On March 15, my daughter came home from Sacajawea Middle School and informed me that she was allowed to watch a basketball game on TV during her gym class. My kids and I do not follow college basketball but are fully aware of the intensity and zeal that consume most Spokanites when college playoffs are in the air. Of course, this intensity is at its highest when Gonzaga University or Washington State University is playing. The energy level and fan solidarity are awe-inspiring.

I had mixed feelings about my daughter in gym class watching a sporting event. Rooting for the home team must be mandatory for the school district’s curriculum, but isn’t watching TV something she can do at home?

Most of us know by now that millions of people living in the United States have a serious obesity problem. Call me crazy but inactivity such as sitting in front of a TV may have something to do with this epidemic.

My daughter sits at a desk for five out of six hours a day. Heck, most people I know are chained to a desk for several hours a day. I tell my daughter how lucky she is to get an hour of gym time every Monday through Friday.

So when basketball season rolls into Spokane, watch out! We get bonus time to hang out with friends, yell and cheer at our TVs and eat as much pizza and hot wings as we can stomach.

I’m a firm believer in community support for local team events. Who wouldn’t be in this town? Camaraderie in a home team’s achievements brings people together. It’s big business for everyone.

But in the order of fairness, I’m hoping that all who teach language arts in District 81 ask for the same TV privilege when the 2007 National Spelling Bee is taking place in Washington, D.C., this May 30-31. I think this, too, is a legitimate opportunity for kids to take a break from the stresses of school work and sit in front of a TV.

Of course, watching kids get knocked out of a competition because they forgot the word potato does not have an “e” on the end is not as rough a sport as basketball but hey, at least the winner gets to walk away with a check that very day and not have to wade through a ton of legal papers and NBA contracts. That can take months.

I bet if one of those horn-rimmed-glasses-wearing contestants were from Spokane, we’d all plant ourselves right back in front of the tube, holding our breath that our stellar speller knew there was no “x” in the word occipital. Besides, America’s “spelling” problem isn’t sending our health care system into decline as the rising costs of obesity-related illnesses are. That’s a whole other issue.

Last week, while still at school, my daughter was able to enjoy a break from the rigors of P.E. class so she could watch a game on TV played by the very people that model the importance of P.E. class. Ah, the irony.