I’ve got mixed feelings about high school football.
Here is what I remember about the short time I played:
Coach John Chapman, a giant dark black man with a kind smile and gold rings and watches, now a Justice of the Peace in my home town and the one democrat my parents go out of the way to vote for, my first team the Golden Eagles, playing on the line cause I wore husky jeans, the Sanchez brothers, one I remember had a pot marked face, but was cool and the nicer of the two, both brothers were paramedics so our team was named the Lifesavers, Julio Jr, one of the coaches sons, was about as fast as jack rabbit always lead the run, always the first coming in - and I mean always, spitting out fresh cut grass, but damn if I didn’t love the smell and the taste, in middle school I remember a kid named Alex and having to point to his head, in front of the whole team, and tell us the abbreviation for Montana, he didn’t know it so someone had to tell him (it was a degrading episode I’d rather forget, but we didn’t understand autism then and know better now), the 7th grade game where a kid named Ricky broke his arm during a sweep play; the teeth clenching crack of his bone and him swinging his arm in the air; the broken part of his arm lagging behind as he yelled in pain, during our game I was hit so hard during a punt - Ysleta Middle sits near the US/Mexican border - and turning over so many times I saw both countries several times as I spun in the air, the player that blind sided me, mimicking my summersault to his teammate as they pointed and laughed at me, the seventy-two sprints we had to run for giving up in that game; the coach being so pissed as hell at us, we owed him hundred yard sprints for each point scored on us, riding the bench my ninth grade year, but during one practice in a bull ring, our starting nose tackle Tommy - who was way huskier than me with meat and muscle - and my name being called, we came at each other full bore and smashed our helmets like rams fighting for territory, and my neck going stiff; I honestly thought I would never walk again.
That is my memory of my football career, such as it was.
Played some my Sophomore year, but by then I knew I wasn’t cut out for the sport. I remember walking up to one my coaches in the middle of practice one hot afternoon and told him I needed to leave for rehearsals for a school play I was cast in.
“You need to make a choice, Medina,” He said. “Either play football with the men or go hang out with the pussies in drama,” Coach didn’t wait for my answer, he had other kids to mold into winners.
It was mid-season when I hung up my cleats for good. The pussies it is. Pursued Lincoln-Douglass debate and drama. I got a scholarship to a mid-level college three years later, so no regrets there.
I did try to get into the NFL. Early on, I was a 49er fan because of Joe Montana, Roger Craig, and Jerry Rice. Joe’s drive helped mom win a square during the ’89 Super Bowl. Didn’t follow it much in college. When I moved to Dallas I tried to follow the Cowboys, but the fandom never took. Played a hell of a lot of Madden. I opted for hockey and the Dallas Stars.
Living in Austin, Texas football is the big thing. “Hook ‘em Horns,” right? Nope. I think the last UT game I got excited about was their game against UTEP, because of my hometown affiliation with the college. UTEP got their butts kicked. Haven’t watched a game since. My brother is a big fan.
I use to watch the Super Bowl for the dip, but can’t say I’ve watched a full game in years. I can't tell you who won this year without Googling it.
The Kid played his first High School game tonight. The Wife and I drove up to Temple to watch. He's on the B Team. He played a couple of plays and did okay. At least to my EA Madden knowledge . They lost 22 - 0 the Temple Wildcats.
My issue with football is the ROI.
Thousands of kids play high school football. Then in a some wierd and acceptable Darwinian selection system, only a few will play varsity. Even less will go on to play college ball, and even less than that will go on to make a living playing football.
And with football there's no playing after high school for the scabs or hell even the mid-level talents. It's not like there's a readily available leagues to throw on some pads at the local park for adults. If there is, I don't know about them.
On a trip home once, I ran into an old team mate of mine. He was working security at a local casino. He had played football all through high school. He was still big, but had put on some weight. We talked awhile about the “good o’l days.” It was pretty sad. Here we were, both in our late thirties, both overweight and had taken whatever lumps life had given us. The skills and drills we had run during those long hot football practices were distant memories.
And we invest so much into football.
There's not a year that goes by where schools are asking the state for more money. Teachers complain about their salaries, pensions, and the student to teacher ratio. Our schools and students under perform. School lunches are a mess. I just scrolled over a news report telling me our kids are starving at school
Going to the game tonight, we enter this large stadium, built primarily for football. And one thought that occurred to me was how long does this space remain dormant? Other than practices and the season which last two months and maybe some other sporting events, what the rate of return of this space again.
I know this is sacrilege and a heresy to say here Texas. I mean Friday Night Lights was based here. We host two NFL teams, one is a storied franchise. UT, Texas A&M, The 12th M an, Roger Staubauch, the Tom Landry Freeway.
Am I pooping on football?
You bet I am.
Because someday my kid is likely, unless he possesses some great talent for the game, or is lucky, football is just going to be a story he tells his kids one day or something he watches on a Sunday in between clever marketers trying to sell him things he doesn't need.
Yeah, as much as enjoyed the game tonight, I felt a little forlorn and sad for those kids. Many of them have some dream of playing in the Big Show, but many and by many I mean most, football will be something they did way back when.