Quote:

If we want everyone to be treated the same then that means the coaches of other sports should be fired for losing as well.



Devil's advocate--you know it's one of my favorite games.

You COULD make the following argument:

Football is unquestionably the top revenue-producing sport at the majority of high schools, as well as being the "flagship" sport in the public view of the community. Football games potentially have the highest attendance rate of any high school sport, and therefore have the potential to keep the greatest number of community members connected to and invested in the school. Football revenue not only can be used to support the other sports within the athletic department, but it can also be used to enhance the facilities, appearance, capital improvements, and overall environment of the school.

Since it is apparent that attendance (generating revenue) and image (generating community support) are in a large part dependent on a program's success or failure, it stands to reason that a sport with far-reaching effects of its success or failure has a greater need to win, for the greater good of the school, while another sport whose record has much less impact on the overall success of the school is under much less pressure to win, because the CONSEQUENCES of losing are more bearable.

So, while idealistically we would certainly like to have everyone treated the same, from a practical, realistic point of view, the sports whose success have the greatest impact on the overall good should, by necessity, be held to a higher standard of success in terms of the wins and losses that in turn produce (or fail to produce) the desired and needed benefits of the program.

I've got good news and bad news...