional event. His presence, is comforting to many. With clarity and conviction, he calles it as he sees it. However, like many greats throughout history, his remarks have brought about tension, and, ultimately, a severing of ties with NBC. Throughout the 2019 football season, Costas could be heard commentating on
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NFL games across the nation. Along with his normal platitudes and catch phrases, Costas could be heard lambasting the NFL for their role in the current concussion crisis. In a 2017 CNN article, Costas was reported to have said, “The reality is that this game destroys people’s brains -- not everyone’s, but a substantial number. It’s not a small number, it’s a considerable number.” Following similar comments, the storied sportscaster was dropped from this year’s Super Bowl Sunday broadcast. In the past few years, through such
comments, Costas has expressed his concern over Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a condition associated with brain degeneration, and the NFL’s disappointing, if negligent, response to the growing number of NFL players who exhibit symptoms. Many lifelong football fans breathed a sigh of relief when, on January 24, Jeff Miller, president of health and safety of the National Football Organization (NFL) reported that, “reported player concussions in the 2018 regular season were down 29 percent from the previous year” (Miller). However, we have been seeing more and more reports of brain trauma to former professional football players. The NFL has made it very clear that they do not want word of this getting out. From the standpoint of the NFL, any word against this is bad mouthing their reputation and could cause them to lose viewers, or even be forced to change how football is played. The question now becomes, is the NFL ethical to conspire to hide information from the public? Is it okay for them to collude and keep viewers in the dark about all the trauma players are put through just for self-gain? The main cause of CTE is repetitive hits to the head and concussions for over long periods of time, which is something football players experience within the sport. This hazardous danger within the sport is something Costas was trying to bring attention to the NFL, who he believes is neglecting this concern. However, the NFL has been known for sweeping situations revolving around head trauma under the rug. Back in 2002, after NFL star Mike Webster died, Dr. Bennett Omalu took a closer look at his brain. This was first where signs of
CTE were found. When the NFL found out about this, instead of acting towards seeking help, they tried to discredit Omalu. They even stated that his research was, “completely wrong.” Just like
“reported player concussions in the Mike Webster case, evthe 2018 regular ery time there has been talk about CTE or brain issues in season were down the NFL, they take fast action to play it off as something nonexistent or a small issue. 29 percent from the However, this is a very big issue, and all Costas was tryprevious year” ing to do was bring it into the
- Jeff Miller, President of health and safety of spotlight. the NFL When the Costas incident happened, it was no surprise that the NFL did not want him to Going forward, it is unclear if the world be covering their biggest event of the famous Bob Costas will be allowed in year. However, was the NFL ethical in the future to provide his commentary on this decision? Is it better for the public NFL games. to not see the trauma that the players go Although it does not seem likely due through on a game to game basis? to his comments on the controversial We believe that the NFL should be issue of football players and head injumore open to talking about CTE ries. This situation between the NFL and potential concerns with and Bob Costas has created a stir the sport. The whole situin the football community on ation of Bob Costas bewhat is right course of action in ing taken off covering concerning the safety of footthe super bowl after ball players. It is important as a his comments are not country that we are open and the way the NFL should able to discuss CTE instead of have handled the situmasking in order to ensure the ation. This disorder is a safety of both youth football part of football and there players and professional footis concrete evidence that ball players. football leads to this disorder which is why the NFL should address this instead of just sweeping it under the rug.
“This game destroys people’s brains” - Bob Costas
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
COLOMBO by ZACH BAUMGARTEN, TYLER FOUG, MALLORY KUPPE, DANIEL RABELLO
Some know Peter Colombo as a Greene Middle School P.E. teacher, others know him as the Paly assistant baseball coach. In both cases, Colombo is known to leave a lasting impression on all of those who meet him.
Photo by David Hickey
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t’s seven o’clock in the morning on January 18th, the first morning practice after winter break. Peter Colombo is pacing around in the newly built gym, clipboard in hand, getting ready to lead the first before school morning conditioning baseball workout of the year. Colombo has been coaching baseball at Palo Alto High School since 1998 and began leading morning conditioning workouts when he became the head coach in the early 2000s. “I took over the program, and when I started doing [morning conditioning] it really took off.” Colombo believes that morning conditioning brings out the true character of every team member. “Bottom line, if you’re a head coach and say ‘Look, we’re working out at 6:30 in the morning’, you’re going to find out who really wants to play and who’s really committed to the game,” Colombo said. Hard work and dedication have always been an integral part of Colombo’s life. Growing up in Redwood City, he has always had a passion for sports but was always on the shorter side and was forced to out work his competition. He even developed a nickname as “the rat” due to his scrappy playing style. “I always got dirty all the time diving for balls all over the place,” Colombo said. He attended Serra High School in San Mateo where he was a starter in both baseball and basketball. As a basketball player, Colombo was called “sneaky Pete” due to his passing and ballhandling skills. “I could throw no look passes with the best of them and I had handles,” Colombo said. After high school, Colombo attended the University of San Francisco where he played second baseman for the fighting Dons. Ever since his first coaching job as a JV baseball coach at Serra high school in 1993, Colombo has loved the coaching lifestyle. Colombo’s motivations for coaching are simple, it’s all about the kids. “I love kids and I love to get the most out of them, get them playing hard with a passion and an energy unknown to mankind,” Colombo said. One of Colombo’s favorite parts about coaching is being able to share his own
playing experience with his players. One of the things Colombo always preaches is a scrappy, hardworking playing style similar to his own. He is known for yelling “get on the ground,” which he happily elaborated on. “To get on the ground means in baseball you’re diving for any ball you can get to if you’re a infielder, and in basketball, any fifty-fifty ball that’s loose on the ground… you can ask Jamir Shepard, ‘get on the ground!’” Colombo said. After his time coaching at Serra high school, C o l o m b o decided to take his career to Palo Alto, where he started out as a volunteer assistant in the spring of 1998. After volunteering with the team for just one year, A.D. Earl Hansen hired him in the fall as the varsity baseball head coach, which kick-started his career. “I was honored when Earl gave me the job, but I knew it was my opportunity to turn the program around, which I believe I did,” Colombo said. This is when Colombo implemented the morning workouts before the season, which in his eyes builds character and grit. He helped turn around a struggling program, and in his fifth year, he led his team to an Open Division CCS Championship in 2004 after beating 5th-ranked in the country St.Francis and powerhouse Bellarmine. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, the team lost to Wilcox in the Open Division CCS Championship, which was decided by one run. “We didn’t have the best talent, but that team played with heart and as a team, which is why I love coaching,” Colombo said. Colombo has continued his coaching style throughout his career. “A lot of coaches these days teach technique to players - which is important - however not a lot of coaches teach heart and instill grit into their players the way that Colombo does,” Nathan Willis (‘18), last year’s starting catcher at Paly, said. While he is seen as a baseball coach, he also
is a P.E. teacher at Greene Middle School. Colombo began working there 21 years ago. “Earl Hansen hired me as the varsity baseball head coach at Paly, which also gave me the opportunity to become a P.E. teacher at Jordan [Greene] Middle School in 1998,” Colombo said. Growing up with two younger sisters helped his career immensely. “I grew up with two younger sisters who I always had to take care of, which really helped me with working with kids.,” Colombo said. “As a P.E. teacher now, I am extremely good with kids and will get the absolute best out of them.” His harshness may scare the parents at times. but his intentions are always positive. Colombo works to bring out everyone’s true ability, no matter if he’s coaching high schoolers or teaching 7th and 8th graders. A strong work ethic is what “Big C” lives by. He starts his mornings off with a hardboiled egg and a light jog around his neighborhood to get his blood flowing. He then heads over to Greene Middle School at about 6:30 in the morning to plan the day ahead of him. When it comes to his coaching, it is safe to say that Colombo has fully assimilated into his coaching lifestyle. Along with this comes the coaching wardrobe and Colombo has definitely developed his own fashion style. As a physical education teacher, Colombo can pretty much always be found in his green school logo sweatpants. “I load up on my sweats,” Colombo said. “When the cold hits and I warm up and get three pairs every year, I reload.” Such a large inventory of sweatpants has eased up the laundry process for Colombo, since he has a different pair of sweatpants for every day of the week. Along with the sweatpants comes a heavy-duty puffer black North Face jacket because, “you never know when it might snow in Palo Alto… [you] got to be warm at all times,” Colombo said. Whether he is yelling for his players to “get on the ground” or to be an “absolute savage”, Peter Colombo approaches each and every day with passion and energy. All of his players can see how much he loves to coach, and they respond to his energy through hard work and dedication on the field. Colombo leaves a lasting memory for all the players and gives them a hard working attitude that applies to all aspects of life. Because at the end of the day, sometimes you just need to get on the ground.
“I love kids and I love to get the most out of them, get them playing hard with a passion and an energy unknown to mankind.”
“Bottom line, if you’re a head coach and say look we’re working out at 6:30 in the morning, you’re going to find out who really wants to play and who’s really committed to the game.”
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
Pay T Play The exclusivity of club sports has risen in recent years due to the upward trend in the cost of play. This price increase creates a financial barrier, allowing kids from wealthy families an opportunity to play, while excluding the kids from lower-income families. The implications of this phenomenon reach areas further than just sports, exposing lower-income families to newfound problems. by SUMMER DANIEL, DEXTER GORMLEY, ELLA JONES, and CONNER LUSK
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ikayla Rimsa (‘20) fixes her calculating eyes on the black and white ball barreling towards her with an unforgiving spin. The ball sails closer and closer to the top corner of the net, approaching the goal post when Risma soars into the air, snatching the ball from its trajectory. She regains her balance while handling the ball and with one swift kick, punts it down the field. With cheers from the fans after her save, her gaze naturally drifts towards the sidelines. Amongst the fans and parents on the sidelines, a small group of college coaches stand watching. As a college prospect, Rimsa puts her skills on display each and every game in hopes
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of playing after high school. This exposure to college coaches is just one of the many advantages exclusively available to club sport athletes. Club sports have taken off in America with over 21 million kids playing on a given organized club team. With large organizations taking over the youth sports industry, it’s no surprise that the market has grown to over $15 million in recent years (55 percent since 2010, according to Time Magazine) with no signs of slowing down. Though the privatization of club sports has lead to increased growth of youth sports as a whole, the massive opportunities granted by club teams have pushed the cost of participation through
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the roof. This is what causes the growing gap between the wealthy, who can pay to play, and the underprivileged, who are unable to play. High priced teams are becoming the norm with most club teams costing a small fortune. In some cases the cost is upwards of $10,000 a year, enough to pay the tuition of a California state school. In addition to club teams becoming more expensive, school teams
have also seen a rise in cost. While most teams at public schools used to be free, a survey found that 61 percent of people paid to participate in middle school and high school sports. (Paly recommends a $200 donation, however does not hinder athletes from participating if they don’t pay). The end result is an ever growing number of lower-income children that find themselves unable to play club sports, or any sports at all.
The rise in cost of club sports comes from the exclusive access to resources, elite coaching staff, and connections to recruiting teams. With athletics becoming an increasingly competitive gateway to elite colleges, wealthy parents are willing to invest thousands of dollars to give their child the best chance of being recruited. Along with the possibility of being recruited, athletic scholarships have the potential to save parents hundreds of
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
$1,400
$800
$1,500
Water polo requires expensive facilities which drives up the cost to participate.
Swimming is equipment heavy and, along with the cost of facilities, results in high participation costs.
Soccer, especially at higher levels, has expensive coaching and travel games which make it hard for low-income families to participate.
thousands of dollars. With the cost of club sports only amounting to a small fraction of a college tuition, the investment in club sports makes sense, but there are downsides. Families who can’t afford club teams are at a huge disadvantage. Without the ability to pay for the unmatched coaching talent, resources, and connections to college coaches, lower-income athletes have a much steeper slope to a college team. In addition, scholarship money for these families is, in some cases, necessary to put their kids through college. Wealthier families gain the upper hand with club sports, and eventually, the scholarship money that lower income athletes need to attend college, pushing underprivileged athletes further and further out of contention. According to Aspen Project Play, an organization created to bring awareness to inequity in sports, children whose parents have an annual income over
$100,000 start participating in team sports over two years before kids in families that make less than $25,000 per year. This two year loss of sports participation sets back lower income athletes from the get go. Meanwhile, higher income athletes join club teams and develop further as athletes. With many families taking this route, it increases the demand for club teams, pushing the price of club athletics through the roof. This is beneficial for the club teams and the club sports economy, but it leaves lower income athletes way behind, with little chance to catch up. The cost of club sports varies, with volleyball averaging around $4-6,000 a year and swimming around $1,400 a year. For families with higher income, this may not affect them at all. But for lower income families, this can be 10-25 percent of their total yearly income. A survey conducted by Aspen Project Play found that although 25 percent of the population has a household income of $25,000 a
year or less, only 15 percent of youth athletes come from this income bracket. On the other hand, 33 percent of youth athletes come from the 20 percent of households have an income of over $100,000 a year. This means lower income children are underrepresented in athletics in our country. For many young athletes, participating in club sports is essential to long term success in their sport. Paly Junior Grace Thayer attests to the advantages of playing club sports. “I went from not being able to run basic sets, to running slides and just a dramatic increase of skill,” Thayer said. “Club [sports] provide a chance to get a high amount of reps and take advantage of other coaches and playing against really good girls across the country.” Improvement in skills and additional exposure offer more opportunities to club players looking to play college, which subsequently opens doors for them.
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$1,550
$1,600
$5,500
Lacrosse, a traditionally expensive sport, has expensive travel tournaments to the East coast.
Basketball has expensive facility and equipment costs, but sponsorships from Adidas and Nike keep some club teams more affordable.
With travel tournaments prevalent throughout the season, the cost of volleyball is hard to justify for underprivileged athletes.
“Club volleyball is extremely important for recruiting,” Thayer said. “The amount of coaches at tournaments is insane and usually coaches don’t come to watch you play in high school games unless they are really interested in you as a player.” Similarly, those unable to play club cannot reap the mental health benefits or character building aspects of club sports. Mikayla Risma, a Paly junior who has participated in club soccer for eight years, sees the advantages that club sports provide. “Club teams are much closer and the girls I play with are all really close friends of mine and this helps our team chemistry, making us more cohesive on the field,” Rimsa said. Benjamin Saetang, a club volleyball coach of ten years and current Assistant Director of Academy Volleyball Club & Academy Beach Volleyball, shared similar views to Thayer. “[Club] is another way that college re-
cruiters can see players,” Saetang said, stressing the advantage of playing club if a player wants to continue in the sport. Saetang conceded that club sports can be expensive, but says it’s because of the nature of increasingly competitive and time consuming aspects of club. “It’s not the coach’s pay [or] facility usage that is the expensive part,” Saetang said. “The traveling [makes it so expensive]. You have to factor in hotels [who] know that there is a tournament near their area…. Tickets are $200 to $600 round trip. If you do four travel tournaments in the year, you can do the math.” Often, many club teams attempt to lighten the financial load by offering scholarships to lower income families, however there is a limited number of players who can receive these benefits. “If all 12 players on a team pay the full price, one player on a different team can play for free,” Saetang said. “[Scholarships] are mostly awarded on financial
needs for club.” But to even make these club teams, players need to have high levels of play that they can only achieve through club experience, creating a cycle that locks out those who can’t afford club teams. “Club players are wealthier, [but] clubs will find a way to get financial aid for [those that they can], ” Saetang said. But the clubs cannot afford financial aid for every player, leaving many unable to play. The incredible expense of these teams is hard for almost anyone to afford, and even the cheapest of club teams are still a massive cost for lower income athletes. “I actually almost wasn’t able to play club this year but I received a scholarship last minute but up until the day of signing night I didn’t know if i would be able to play the sport I love or not,” Thayer said. “I know multiple girls who have had to decline offers from higher level clubs and had to play on the two’s or three’s
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
100% Participation
2013 20%
40%
60%
80%
60%
80%
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2015
20%
40%
2017 Income:
<$25,000
$25,000-49,000
team because of the prices.â&#x20AC;? With the money spent on this one season of volleyball, families could pay for health care, tutoring, or other necessities. Other sports such as baseball, softball, and crew can also strain the bank: depending on the club, seasonal costs can range from $1,000 to $5,000. Although these financial barriers seemingly only limit kids from high level sports teams, this lack of activity puts kids at serious risk. Sports may be the only exercise kids are getting, so without it they lack the exercise needed to stay healthy. A study found that kids who do not play sports have a greater risk of obesity and other health issues. Not only are there physical benefits of staying active through sports, there are also social and psychological benefits that arise from playing sports at a young age. These benefits include raising self-esteem, goal-setting and leadership which are all attributes that lead to success down the road. Although these benefits are critical, the one that tops all is the correlation between regular exercise and mental health. According to the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sports Foundation, it was found that out of students who exercise six to seven days a week, 25.1 percent
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$49,000-74,999
felt sad for two weeks or more in the past 12 months, compared to 35.7 percent of students with zero to one day of exercise a week. In addition, according to the Journal of American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 15 percent of students who exercised six to seven days a week, reported suicidal thoughts, and 6.4 percent reported a suicide attempt in the past year. This seems high, but compared to students who exercised zero to one day a week (24.6 percent who had suicidal thoughts and 10.3 pecent of students attempting suicide) the benefits of sports are clear. Sports keep kids healthier - physically and emotionally. In addition, the lower income athletes who lack exercise and end up with mental health issues or obesity, require more medical help than their active peers. This adds up to costly medical bills, pushing the poorer families deeper into poverty. As the cost of club sports will continue to rise, the lower income athletes will fall further behind. And without access to the developmental benefits that sports grant for younger athletes, these kids are already starting off on the wrong foot. In addition, the path to an athletic scholarship, previously a lifeline for underpriv-
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$75,000-100,000
>$100,000
*According to Aspen Project Play
ileged athletes, is no longer an option with wealthier and more connected athletes taking away their opportunities. Thus, we must work towards a solution which grants a larger and more diverse demographic of children access to cub sports. The wealth disparity in club sports athletes and those who cannot afford to play results in unfair discrimination, a loss of opportunities after high school, and the risk of damaging a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s physical and mental health. This keeps those at the bottom, at the bottom. To challenge this status quo, we should focus on offering more cost conscious alternatives: free clinics, and higher level teams that can foster similar benefits of playing club sports at both a skills and an enrichment level. Although our society and economy as a whole make the climb out of poverty nearly impossible, opening up athletic opportunities for underprivileged athletes will start a chain reaction. With these kids starting sports earlier, they have better interpersonal skills and health as a whole. With lower cost club teams, older athletes have a better chance at recruiting and improve their mental and physical health.
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
by Stan de Martel
Eighty-Eight Pitches
Innings
On Tuesday, March 5 Junior Dean Casey (pictured) threw a coveted no hitter in a match up against Sacred Heart; the very next day, Josh Kasevich (‘19) and Ritter Amsbaugh (‘21) did it again against Cupertino.
Sixty-Two Strikes “I had a great defense behind me and a catcher that I worked well with. The no hitter wouldn’t have happened without our defense.” - Dean Casey (‘20) 28 | V I K I N G M A G A Z I N E |
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Y Y Z Z A A R R C OORRTTSS C PP SS
S S E E I I R R O O T T S S
by SAM CLEASBY, KEVIN CULLEN, JACK SUCH, NICH WELCH
The perennial sports history in this country undoubtedly procured scenarios and events that some fail to believe while others claim to have witnessed. From baseball going batty with performance enhancing drugs (and we ain’t talking steroids), to NFL coaches going cuckoo placing targets on the elites of the league, there have been some crazy stories lost to the ages or masked by the media. Our investigative team, comprised of some of the top researchers on our staff, have taken a word of Future’s book and taken the “Mask Off” of these crazy sports stories.
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The Acid No-No
ne of the most remarkable feats in baseball is the coveted “no-hitter”, where a pitcher goes the whole game without allowing a hit. Since the founding of the MLB in 1876, only 299 no-hitters have been thrown in over 210,000 total games played. On June 12, 1970, Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis did just that. However, what makes Ellis’ no hitter different from other 298 is that fact that Ellis threw his while hallucinating on acid. Prior to this game, Ellis had gone down to his friends house in Los Angeles to rest for a few days until his next start. While in Los Angeles, Ellis was constantly doing drugs and drinking, leading him to lose track of what day it was. He woke up one morning, a few days after he had gotten there, and took more LSD(acid) because he was under the impression
that he was not scheduled to pitch until the game included him thinking that the next day. President Richard Nixon was the home A few hours later, plate umpire, with Jimi President his friends pointed out Hendrix standing in the that the newspaper box swinging Richard Nixon batter’s claimed that he was his guitar. He also was the home slated to pitch that claimed that at times evening in San Diego, he couldn’t even see plate umpire, with so Ellis caught a flight the catcher or feel the and went down to Jimi Hendrix standing baseball in his hand. prepare for his game, Fans in attendance even all while hallucinating. in the batter’s box remember him diving He then proceeded to swinging his away from ground balls throw a no-hitter in his that came nowhere guitar. game that evening. near him. Ellis’ recollection Despite the unreal of the event – in scenery going on in his an interview years later – is full of wild head, Ellis successfully threw nine innings scenes he saw while he was stuck on his with no hits allowed in what would be the hallucinatory trip. Some of the insane first, and most likely last, acid-induced things he thought he was seeing during no-hitter in MLB history.
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
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Manti Te’OH NO!
n 2012, Manti Te’o was an All-American linebacker for Notre Dame who finished second in Heisman voting and led his team to finish No. 2 in the country. Despite Teo’s historic college career and his solid career in the NFL, Te’o is primarily known for being involved in one of the most bizarre sports relationships, or lack thereof, in sports history. It all started in 2009, when someone on Facebook under the name Lennay Kekua friended Te’o. Since her friending him on Facebook, Kekua and Te’o began an off and on relationship, with Te’o even mentioning her to ESPN during an interview in 2010. From there, things escalated quickly. After drama with her boyfriend in 2011, Kekua incited a deeper relationship with Te’o, and they started officially and publicly dating later that year. In June of 2012, the situation took a solemn turn. Kekua informed Te’o that she was diagnosed with leukemia, which Te’o informed ESPN. Over the summer they had multiple plans to see each other, that always suspiciously seemed to fall apart. In September of 2012, in the midst of Teo’s historic season, his grandmother died. Two days later, Kekua’s brother calls Te’o informing him that Kekua had passed away from her leukemia. Another two days after that, Te’o played Michigan State and had an outstanding performance with 12 tackles. Dedicating his performance to his grandmother and Kekua, it became the story of the season
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in college football, dominating ESPN headlines all the way through Notre Dame’s run to the championship game. However, in November, months after her “passing”, rumors were swirling around the legitimacy of Lennay Kekua’s existence. The media and the public were clueless, but Te’o was having private concerns, facilitated by people close to the situation. The most dramatic moment by far was on December 6, 2012. Te’o was at the Home Depot College Football Award Show, where he was an invitee and winner of the Butkus Award for the nation’s best linebacker. However, as great as that achievement is, it would not be the most memorable part of the night. That honor would go to a phone call he received from Lennay Kekua herself, who everyone had presumed dead. After the call from beyond the grave, Te’o was now finally convinced of the catfish scheme he was a victim of. He began notifying his family and coaches, and on January 16, 2013, a week after Te’o’s Notre Dame was throttled by Alabama in the national championship game, Deadspin released a tell all article detailing the extent of the scheme. It was revealed that the whole scheme was set up by a man named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who even went as far to facilitate meetings between Leah, the girl impersonating Lennay Kekua, and mutual friends of Te’o to not arouse suspicion of Kekua’s nonexistence. That is certainly a strange story, but
catfish schemes happen all the time. The most bizarre part of the story isn’t even the fact that a celebrity had a very public relationship with a girl that turned out not to be real. The strangest part is the motive behind it. The initial thought was that Te’o and Tuiasosopo, who knew each other from Te’o’s days growing up in Hawai’i, cooked up the whole scheme together for publicity. However, Notre Dame, the NCAA, and many media outlets such as Deadspin and ESPN did investigations into the situation and there was no evidence anywhere that Te’o knew anything at all. Incredibly, Tuiasosopo orchestrated the whole thing himself because he himself was actually in love with Te’o. After the situation played out, Tuiasosopo admitted to Dr. Phil that he was romantically in love with Te’o and used the fictional Lennay Kekua to facilitate a faux relationship between them, a fittingly strange ending to an even stranger scandal.
Te’o looking at his girlfriend
Not So Saint-like
t is an unspoken rule across all sports that intentionally injuring players is vile and morally unjust. However, former Saints defensive coordinator and current Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams along with Saints head coach Sean Payton thought that the immorality of intentionally targeting players was a necessary sacrifice for wins. When Gregg Williams was hired in 2009, the Saints suddenly became a powerful playoff contender. Although the Saints offense was a force to be reckoned with led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees, the defense
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became elite with the hire of Williams. Some pondered how the Saints defense suddenly became a top tier defense. The answer was that they were encouraged to play dirty by teammates and coaches. One prime example of this “bounty hunting” playstyle can be seen through the actions of former Saints player and Pro Bowl linebacker, Jonathan Vilma, who offered $10,000 to any Saints player to knock out Brett Favre during the 2009 NFC Championship game. Several other accounts of the Saints defense being rough on the quarterback surfaced over the next several years, but
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these cases were ultimately dismissed as just trying to force a fumble and nobody bothered investigating. It wasn’t until 2012 where the public and the FBI became aware of the evil intentions of the Saints organization. The news started when ESPN received a tip from former Saints defensive assistant, Mike Cerullo, who became the whistle blower of this whole scandal. Cerullo told several stories of tasks given to players along with incentives to do so. “A player could receive anywhere from $1,000-$2,500 for knocking a player out on a kickoff. Even if it meant injuring
yourself or other teammates,” Cerullo said. Another account told by Cerullo was about a cash pool where Saints player and coaches could put in bounties on certain opposing players and receive benefits from fellow teammates. After ESPN followed the leads provided by Cerullo, ESPN found that the following people were involved: G r e g
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Williams, Sean Payton, linebackers coach Joe Vitt, Michael Ornstein and over 20 Saints players. After every case was identified, nearly 100 different examples of “dirty defense” had been revealed. When the findings were released, it seemed certain doom to the Saints staff, however, this was not the case. Gregg Williams, the mastermind of the operation was issued a lifetime ban from the NFL, until NFL commissioner Roger Goodell removed Williams’ ban after less than year of its existence. Head Coach Sean Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 season, but is still at the helm again. Joe Vitt was suspended for six games and was fired by the Saints organization in 2016, Vitt would go on to be a part of the Miami Dolphins staff the following season.
Four Saints players received six game suspensions, and Jonathan Vilma, “the ringleader,” was issued a ban for the entire 2012 season. Finally, the Saints organization was punished by the NFL and had their 2012 second and third round picks revoked. The NFL was heavily criticised for issuing such lenient punishments towards such heinous acts. Hopefully, the NFL will be more harsh on any team that decides that this game play is acceptable. Gregg Williams thought this defensive play was necessary and that the Saints were willing to not only accept this idea, but encourage it from the front office to the locker room. Luckily, since the Saints Bounty Scandal, no NFL team has been caught doing this type of “dirty defense”... for now.
Bushes, Blood, N’ Brownies
n the last 100 years of intricate Paly history, there are some crazy stories that have been left to be perceived as myth. We are here to tell you not only are they fact, they are legend. The majority of these stories may or may not revolve around the use of “naughty” substances. Viking does not condone these actions, yet the stories behind them are too wild not to tell. From a surprise find in the bushes of a Paly vs. Gunn game to a harrowing loss at the aid of edible cannabis, Paly has seen it all. On a brisk Friday night, as Paly students charged out the doors of the Viking gymnasium after an electric Viking victory over our neighbors to the south, the Gunn Titans, one student found themself stumbling rather than charging. Instead of making their way home like the rest of their peers, this particular student saw comfort in a nearby set of brush. As the leaves enveloped them, they found their world spinning around them and slowly dozed off. After a brief resting period, they opened their eyes to find the one and only Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson standing over them with a less than pleased facial expression. This substance-induced nap bought the student a ticket straight to the tower building. My very own brother, the legend himself, Michael Cullen, had a notorious reputation as an angry beast on and
off the field during his stint at Palo Alto was not mentally prepared for what was High School. But unbeknownst to the ahead. He had eaten a “special” brownie public are the locker room shenanigans earlier on in the game, because he was resulting from this anger. predominantly a pitcher and was not Football players are slated to pitch that day. no stranger to the many This man wouldn’t minor injuries that be able to hit a ball off He would come with the game; a tee let alone hit some find the nearest dingers off a pitcher but while many resort to the trainer to patch throwing upwards of 80 locker and them up, Cullen had his mph. repeatedly bash own very unique way The batter stepped up of dealing with these his head into the cool to the plate ready to lead injuries. He would find his team on a comeback. metal until blood the nearest locker The first pitch came; he and repeatedly bash would trickle forgot to swing. Strike his head into the cool down his one. Then the second metal until blood would pitch; he decided to trickle down his dome. dome. swing as the catcher was The psychosis throwing the ball back to behind this strange solution to his minor the mound. Strike two. Finally the third injuries should probably have been pitch, it was another strike, although the investigated, however, this man and his hitter didn’t seem to realize the ball was play on the field helped lead the team even thrown. He started to take first base, to the 2010 State Championship. Maybe despite the fact that he had just been everyone needs a little head bang to struck out. Eventually, with the help of keep their head in the game…. a heckling dugout, and some guidance In another case, it was clutch time on from his coach, this player made his way the Paly diamond. The game was within back to the bench. one; The Vikings were down 5-4 in the In an important game, this Paly athlete bottom of the seventh inning. With the really let the team down by eating that boys in green stepping up to the plate, it “special” brownie. The Vikings went on was time for a comeback. to lose that game, and as it turned out, The man on deck had not been having unbeknown to said teammate, it was a a strong game at bat, so the coach crucial league game of which they could made the game time decision to call in have clinched the title. a pinch hitter. Unfortunately, this man
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
Viking
March Mischief
by NATHAN ELLISEN, COLE SOTNICK, GRIFFIN KEMP Every March, millions of Americans watch in admiration the greatness and unpredicatbility of the college basketball postseason. However,, millions of others are unable to witness greatness because they are too busy with school and other priorities. We investigate this conundrum and introduce a potential solution to allow students at Paly and across the US to watch the Madness unfold without disapproval.
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ach anxiously sits in his chair as his phone buzzes with updates on the latest NCAA men’s basketball scores. As the period ends and he goes to find a comfortable position in the MAC to turn on the most exciting games, students around him all pull up March Madness Live to tune into the day’s exciting action. However, suddenly an administrator comes from
The 16th-seeded UMBC beat first seeded Virginia for the first time in tournament history in 2018. Academics prevented students from watching games on the day of the historic event.
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behind and admonishes the students, destroying their excitement over the game and forcing them to turn it off. The administrator reprimands watching at school, explaining that the event causes major distractions for students and teachers alike. March Madness is widely considered to be one of the most fun sporting phenomenal during the school year. Most workplaces allow leniency in terms of watching rather than working during the month. Paly – and schools across the country – should do the same. OfficeTeam completed a study analyzing the popularity of March Madness festivities in the workplace, finding that 46 percent of employees participate in March Madness events by watching games at work, and another 33 percent take some part in the office rituals surrounding the tournament. This total of 79 percent of employees that support March Madness would likely support breaks or time off from work to watch the games. This data can reasonably be applied to students as well, as a similar percentage of students likely feel the fun effects of March Madness. This data also can be applied to teacher’s interest in the event. Although teachers display that they don’t have any desire to watch the games like many students, many truly
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do want to watch the games but must mask their affection for March Madness so students can focus. These teachers should be allowed to watch the sporting event they love. In addition, most high school kids are young adults who have the ability to weigh the consequences of watching in class, and many may think watching what could be a historic game could be better than spending time on tedious tasks inside the classroom. Besides, kids are going to watch the games anyway because they are entertaining, and the school could benefit from embracing it rather than spending valuable class time to reprimand students watching in class. “I don’t think students should watch during lectures, but if it’s homework time, students should be able to choose if they want to watch or not,” Jeffery Mi (‘20) said. “They can always review or do homework after school, but then the game might be over. I didn’t watch a lot of March Madness last year; I pretty much just spent my prep period watching it. I wish I watched it some more because it’s was some pretty exciting stuff.” Many other Paly students feel the same way. “March Madness should be more acceptable by teachers and admin because it’s ultimately the students
choice on if they want to learn,” Matthew Marzano (‘20) said. “I would say I watch about an hour of March Madness in class for a day... I think that’s the right amount.” Obviously, school must go on, and canceling classes for a sporting event is not necessary or realistic. However, more leniency would be beneficial to both students and teachers. If March Madness viewing was allowed—to a certain extent—in classrooms, students would be less motivated to secretly watch the games and be off task during class instruction, and less reprimand and further time wasting. Currently, most teachers don’t tolerate any viewing and don’t have breaks for students to at least catch up on scores. In an ideal world, students wouldn’t need to do any school work during the fun of March Madness. However, in the real world, administration can’t cancel school for a sporting event, and students shouldn’t lose their chance at learning because of March Madness. On the other hand, students lives at Paly shouldn’t be fully controlled by either their studies or by their interest in events such as March Madness. By giving students a
fair balance between the fun of watching the games on the first Thursday of March Madness and completing t h e i r
s t u d i e s , administration won’t over-control the lives of their students. A compromise where students are allowed breaks when there is an important moment or a classroom where academia can be put away for a few minutes to watch the most fun event of the year is the perfect solution to keep up with March Madness. One student or teacher could have notifications on their cell phone or computer so that they are informed when a big moment is about to commence and promptly the class can pause for a few minutes to watch the legendary moment. Classwork can be made optional homework to further allow students to watch the incredibly exciting March Madness first round while continuing to receive their necessary education.
"March Madness should be more acceptable by teachers and admin" - Matthew Marzano ('20))
"I wish I watched [March Madness] some more because it'is pretty exciting" - Jeffrey Mi ('20))
Carmelo Anthony’s historic championship run with Syracuse in 2003 capped off a thrilling tournament, showing why March Madness is worth the hype. @vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
top sports video games by ERIC ABOYTES, GERZAIN GUTIERREZ, RYAN STANLEY, and RYAN STRATHEARN
In today’s day and age, video games consume the lives of many young teenagers. Although many video games are frowned upon by the public, there are several video games that have positively impacted the lives of many. Here at Viking, we decided to rank the top 10 sports video games that many have grown up playing.
10 NFL Street
NFL street combined the stars of the league with the creativity and flashiness that young consumers of the game wanted to see. These flashy moves and highlight plays in a street ball setting created a massive following for the new game.
9 MLB The Show 17 Not only did MLB The Show 17 feature the great Ken Griffey Jr. on the cover, but they expanded their “Road to the Show.” In this mode, the payer tries to make it to the MLB with their created player. They also added to their ever so popular “Diamond Dynasty” mode.
8 NBA 2k15
NBA 2k15 was the fire installment of the NBA 2k series where the player can scan their own face into the game and onto their created player to play through the MyCareer mode. The MyCareer mode also allowed players to make critcal decisions in their careers, like which endorsement deals to sign.
7 NHL 13
NHL 13w attracted such a large audience because of its action packed gameplay. From in game fights to broken glass, NHL really stepped up the in-game experience for users. Not to mention the nearly flawless graphics and animations for the time.
6 WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 In WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010, the “Divas” were playable to play in any match type. The game mode “Road to Wrestlemania” made its return after being introduced in the previous year’s game and featured more storylines as well a women’s storyline for the first time.
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5 NBA Jam
NBA Jam combined arcade-like, digitized graphics with two-on-two basketball play. The basketball video game was characterized for its exaggerated style of play, allowing players to make nasty dunks and jump many times above their own heights.
4 Madden 10
Madden 10 was a turning point for all future football games to come. This game had the best graphics of its time with extremely accurate stadiums, chain gangs and a new movement system so the players would react to contact in a realistic way. This was also the first madden to bring online franchise into the game so competitive players could build their own teams and go head to head with other players from around the world.
3 FIFA 15
Fifa 14 is noted for being revolutionary when it comes to today’s modern video games, as it was the start of the EA ultimate team frenzy.
2 Wii Sports
Wii sports is the most played all around sports game of all time. This game attracted so many players because of its extremely wide rage of games from bowling to tennis. It also encouraged the user to be active while playing.
1 NCAA Football 14 NCAA 14 tops the list with its superb gameplay, graphics, and timelessness. The game included mascot matchup,one of the greatest game modes ever created. “It is the greatest game I have ever laid eyes on and could possibly be the GOAT of all games” Jevan Yu said.
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
Jason Fungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presence is felt in all reaches of the Paly community, though few know the winding path he took to get here. From his unprecedented bodybuilding success to his endless advocation for students, Fung has shown his true character: the peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s champion.
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I
f you didn’t know any better, you might think it was Mary Poppins’ bag. After all, the supply of treasures within it appeared endless, and for a mid-sized, seemingly demure black bag, it reached surprising depths. Once a hand went into it, it would invariably spend a few seconds jostling around, encountering almost as many obscure items as the mythical nanny; where Poppins filled hers to the brim with an apron, hairpins, medicine, an armchair, blankets, even an entire duvet, this one is equipped with what could also easily be mistaken for an apocalypse survival kit. Several meals, carefully confined within the walls of Tupperware containers, form the foundational base
ored neon concoctions reminiscent of Mary Poppins’ own dark red medicine bottle, but turned up to 11. The bag, of course, doesn’t belong to Poppins at all. But it, just as it had for Poppins, accompanied its owner wherever he went. For Jason Fung, it was more than an eclectic mixture stored in a small black bag. It was his own never-ending toolbox. “Everywhere I went, I had a bag on me,” Fung said. “I had water, I had food – you always want to eat. And the joke was, every time my watch went off in practice, coach Duran would be like, ‘Fung! It’s time to eat!’” He hadn’t always intended to pursue what, to some, might seem to indicate an
membered me because he missed the tackle on me when I was running the ball. And he looked up and I guess for him, that day he said, ‘I’ll never forget that name’. That’s kind of how we started talking.” The manager happened to compete in bodybuilding, told Fung about the sport, and the rest was history. Unlike his introduction into it, bodybuilding isn’t a simple as a chance connection. Boiled down to its core components, it follows the same principles as the average gym-goer does: eat right, train hard, and results will come with time. Bodybuilding, though, operates on a strict calendar. Time is of the essence; calendar days ticking down don’t repre-
of the bag. They host, invariably, one-half cup brown rice, 6 ounces boiled chicken with no seasoning, 1 cup broccoli. Substitutions are limited to sweet potatoes for brown rice, white fish for chicken, and spinach for broccoli. It’s enough food to last a week if consumed at a normal pace. It could stretch a few weeks, if rationed carefully. The middle features the absolute necessities: an assortment of supplements with names that could strike fear in the heart of even the most fearless organic mothers among them, and pre-workouts with promises of reduced facial jitters and explosive muscle pumps (which are surprisingly listed as a selling point, and not as a condition that should prompt the immediate attention of a medical professional). Completing the pyramid of supplies is a familiar face: bottles on bottles of water, both for pure intake and for mixing with the aforementioned supplements to form brightly-col-
obsession. Setting a watch to go off every time it was meal time – who would even need to set a watch? Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Done. Well, not quite. But neurotic (and necessary!) eating habits aside, Fung landing on bodybuilding wasn’t an intentional pursuit; it was more of a fateful meet-cute. He was shopping at a GNC in early 2003 when he was introduced to the store manager. What would normally be a quick business transaction, though, quickly turned into an unexpected high school reunion. “Ironically, the gentleman there who was the manager of the store, I grew up playing against him in high school football,” Fung said. “The story goes, he said, ‘You’re not Jason Fung are you? You went to Palo Alto High School?’” “I played [against] Turlock High School, and Turlock was a big, big game for us, which we got annihilated [in],” Fung said. “He remembered me. He re-
sent weeks of general training, aimless if not for the general guide of strength pursuit or aesthetics. Rather, they show a deadline looming – and the schedule is particularly brutal. Unlike a seasonal sport, bodybuilding runs all year long. But the sport would be near impossible to pursue in a continuous fashion: dieting down to a low enough body fat for muscles to look dry and feathered while also somehow keeping up intense, hypertrophic training and enough cardio to make a track star wince take a toll on the body. Pursuing it competitively for 10 years, Fung did enough to make anyone swear off lean chicken breast, white rice, and broccoli for a lifetime. But Fung, even now, has his eyes set on returning to the stage sometime soon. He noted the difference between stage-ready, and can-get-stage-ready-ata-moment’s-notice. At any point of the year, even now when he’s technically re
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019 @vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
tired from competing, he won’t be then give you enough energy for you to found in any worse shape than some- get to the next meal.” where in between the two. To a competitive athlete, that lan“I’m never too far removed from body- guage is certainly familiar. Take Michael building to not ever go back,” Fung said. Phelps, who’s notorious for his 12,000 “I think my goal is if I can go step back on calorie diet – that’s daily, mind you, not stage again either when I’m 50, or in the weekly. Of course, training two-a-days next five years.” for five or six hours a day works up an The time commitment needed for the appetite – Fung himself would train sport paints him as especially commited twice a day at his peak, with cardio in the for considering going back to it. But then, morning and lifting in the evening – but intense commitment is the reduction of one of the simplest necessary to succeed human indulgences at the highest level of to another task on competition. a to-do list requires “I’m never “I would come a mental fortitude too home from a day more intense than far remove d from of work and prethat needed to combodybuild pare the next day’s plete a hard workout. ing meals, and my meals “Everyone can lift,” to not eve weren’t hard,” Fung Fung said. “Can you r go said. “But now I got diet?” back.” to prepare eight He’s right in prin– Jason Fu meals.” ciple, but his humility ng Indeed, Fung’s may be selling his effort participation in short. The science of the world of bodycrafting a stage-ready building meant physique is precise, and eating was much although everyone can more than an act meant to lift, certainly not everysatiate, or even one for pleasure. Every one can lift right. While it sounds part of the human experience becomes like a subjective judgement – who deboiled down to a careful science. Meal cides how to rank a body from worst timing, macronutrient counting, and op- to best? – it’s far from it. The desired timal training are all key components. physique in bodybuilding, according Unsurprisingly, with competition taking to Fung, has one clear requirement. To center stage, enjoying food tends to be those who associate bodybuilding with a lesser concern. meatheads whose biceps are so devel“You just get so numb to the eating,” oped they seem to have grown biceps Fung said. “What’s crazy, eating is not of their own, they would be surprised by about tasting anymore when you get to how far judges’ expectations surpass the competing. For me, eating was just feed- causal perception. Bigger is, in fact, not ing your body enough of the nutrients to always better.
“In the world of bodybuilding, people have a misnomer of ‘Oh, how big are you?’” Fung said. “Bodybuilding is more or less how you are structured head to toe – your symmetry. It doesn’t matter how big you are.” He laughed, remembering the flack he’s caught over not magically transforming into Ronnie Coleman over the course of a two month prep cycle. “People say, ‘Oh, you’re not that big,’” he said. “I said, well, that’s not how bodybuilding is judged – it’s judged through symmetry, and how your muscles balance each other.” A testament to his confidence, or perhaps his stubbornness, depending on who you ask, Fung set his sights on competing in the National Physique Committee (NPC), an untested federation. A lifetime drug-free athlete coming from the INBA, which boasted a regular repertoire of invasive checks including polygraphs and urine tests, deciding to switch over to the NPC and continuing to compete naturally was unheard of. It would be akin to a player switching from their high school team to the NBA, and not expecting a harsh awakening. The INBA was, and is, a respected organization at the highest level of natural competition, but Fung was going against an uneven playing field. Steroids boost recovery capacity, volume tolerance, and a host of other factors that allow for muscle growth at unprecedented levels assuming proper training. Compare Kai Greene to a natural bodybuilder – the drugs may be allowed, but they are nonetheless a way to cheat the body’s normal hormonal response. The average athlete, even with the fierce competitiveness that drives the desire for success, would accept that they were
Graduates from Paly Starts BodyBulding
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a serious underdog, and be satisfied with any result – their placement, no matter how it compared to the competition, was achieved cleanly. Fair and square. That would require the assumption, though, that Jason Fung is an average athlete. And his first-place finish in the overall competition, without having ever touched a drop of testosterone not sourced from his own endocrine system, is the living proof that he is anything but. “My goal was to see if I, as a natural athlete, could compete against a noteven playing field,” Fung said. “So [winning] made me feel even better about what I did, and how I could kind of further the interest and the love of the sport by doing that.” That first victory was intoxicating, and he decided to pursue two more NPC competitions afterwards, always staying drug-free despite the likelihood that those he was going against were taking advantage of an anabolic head-start. Despite this, he remembers that first competition as his favorite memory in his lengthy bodybuilding career – the first taste of victory. After ten years, each competition and prep cycle can start to blend together (although he emphasized that “they’re all memorable). Surprisingly, though, fatigue was not what eventually led him out of the sport. His priorities simply shifted, and with that, his commitment to lifting and dieting had to take a back seat. “I always feel if you don’t put 110% into it – it’s such a cliche statement, but it’s true. If I didn’t do what I thought was 110% for me, and I didn’t win, that was my fault,” he said . “But if I did everything humanly possible that I knew that I had to, to train for it, and I won, then I knew
that my training paid off. If I didn’t, then okay, why didn’t I win?” At some point, with family growing in importance, he knew he couldn’t give training that same 110% intensity any longer. Fung is a believer that if something is done half-way, it’s better not done at all. “My wife was one of the first people to come to one of my competitions before we were married,” Fung said. “I had the support of that career [...] because I had the support of my wife. I had the support as I got into being a father, in ‘07. My priorities started to change… I had three kids, which made training the way I train very hard.” Eventually, that same Mary Poppins bag got replaced by something much more alive (but probably not all that much heavier). “My bag got replaced with having a baby on my back at practice,” Fung smiles. “The love of the sport is still there, but my objective in life is shifted, and that’s focused more on my family."
Rewind
But before the bodybuilding, the job at GNC, and the competitions, Fung was a newly graduated high school student from Paly itself. Not long after he graduated in 1992, Fung jumped right back into the community, starting as a traveling physical education teacher for the PAUSD elementary schools. Eventually, he worked his way up to teaching PE at Paly, also taking on the role as a coach of the track and field team in 1999. As a track and field coach, a title he held for 18 years, Fung had considerable success, securing multiple SCVAL champi-
onships as well as a CCS championship for the first time in Paly history. In addition to this, Fung had multiple stints in other fields, picking up slack wherever it was needed in the athletics department. He has coached 15 seasons for the Frosh-Soph football team as well as being a coordinator for the varsity football team. It’s no surprise that he stuck with the teams for as long as some of his past students have been alive. After about a year of limbo before beginning his teaching and coaching career, Fung was tasked with that same daunting decision that plagues millions of high school students and fresh-out-of-college grads: deciding what to do with the rest of his life. “I decided… I enjoy it,” Fung said of coaching. “I enjoy it for the simple fact that when you coach and you teach a kid something, and they do it, it is a big reward.” That reward is what propelled him to choose a career that, despite the hours of hard work poured into it, receives relatively minor compensation. Despite how oftentimes, teachers are the most stable adult presence in a child’s life, second only to their parents – and in some cases, more so than their parents – they receive little of the credit for the formation and maturation of a child. “Good kids” are considered solely products of their parents, but teachers like Fung, who have true compassion for their students, instill values that guide them into adulthood. “That’s how the payout works for teachers,” Fung said. “Are you successful on the field? Are you successful in class? That’s our reward. They say teachers don’t get a lot of glory, but our glory comes within the confines of the four
Starts Coaching Football Joins Paly staff
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
walls of our classroom.” That’s where his physical presence stops, but it’s far from where is influential presence ends. “For me, it’s the knowledge you can give them [the students] that they can turn around and use for themselves in life, and in life beyond school, in life beyond the weight room,” Fung said. “For me it was a lot of those rewards that kind of pushed me to coach.” From there, he got into teaching, which led him from practically one end of the town to the next. He even picked up the role of athletic director for a year back in 2014. During this year, Fung was given the responsibility of organizing many aspects of the Peery Family Center, such as its dedication, which was given to Paly-graduate and NBA sensation Jeremy Lin. However, after a year, Fung stepped down from his role of athletic director in order to get back to spending more time with students. “At my job [as athletic director], I don’t get to see the students,” Fung said. “I’m going back to teaching, going back to what I enjoy doing.” Even in the process of stepping down from athletic director, what some consider to be the most important role in the athletics department, Fung’s influence on the Palo Alto community did not decrease. On the contrary, he feels his impact is more felt when he’s not at the very top; what he wants to be remembered by is the connections he made with his students. Nowadays, to pursue that goal, he acts as an integral part in the development of many of Paly’s budding athletes. In 2017, Fung began to teach the first ever athletic conditioning class, which was started with the intention of providing extra time for the football team to workout during the
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day, and is currently an alternative to tra- how to do things that you don’t want to ditional physical education with a focus do. But hey, I have to do it. That’s just life. on strength and conditioning for any of It just depends on who’s pushing you Paly’s young current or prospective ath- from the other end.” letes. Being a teacher doesn’t mean he has “Again, it solidifies why I enjoy the lift- nothing left to learn, either. On the coning, the teaching, the fitness part of my trary, he learns from his students every life,” Fung said. “How do you give the day, and tries to raise his own children in knowledge to the kids in lifting class, the way he raises his students. from your experiences? And “I’ve also taken that piece then from the and kind of driven my own knowledge kids, you know?” Fung said. you have “Giving them ways to push ry learned your“Our glo the themselves without beself as a teaching too overbearing. And ithin er, how do you knowing how to define comes w f the o s e put it out there myself as a dad, as well as n fi n co r u for the kids to a coach [to my kids].” o lls of utilize? And while some may four wa .” m o To him, the scoff at the notion that o r s s cla goal was never Fung raises his students, g n u F simply to teach it’s not a stretch – his – Jason a student how to teaching role is just as bench press and parental in nature as then send them educational, a common off into the world. sentiment from coachIt’s clear that his es and professors alike. concerns center “You’re essentially a third parent around how his students will do here, right?” he said. “Your parents of the when they leave the Paly nest, not only kids can tell them one thing, and you can how they behave when they’re in it – his tell them the same thing, and [hearing it job is ensuring they can fly on their own. from their coach], they’re like, ‘Wow.’ It’s “The athletic conditioning class is the delivery, and how you connect with teaching them skills that all, really, can the kids.” translate to the real Undoubtedly, Fung has touched the world. Setting goals lives of many current and past Paly for yourself. How students. One student that stands out to plan out your to him is Eric Anderson. week, how to sacFung describes young Anderson rifice, admiring the older football players in the weight room, and how this inspired his own passion for lifting that is still with him to this day in his personal and professional life as a personal trainer. Anderson, supported by Fung, would train hard to accomplish his own personal fitness goals, and even went on to participate in a handful of sports such as football, rugby and weightlifting. “He saw us training, training, training every day hard, and he wanted some of that,” Fung said. “He would follow us to train like that, the little brother, but he never gave up on it. All four years of high school, he would want to work out.” Fung’s impact is perhaps most evident in the fact that Anderson competed in his first bodybuilding competition just last year. After many afternoons and weekends spent dedicated to his students,
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trying to get his especially motivated students to reach their full potential, Fung has developed bonds with many of these students, who he now proudly considers friends. But unless the students approach him themselves – usually once they’ve already graduated – Fung has no way of knowing how many people he’s affected. A testament to his reach, the entirety of Viking itself jumped at the idea of writing about him, praising him and sharing the heartwarming stories they’ve accumulated with him over the years. Fung, though, says few have actually spoken to him about that feeling. But he doesn’t hold it against the students – he doesn’t need to hear the praise straight from the horse’s mouth to know that he’s made a positive impact in their lives. “They eventually become your friends,” Fung said. “They keep in touch. You get to know them in different light. There’s probably more kids out there, but again, you never really know until they either come back and tell you personally or somehow in a roundabout way you find out.” Having grown up in Paly himself, Fung knows that part of that special connection stems from the fact that he grew up just like his students. He attended El Carmelo, then JLS, and finally Paly, and says he’s almost felt like a fly on the wall witnessing the changes. Still, what he can control is the help he gives to kids growing up here - help he would have appreciated when he was a student. “I’ve been here, I’ve grown up here, you know, I’m not a transplant,” Fung said. “I’ve been here for almost 40 plus years. I’ve seen things change, but I’ve always loved this community. I know it’s changed quite a bit in the last 10 years, but this is still home to me.” For Fung, he can contribute to the growing redefinition of sports and education in Palo Alto, and – hopefully – remind the community as a whole what the two should mean. “There’s so many ups and downs going on in this town that sometimes, I think we lose sight of why kids go to school, we lose sight of why kids do sports,” Fung said. “Yeah, it’s a competition all the way across, but we forget they’re still kids. We try to push them so hard in school. We are in this community to nurture our own kids and push them and get them to be successful individually. How we come about that is a whole different level.” Especially in Paly’s success-obsessed school environment, sports can, and should, serve as an escape from that. “Kids like to be able to branch out and do something different, to rest their mind a little bit,” Fung said. Ultimately, his goal is inclusivity. What sports have done for him and his students is well-established, but still, a majority of people didn’t, and continue not to, utilize the resources Paly offers. The weight room itself began as a location dominated by varsity athletes. Fung has changed that. “You go to any gym, you bring a lot of people together with one common goal, and that’s where you start to meet different people that you would normally never meet,” Fung said. “You could practically meet someone different every day in [the weight room]. I tried to make it an inviting feel through my class and tell them, this is a good place for you. It’s not just for the varsity athletes, or just for the guys. It’s open for everyone.” Fung is more than a competitor, or a P.E. teacher, or a coach, or a bottomless-bag-wielding bodybuilder. He’s a mentor, and a champion, above all – and more than anything, the kids are what matter the most. “The kids make you love your job,” Fung said. “The connections you have with the kids live for a lifetime.”
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
Classroom Olympics Viking's most decorated athletes test themselves in the classroom Olympics. By Jackson Chryst, Jason Shorin and Wes Walters
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very so often a class becomes too boring to bear and one must turn to their own imagination and ingenuity to entertain themselves. Besides common and beloved distractions like Youtube, online games, or sleeping, there is one distraction that has been a staple of classrooms for centuries: paper sports. Here at Viking, some of our most talented staff members gave some famous paper sports a shot in the first ever Viking Classroom Olympics. We started with the classic classroom game of paper airplanes. The goal was simple, whoever can build and fly a plane the farthest was the winner. Each person flew their plane three times and their longest distance was recorded. At the end of the competition,
Jason’s 25.7 meter throw blew away the competition, while he was nowhere near Joe Ayoob and John M. Collins record holding 69.14 meter flight. He practically secured the win from the first throw. While Jackson’s 15.1 meter throw wasn’t half bad considering how ugly his plane looked and how it lacked basic aerodynamics it was not nearly as bad as Wes’ plane that went a pitiful 6.8 meters. To compare Jason’s plane to a bird, it would be a beautiful majestic eagle flying into capture a fish from the water. To compare Wes’ plane to a bird it would most likely embody a fat penguin trying to fly. The paper airplane show that we put on was a spectacle and many people in the MAC stopped and watched the show “I was so impressed by the spectacular display of aerodynamics,” Zach P. Baumgarten (‘19). The next event in the first annual Classroom Olympics was trash can basketball,
I embarrassed my competition - Walters
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the rules are pretty simple: all three contestants get 10 shots from the same spot like a free throw contest. Since we used a pretty big trash can we had to make the shot a little bit harder so we shot from approximately 20 feet away and we also increased the difficulty by shooting behind a couple of Mac Apple computers. First contestant was Jackson who shot and finished with an underwhelming 5/10 shooting an abysmal 50 percent from the line. Next contestant was Wes who shot at a high clip and finished with a solid 8/10 from the line, and Jason followed up with the same shooting 8/10. “I flat out dominated in sports that mattered,” Walters said. The final event was a highly anticipated tournament of paper football. The game consists of only field goal kicking (flicking a piece of paper through your opponents hand), and there are tests for PED’s. Jackson Chryst (noted communist) was unfortunately caught doping before the event during the event and was unable to compete, and claims to not be associated with the Russian doping scandal. Wes (noted Gilbert Arenas Superfan) beat Jason (noted Duke hater) and won relatively easily by a score of 21.
Jason Shorin Simply put, I’m on another level when it comes to paper airplanes. While Jackson and Wes were fumbling with their planes, I was building a peak performance glider. I nailed every fold with optimal precision, every crease was a thing of beauty, the plane was a masterpiece. By the time I actually had to throw the plane, I had already beaten my opponents. I could have thrown my plane blindfolded and I still would have beaten my so called ‘competition’. When it came to paper basketball, I pulled out some magic from my past and tied Wes for first. Jackson never posed a real threat in this competition which wasn’t surprising given his struggles from the charity stripe. My performance in paper football was suboptimal, but the game was more rigged than professional cycling in the early 2000s. Wes had been training for months and I had to battle hurricane-like-winds with every flick.
Jackson Chryst Going into this Olympics I already knew it was rigged, considering it being run by Wes who is a noted Bernie Madoff supporter and after I saw the event list I knew I had no chance at competing with anything outside of sportsmanship. But as a fierce competitor I took that opportunity as a challenge and I asked myself what would Barry Bonds have done. In the first event it’s evident that my mindset and mentality gave me a huge upper hand in the competition as I overcame many obstacles to clinch the silver in the paper airplane throwing contest. To be honest I’m not satisfied with my silver metal. While I might have started off hot, I didn’t carry that over to the next event as my shot was colder than Putin’s heart. At this point in the competition I was holding my own and clearly defying the rigged events that Wes and Jason had set up, but right before our third and final event I got a surprise drug test. For an unexplainable reason I was unable to compete after that. While I’m not proud of my performance in this Olympics I would like to remind my other competitors that none of them are South Bay players of the year.
Wes Walters
As a young kid I was never a big paper airplane guy. Why, you might ask. To put it simply, I am not a nerd who was focused on finding the exact angle where an airplane’s wings are most efficient. I was focused on things that matter like being a Big Baller. I am All-League for basketball and football so it’s not a surprise that I won football and was tied for the gold medal in basketball. I felt slightly cheated by the wind indoors because I felt a draft while Jason and Jackson were throwing that I did not feel while I was throwing. Jason reminded me of Cody Parkey as he was not able to make clutch kicks. I also think that Jackson should have an asterisk next to all of scores because he was caught juicing directly before the football and after the first two events. As a competitive athlete I did not feel like I belonged in the same olympics as Jackson or Jason. It is like if Lebron played for the North Coast Blue Chips with Bronny Jr.
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
M
A
NI AL PLANET
by ALANA ABEYTA, SANAZ EBRAHIMI, NATHAN SETO
After long school days and exhausting practices, Paly athletes can always count on coming home to their furry, ever-comforting friends.
These days it is very common for people to own pets. The average household has one to two pets, but families such as tennis player Ria Pai’s (‘20) have a lot more than usual. The first additions to her family were her four chickens. “We used to be this family that no one expected to have pets or handle pets,” Pai said. Pai originally kept the chickens a secret from her father because he was a strong advocate against owning pets. He believed his family was incapable of taking good care of an animal. However, he was proven wrong after discovering the chickens were well fed and kept safe in a coop in the backyard. Once the Pai’s acquired the chickens, they wanted more. They proceeded to adopt a cat, a dog, doves, 10 fish, and a hive of bees.
“Pets don’t hold any judgement. No matter what you do they are always there for you”
“Every tournament I’ve been to, I have brought my dog... and whenever I’m upset after losing a game, I look at her and feel so much better”
‘20 Tennis
Ria Pai
Pet Catalog
Ria has six different types of pets including chickens!
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The most popular pet among Paly athletes is a dog
Only 3% of Paly athletes have more than 5 pets
‘20
Ilan Toussieh Soccer
Pet Catalog
“I have always liked snakes and they are actually pretty friendly despite their reputation.”
‘19
Abby Ramsey
‘20
Priya Bakshi
“[My pet’s] always been there to cheer me up after a hard day on the golf course.”
Lacrosse
Pet Catalog
“It’s really fun having a horse and being able to travel around California to compete.”
Golf
Pet Catalog
Did you know... 5.9% of Paly students from our survey (34 people) own bunnies @vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
info@danceconnectionpaloalto.com
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Contact us! Telephone: 510-793-5513 Email: ejvortho@gmail.com
FINAL WORD
IN CEOS WE TRUST
by NATHAN ELLISEN, WES WALTERS In our final Final Word as CEOs of the Viking Staff, we have decided to do something extremely serious: a testament to our time serving the Paly community as controllers of opinions. We have decided to rank our favorite sports memes in history. We had plenty of difficulty assembling this list, but eventually realized we are always right and our rankings are perfectly accurate in assessing the quality of every sports meme in history.
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hen talking about the sports community, you can’t miss the wonderous world of sports memes. Hundreds to thousands of different sports photos and moments have been mocked and changed across social media for the amusement of everyone involved in sports. In our final Final Word, us CEOs power rank our top seven sports memes of all time based on popularity, humor, relevance, truth, and personal preference. To start our list at #7, the greatest QB of all-time Nathan Peterman is a classic meme mocked and made fun of by every football fan today. Peterman’s abysmal 3:12 TD:INT in his few starts for the Buffalo Bills has been repeated throughout the NFL community. Some like to call him the best quarterback to step foot on the
CEOs Wes and Nathan pose in place of the various memes elected to our power rankings.
planet for his performance, while others unsarcastically mock his apparent inability to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. At #6, we have the most infamous and possibly the least knowledgeable sport analyst in history in Stephen A. Smith. Stephen A is known for many things, including his rant to Le’veon Bell and other NFL players to “stay off the weed” and disgust with many by using the word “blasphemous” over and over. Even 13 years into his talk show today, he has called Dwayne Haskins too much of a “runner” and said he was interested in a Hunter Henry vs. Derrick Johnson matchup during the Chargers-Chiefs intra-division game during the NFL regular season game. Haskins only had solely 108 rushing yards in all of the 2018 college football season, and Derrick Johnson nor Hunter Henry had played an NFL game in 2018. We all love Stephen A. Eli Manning’s disturbed face after an aggressive sack will forever be a popular meme for sports fans. Eli himself has done so many things in his career to lead him to being a prominent meme, from leading the league in interception s to beating Tom Brady in the Super Bowl twice, Eli really resembles the perfect meme for any NFL fan. Eli comes in at #5. #4 on the list belongs to Kobe and his inability to pass. Since the beginning of memetime, Kobe has been unable to pass the ball and is classified as a ball hog. Countless memes from video games, journalism accounts, and many individuals have poked fun at Kobe for this flaw in his game. Our third favorite meme doesn’t only apply to sports but is used across the
globe. Swaggy P’s questioning face will forever remain a testament to his time in the NBA. Whenever a meme wants to demonstrate confusion or puzzlement, Swaggy P is there for use. Nick Young (Swaggy P) has been a bench player for years and fans love to have him on the team as a lovable player. Our second favorite meme of all time is the principle of Mark Sanchez’ career: the butt-fumble. Although this meme isn’t used as universally as Swaggy P or our top choice, this moment in sports history is remembered by any NFL fan. When Sanchez ran into his own offensive lineman’s rear end on Thanksgiving day, we all knew Sanchez career would become a joke from there on out. For years ESPN and different social media platforms hosted countless memes and jokes on this fumble and Sanchez himself. These are memes us CEOs will forever love. Finally, our favorite sports meme of all time goes to crying Jordan. Even non sports fans know of this classic meme resembling sadness and hopelessness. Everyone uses this meme when something is either truly sad, jokingly sad, or when someone says Lebron is better than Jordan. Ask anyone to name a meme, most sports fans will tell you crying Jordan before anything.
@vikingsportsmag | MARCH 2019
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Lindsey Kim (‘19) closes an inning and heads to the dugout with her teamates. “I am so grateful to have a team that supports me on and off the softball mound,” Kim said. “What makes Paly softball special is the ability to play with my old friends and make new ones.” 48 | V I K I N G M A G A Z I N E |
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Photo courtesy of Karen Hickey