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The programs and schools may have an intense rivalry that I hope we'll see on the field Saturday night. But when the game is over I know that we'll also see the respect and friendship that exists between many of the players, including two of the team captains.

Mr.Pelton,

I located my post back in 06 that referenced another post by J Wilson after the 02 Irmo/Wando match, in which Irmo team reacted after the loss. Lets hope we have a great match on Sat., and win or lose, I hope the leaders of these two great teams display a total respect for each other and'the beautiful game' -

#31563 - 01/09/06 11:27 AM

Revisiting the Irmo situation in 2002 v. Wando will just stir up too much meaningless debate and discussion about a game that is now almost 4 years old. This poster back in May 2002 best sums it up:
J.Wilson
Registered Member
Member # 673 posted May 15, 2002 10:37 PM
As a coach, I can only say that the coach's attitude rolls downhill. I find that when I am critical of the refs, all of the players follow suit, and then their parents join in. Pretty soon, we resemble the crowd at Chapin (just kidding).
Seriously though, any negative attitude portrayed by the coach is often directly and immediately reflected in the attitudes of the players. In a nutshell, it's a perfect example of leadership gone sour.
In my mind, the great thing about soccer is that it teaches you some great truths in life like:
1. The team is stronger than the individual.
2. The best team usually wins, but the best individuals often lose.
3. Life is never as just as you'd like it to be.
4. Sometimes you lose, when you shouldn't have, and vice versa.
5. How to win with grace.
6. How to lose with dignity.
7. How to value your team's effort over the result (because winning is often out of your control).
My hunch is that few Irmo players learned any of these valuable lessons on Saturday.
Gripe or no gripe, the Irmo's coaching staff's method of handling the complaint against the referee was not reflective of proper way to handle such a complaint. A protest should have been made in writing to the high school leaque office, not a display of rage on the field.
Finally, refusing to accept the award of 2nd place was classless at every level. Kudos to the kids that went against the grain and did the right thing.

Win or Lose, both of these teams have the leadership and maturity to do the right thing. Looking forward to the contest!

USA,
I certainly tried to stay away from any negativity from the game in my previous post. The game ended up being a great game and I am sure there are many regrets from the Irmo side about the way post game events were handled.
In the waning moments of tight games with huge stakes we all have done and would have done what Irmo did as relates to eating as much clock as possible.
They probably went to it a little early and were a little to obvious or they would have finished Wando off in regulation.
Both of these programs(from players to coaches and even fan base) are passionate and pretty classy.
Let's forget about the 02 matchup and look forward to what promises to be a classic.

Amen.

2002: 9 years ago....even in the South Carolina Public School System.....no one from either team is playing in Both!

I concur. I know we will see great skill, teamwork and excellent determination between these two fine programs during the game. Fans will be fans, so that element cannot be controlled. And to a degree, it is not possible to control reactions of the subsequent teenage winners/losers. When you train hard all season for the ultimate goal and fall short, its hard to keep those still-developing emotions under control. But, I agree that the 02 matchup is a distant incident, and its time once again for the state finalists in soccer to come together in Columbia for one of the most exciting sports events each year.

The national eye of ESPN will be on the game so it's paramount that all players, fans and coaches act with respect win or lose.

Yes, remember IRMO!!@!#!@$! if you happen to lose this game don't toss your medals to the ground/trash can/stands/etc again.

as ron burgundy suggested, keep it classy south carolina