This forum has always been played out. Every year this topic comes up and a lot of messages get posted and a lot of carpal tunnel evolves. Some people do go to the BE's and CC's for academics and others for sports. You can't tell me that parents (around that area) who have a gifted kid in a particular sport doesn't look at that school as a option for their kid to go to with the hopes (high hopes) in their kid being looked at (because of their recognition) getting a scholarship to a good school and having the best of both worlds in college, which is a sport the kid loves and academics for his future. Yes, I know it's expensive to go to these schools and sounds ludicrous to pay that much money just to play a sport, but if the kid is that good, he will get a pretty decent scholarship which is definitely a advantage!!! I mean come on; Christ Church (besides football) is dominate in every sport guys/gals. You can't tell me that you have a school of about 130 who are solely going to that school for academics when they win every state championship (soccer, basketball, and tennis). I mean, when did academic nerds rule the world of sports (no punt intended)??? You have to agree that there is a advantage and not every kid goes to those schools for just academics. If that was the case then why don't they just stay in their previous high school and be number 1 in their class....