A new ‘City of Champions’ thanks Mooney and Ursuline

Ursuline vs Coldwater

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Mooney Vs. DeSales

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Mooney vs DeSales

Gallery

Ursuline Vs. Coldwater

Video

A new ‘City of Champions’ thanks Mooney and Ursuline

Does Pittsburgh have a copyright on the “City of Champions” thing?

Apparently not, because a Google search shows that Brockton, Mass, home of boxers Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, calls itself the City of Champions.

And Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, home of the Edmonton Eskimos, 13-time champions of the Canadian Football League, and Edmonton Oilers, five-time National Hockey League champions, has also used the nickname.

And Detroit, whose Tigers, Lions and Red Wings won national titles in baseball, football and hockey in 1935, even had a banquet that the Detroit Times billed as the “Greatest Gathering of Champions under a Single Roof.”

Well, they can all move over, at least for a little while, as Youngstown, home of two state champions in the 2009 high school football playoffs, lays claim to the title. (Besides, Pittsburgh isn’t going to need it this year.)

The Cardinal Mooney and Ursuline Irish players and coaches returned to Youngstown on Friday after convincing — dominating isn’t too strong a word — wins in the Division III and Division V state title games, respectively.

Going into the weekend, out of the 10 teams playing for Ohio’s five state football titles, two were from Youngstown. Coming out of the weekend, two of the five champions were from Youngstown.

Here’s what’s great about it

But perhaps the most impressive thing about these teams and their coaches, P.J. Fecko at Mooney and Dan Reardon at Ursuline, was a theme that ran through the stories that made up The Vindicator’s Saturday coverage of the games.

There were any number of exemplary plays by individual athletes, there are any number of standout athletes on the squads with college futures lying ahead of them, and there are historical records to be considered for touchdowns scored, yards gained, championships played for and won. But the most important element was the obvious commitment by coaches and athletes to the team and to its success.

The young men playing in Canton and Massillon didn’t just learn how to win, they learned how to win together. They set goals not as individuals, but as teams, knowing that if they worked together, the prize that they coveted would be within reach.

And now they get to celebrate together, knowing that they’ve accomplished something special. Probably in the back of their minds, there’s the thought that not every time they set goals in life will all those goals will be met. But those are thoughts for another day.

Today the Mooney Cardinals and Ursuline Irish are champions — in a city that congratulates them for their effort and appreciates their success.