Coming clean - another shameless admission

First off, congratulations to the Green Bay Packers and their legion of Cheese Heads who are celebrating a hard-fought Super Bowl victory. I've been telling my Packer fan friends that the Bears will see them in about eight months to bring them back down to Earth. But it may be a tough one, since most of those 15 guys who ended this season on injured reserve for the Packers should be back. We'll see.

Saturday morning is often a dead time when it comes to quality television. Even with more than 150 channels available, there's often not much to choose from unless you want to watch infomercials or kids' shows. In desperation, my remote stopped on a "Glee" marathon last weekend. I thought I would watch it until the next commercial, just to see what all of the fuss has been about, then keep on channel surfing. Two episodes later, it was all I could do to turn away from the TV and find something more productive to do.

For those of you not familiar with the show, it is a weekly one-hour program on the Fox network. It is set in a high school and tells the story of the trials and tribulations of young people trying to be "cool" while still performing in the school's glee club. What sounds like the premise for a 13 episode, here-and-gone show has grown into a second season, with the network picking it up for a third. It has won numerous awards and nominations, like Emmys, Golden Globes and a Peabody Award.

The show includes conflicts between a domineering cheerleader sponsor who is always battling with the glee club for school funds, personnel and recognition from the community. There's a football team whose members spend their off time belittling glee club members but are sometimes coaxed, cajoled and blackmailed into joining the club.

Jane Lynch stars as the cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester. She brings the same wry sense of humor she has displayed as Charley's psychiatrist in "Two and a Half Men." Matthew Morrison plays Will Schuester, the glee club coach who is always so supportive of his kids.

Of course, the real stars of this show are the young members of the glee club. If you've been fortunate to see one of the Celebration Iowa performances during the summer, imagine that type of energy and caliber of talent each week!

The show also offers plenty of positive, uplifting messages. One of the members of the glee club is disabled, confined to a wheelchair. But he has a tremendous voice and doesn't let his disability stop him. There's a big football lineman character who is a bully and a homophobe who sometimes lets his guard down to show a softer side - but only for a moment. And did I mention that the football team's star quarterback is also a member of the glee club?

I have always been a big supporter of extra curricular activities in schools. I've always been a sports fan, but from personal experience, I learned that even if you couldn't hit a fast ball, be a football hero or the leading scorer on the basketball court, you could still do something besides go to class and then rush home and spend the rest of the night in your room. Music was a major part of my school life, but we also had debate, speech, debate and other organizations available to us when I was in school.

Since I have been back on the job hunt for the past year, I have become more aware of the value of some of the things I learned while participating in sports, chorus and band. In more than 30 years of observing high school students, I've grown to appreciate the traits that can be learned on the wrestling mat, on the football field or basketball court, in the concert hall or in speech and drama competitions. Many employers are looking for workers who can be part of a team, who are determined and focused, who are not afraid to stand up in front of a group of people to make presentations and who are not afraid to speak up and deal with others.

It's unfortunate that some kids, especially boys, don't think it's cool to sing in the choir. A school, especially in a small town, may have a good football, basketball or wrestling team. But at that same school, there might be one boy to every eight or ten girls in the choir. I've often wondered what would happen if the coach of one of those successful athletic teams told his players they could only compete if they were also in the band or choir. It might help all of the programs.

This state has several super high school show choirs. The message has somehow gotten out that you can be a man's man and still sing and dance. That's the message conveyed in each episode of "Glee." It's a fun show with some super musical productions each week. Check it out!