Covering the SEC, ACC, CUSA, Sun Belt, and other Southern Schools
HS Football in the South
High School Football in the South
Somewhere in the Southland on a hot, humid morning, a 14 year old boy is getting ready for Freshman Camp. Awakened earlier than accustomed to, this young man drags himself out of bed and looks at the reflection in the bathroom mirror. Today is an end; today is a beginning. Before this young man's morning is over, he will have rolled across the practice field in order to remove the dew from the freshly cut grass. He will suffer indignities from upperclassmen. He will run wind sprints until in a state of total exhaustion, and will probably leave most of his breakfast in the bushes on the far side of the field. After stumbling into the locker room, followed by a shower, he will hope to escape the jeers of the upperclassmen as they get into their vehicles and drive away. Only 14, he and the other freshmen that didn't have friends on the varsity will try to blend in with the scenery as the ultimate embarrassment comes......his mother has to pick him up.
Similar stories take place in late July and early August as the machines of high school football begin to grind again. Football. Football, the sport, not to be confused with its younger, more powerful sibling.....Football the business. High school football is probably the last place where the game is just that, a game. Boys that have known each other and played together represent their families, their communities, their towns as well as their schools on Friday night. For the duration of a football season, the boys on the team become something bigger than themselves. They are part of a cohesive unit. A team. Not a group of individuals with a common goal. A group of individuals WORKING TOGETHER for a common goal. The goal? Winning of course, but that's not it, not really, not down deep inside. Most of these young boys know their future doesn't include sold out stadiums, interviews with Erin Andrews, and a home visit from Nick Saban.
College football is simply following the evolutionary path that was set in motion two generations ago, when programs began searching far and wide for football players that could be persuaded to attend particular colleges and universities. Previously, schools had to look among their student bodies for young men that would play football, and the ramifications of that change in philosophy are still rippling. With the advent of tv contracts and pay-per-view buy rates, the game became about money for athletic programs and funneling talent to the NFL. For football the business, times have never been better. Football the game, however, is taking it on the chin.
There is still something very special about a high school football game on a Friday night, and its appeal to all the senses. The smell of freshly cut grass and boiled peanuts, the sounds of the band pumping the fight song, teenage girls and middle age fathers shouting themselves hoarse, the feel of a cool fall breeze cutting through the late September heat, and the taste of flat Coke from the concession stand. There is also the feel of a community coming together to support its sons. The game of football in this setting, with its combination of pageantry and emotion, is addictive and powerful. The 14 year old in Freshman Camp becomes the 18 year old in the Homecoming Court, who in turn becomes the 40 year old in the crowd watching his 14 year old on the field. May the circle be unbroken.
Justin F. Cannon
Jcannon66@gmail.com
