High School Football - Also Called Friday Night

Don't get me wrong. I love the pro's. You've got the personalities and contracts not to mention the superbowl. I remember trading Dallas Cowboy pencils against the Steelers which is dating me. And College Football. It's probably it's fastest and most raw in college. The players are hungry and crazy. The fans are crazier. I love the pro's and college but nothing comes close to Highschool Football and I'll tell you why. Whether you're smack in the middle of it or looking back 30 years, you're only 14-18 once. High school football captures that part of life and leaves a deep imprint on it. It's all swirled up together. First loves, first fights, and first time hearing your name over the stadium speaker. "15 Yard Catch. Roberson. #15....1st Down". Come on! That's Football. High School Football served up right. Let's break it down a little on our stroll down memory lane.
At the High School level, prep football is an event as much as it's a game. It's usually Friday Night. The beginning of the weekend. Everyone at school's making plans. What are you doing before the game? What about after the game? Who's driving with you? You'll see kids from the rival school. Maybe you know some of them...for better or for worse but tonight they're rivals. And if you're playing, it's a whole different deal. You can feel the buzz during the day. You're school may have rituals for Friday Night Football. Maybe you wear the team's colors or shirt at school. Maybe there's a team dinner (let me guess...Steak) before the game together. Every school's different but you can feel the energy and teenagers are already pretty fired up so this is one notch up.
Maybe tonight's game is your cross town rivalry. There's bad blood...lots of junk talk over a period of years. It's the McCoys and Joad's but in pads and helmets. Let's face it...for some high schoolers, this is as good as it gets. They'll shine on this field and their name will ring out locally in the community for years to come. Other players will move on and never return to that town but they'll always remember the Friday night games. Always. The high school rivalries are generally within a school's athletic leagues but there could be some bad blood with an offset school out of the league. Maybe it's the rich kids in the adjacent neighborhood who give you funny looks from their expensive cars when they come into your town. Guess what...there's no cars on the high school ball field. It's the great equalizer and maybe that's why the rivalry stays frosty. Yea, you have a nicer car but I'm pounding your quarterback all night tonight. In High School Football, sometimes, the back story is the better story.
High School football is one of the few sports where a relative novice to the game can come in and make a difference. Look, we all want to give props to players that make their way through the ranks...paid their dues so to speak. That being said, if a freak of nature comes out for practice and he runs like he was shot out of a cannon, he's probably going to get some play. That's what's fun about High School Football. It's full of wild cards.
So I'll swing by around 5. We'll grab some Del Taco and get Mike. Head over to the game around 7pm so we can sit in the away section. See if we can start some trouble. High School Football. Game on!