Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
October 18, 2002, Washington Post

Another Loss

Last Saturday, my daughter's field hockey game, like so many other games in the Washington area, was canceled because of the sniper. So I got in my car and ran some errands. As I drove around Montgomery County, I noticed something very strange.

All of the playing fields were empty. The lot on Veirs Mill Road where kids play football on Saturday morning. The fields near the old Roundhouse Theater where middle school girls play field hockey. The local high schools. All deserted.

It is sad how much one person with one gun and one twisted mind can steal away.

But it wasn't just my daughter's field hockey game that was missing. So many bits of a normal Saturday seemed to have disappeared. Most Saturdays, I take our dog for a walk around the neighborhood. We almost always see my 10-year old niece, Kaitlyn, still in her green soccer shirt, playing in her front yard. "How'd the green team do today, Kaitlyn?" I always ask. And she tells me about the goals and almost goals of the day. This Saturday, Kaitlyn was inside.

And all the teams that I root for were gone from the morning sports section. I always check the score of the Blair High School football game. And Bethesda-Chevy Chase girls soccer. And Einstein High School field hockey. I'm sure you check your favorite teams too.

Sometimes I think people make too big a deal about sports, especially kids' sports -- who wins or loses, which kids make the travel baseball team or select soccer. Sometimes I think there are too many games, too many trophies, too much shouting on the sidelines. But when the games and shouting are all gone, you suddenly realize what a big part of every Saturday they were.

Like everyone, I want the police to catch the sniper. It is no fun to be afraid and to flinch every time you see a white truck rumble by. And I do not want anyone else to be killed or hurt. We have all seen far too much of that.

Still, I have another reason I want the police to catch the sniper. I know it is not the most important reason but it is a reason I feel very deeply.

I want Saturday to come back.

I want the games to begin again.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's Friday sports column and is the author of sports novels for kids. Write to him at KidsPost, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071. Or e-mail (with "The Score" in the subject field): kidspost@washpost.com.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company