Bernie Fratto

Speaking
of
Sports 

by
Bernie 
Fratto

 The Rich
Get Richer

1/14/04
It was announced this week that LSU and USC had the top-ranked football recruiting classes for 2004. This is newsworthy, because in 1993, an opportunist named Tom Lemming started producing publications that were intent on predicting future success for high school stars. He’s sold millions of publications, and he’s entertained his readers for over a decade.

Hold that thought…

Last week the Novi Wildcat hockey team ventured north and defeated the top HS hockey powerhouses in the state, if not the nation. No one predicted this in November when Novi started 0-4, not even Tom Lemming!

Hold that thought…

Back in 1993, the top rated recruiting class was Penn State. So, four years later when their incoming class fully blossomed, were they crowned National Champions? After all, this was the senior class that Tom Lemming said would be the best? The answer is no. In fact the Nittany Lions finished 6-4 that year.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers took honors that season and just for the record, Tom Lemming rated their recruiting class 30^th in the nation. So much for predictions.

One of the beautiful aspects of the sporting world is observing individual athletes and teams and assessing what they can become when they truly reach their potential. To me, that is so much more important than simply what they are today. Things change. People grow, improve and evolve… Some deal with failure better than others, while a few just simply pack up and quit when things don’t go their way.

Why is it so hard to predict? It’s simple. There is no way that Tom Lemming’s publication can ever measure the most important muscle in the human body.

Hold that thought…

After observing the leadership, dedication and muscle development of the Novi Wildcat Hockey team as they navigate through their 6^th season, I’m going to make a prediction of my own. They will be in the state finals, and they just might win the whole thing!

Why do I say that? They’ve got muscle. The right muscle. And they got plenty of the most important muscle in the human body.

They’ve got heart…

I don’t know where Tom Lemming would have ranked this class a couple of years ago, but I know he wouldn’t have ranked them 1^st.  I guess it really doesn’t matter when you’ve got 22 kids that are willing to flex their muscles as a unit.

Sometimes, the rich really do get richer, when the right muscles are developed.

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Bernie Fratto's column appears right here each week. Bernie is a member of the Minor League Baseball Alumni Association and in his former life, he spent time in the Cincinnati Reds Farm System. He is an accomplished Freelance writer, and sought after keynote speaker, appearing often at Award Ceremonies, Athletic Banquets, and Company functions. He is passionate about sports and the life-lessons they teach. "Behind every sports story lies the hearts and minds of real human beings," Fratto said..."And these athletic endeavors often serve as a metaphor for the game we call life."

Bernie is also the voice of Novi Wildcat Hockey and host of Wildcat Face-off, a local radio program dedicated to youth sports in Novi.