And the winner of The Great Debate is
A debate can't exist without participants, so first and foremost, a hearty thanks to the Bee sports page readers who took the time to cast 38 votes as part of The Great Debate '08.
After tallying all of the votes and reading through the 50 words-or-less justifications for which SHS sports team is the greatest of all-time, one thing became readily apparent: Sandpoint has produced an unbelievable amount of elite sports teams, with a championship per capita ratio that is surely unrivaled in Idaho.
The 1991 boys soccer team received eight votes, twice as many as any other, officially winning the Great Debate '08. A perfect record, along with establishing the long-running standard of excellence for Sandpoint soccer, were the familiar refrains that came with each vote.
The 1997 football team and the 2006 baseball team each received four votes to tie for second place. Unlike soccer, wrestling and volleyball, each of which boast many state titles, these two teams represent their school's lone state title in their respective sports, making them that much more cherished.
The sentimental winner may have been the 1980 volleyball team, which came in third with three votes. The 1980 team won the first of Sandpoint's state-record 14 volleyball titles, setting the benchmark for excellence that is still thriving today.
The 2003 boys track team, which won the school's only state title, and the 2003 volleyball team, which went undefeated, were the only other teams to receive more than one vote.
Many compelling arguments were made, including the 2000-01 wrestling team and the 2003 volleyball team both being ranked in the top 20 nationally. An almost unheard of six wrestlers from the 2000-01 team went on to compete at the Division 1 level, a mind boggling number in a sport where scholarships are brutally tough to come by.
Former longtime Bee sports editor Mark Nelke managed to distill 16 years of coverage down to three teams - The 1982 volleyball team, the 1997 football team and the 1993-94 wrestling team.
Nelke's final submission got me thinking: Which of the two powerhouse Bulldog wrestling teams would win if the two met in a dual? The Dan Taylor powerhouse of the mid 90s, which featured four-time state champs Brett and Jared Lawrence, against the Mike Randles juggernaut earlier this decade, which featured Jake Rosholt and Luke Feist, both three-time state champions. Alas, it's like arguing if Babe Ruth was better than Hank Aaron, but it sure might make for an interesting column sometime down the road.
A compelling vote was made on behalf of the cheerleading team, and it's tough to argue with the fact that they've won competitions on the national level, a feat no other sport can claim.
Some unconventional votes were cast as well, including a vote for the multi-sport coaching team of Chuck Schoonover, Larry Miller and Bill Adams from back in the day. A vote of confidence was also cast for whichever current team is taking the field today.
One voter opted to go the sarcastic route, casting a fictitious vote for the 1994 co-ed jump rope team. Humorous and sardonic at the same time, the pick managed to poke fun at nearly every submission that had come before to that point.
Perhaps the most odd thing, at least from a sports editor's perspective, was the amount of women readers who cast a vote, shattering any previously held myths about the demographic of the average sports page reader.
If nothing else, the Great Debate '08 showcased just what a rich local sports tradition exists here in Sandpoint. I met last week with SHS athletic director Cheryl Klein as she accepted a $25,000 donation from Yoke's Foods, and she spoke of the powerful role the community plays in all of the school's success.
I couldn't help thinking about how many schools out there never win a state championship, and just how many this little north Idaho town has claimed throughout the years.
It's rather remarkable, to say the least.
Eric Plummer is the sports editor of the Daily Bee. For comments, suggestions or story ideas, he can be reached at (208) 263-9534, ext. 226, or via e-mail at "eplummer@cdapress.com."