Genius Vs. Sports Star

As on any home game Saturday, the small town in which I live becomes inundated with traffic and illegally parked cars from the High School football game. These issues are just par for the course in a small town, and all the neighbors around the football field are quite understanding of this. My friend, who lives a few blocks from the stadium, asked if I could come over to give him a hand with his home remodeling project. While on the way to his house, I was forced to serpentine around this sea of vehicles, and had an interesting thought. So much attention and money is put into sports programs, that kids that may excel in other areas just get forgotten about. When is the last time your local news station did a story on a kid that invented something quite amazing, or you read in the paper that some 9th grader received a national award for creative writing? Although sports may be a route to college for many students, there are also many pupils who shine in other areas such as the arts, music, and even shop class. What about them? Why is it that public school systems don't give other avenues, such as these, the funding and professional instruction needed to enhance these talents? I would only think that football (due to the physical nature) is a skill that recedes with age, whereas Drama, Mathematics, and Chemistry would gain experience and knowledge as time progressed.