High school football insanity
High school football insanity
So you think Redskins fans top them all, or at least most of the time?
Well, you don’t know squat. Because they don’t hold a candle to those fanatics back in my old home town, cheering for...Abilene High School’s Eagles.
You see, they recently were named the nation’s top high school football team. They won the Texas state championship last winter.
So? Well, there are two reasons I bring this to your attention. For one thing, long ago and far away, I once played on that fabled team, earning a letter and a concussion--and the local newspaper’s apt moniker: “heavy timber.” Back then, 215 pounds meant something. We may have been light, but we were really slow.
The major reason, however, isn’t to extol former glories. We didn’t even win district that 1950 season; we may have, with a few black kids, but our school was lily-white. Rather, it’s to marvel over today’s technologies and a TV that has presented, in hi-def, a live night game, from Abilene no less, between my beloved Eagles and the three-time state Florida champion, Plant, from Tampa.
Lots of fans must be watching these nationally televised high school games. Otherwise, why would Nike go to the trouble of outfitting both teams for the game in brand-new uniforms?
Needless to say, my team won. How good are they? You may be able to see for yourself when they’re on TV again this fall at night. Check ESPN2, on October 14. But fame, alas, can be fleeting. After their TV win, AHS narrowly lost the next two games. (Update: AHS 49, Odessa 21.)
Nonetheless, excellence in high school football and fan support has remained at fever pitch in West Texas for a long, long time despite TV. It’s the breeding ground for college football stars, too. Only a few miles from Abilene is where former Texas Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy played, for tiny Tuscola High. And ex-AHS quarterback Taylor Potts is now quarterback for Texas Tech.
Fan support? Check this out. Today’s Eagles play to a full house in a modern stadium that seats 15,000. Back in my day, we played home games in an old stadium, full at some 10,000. TV hasn’t cut the attendance. A few years ago, AHS played for the state championship in Dallas, in Texas Stadium. Before the game, its upper deck had to be opened to accommodate the crowd of nearly 35,000. Thousands of Abilene’s fans traveled the 150 miles to see that game.
Having said all that, there’s one more reason for filling this space now with my school’s football lore--a sneaky one. Alas, as anyone can see, age is catching up with this senior. This past summer I finally went to have my eyes checked. The drugstore reading classes were failing. And now I’ve just had an eye operation to close a macula hole in one of them. To recover successfully, I had to hold my head down with eyes constantly down--even in bed and asleep--for five straight days, obviously unable to write. At least, I hope I’m able to read this column when it is published. We’ll (ahem) see. Update: Make that 10 days and hoping the hole is finally closed.
Ben Blankenship is an Aquia Harbour resident and career journalist. Reach him at Benblanken@aol.com
So you think Redskins fans top them all, or at least most of the time?
Well, you don’t know squat. Because they don’t hold a candle to those fanatics back in my old home town, cheering for...Abilene High School’s Eagles.
You see, they recently were named the nation’s top high school football team. They won the Texas state championship last winter.
So? Well, there are two reasons I bring this to your attention. For one thing, long ago and far away, I once played on that fabled team, earning a letter and a concussion--and the local newspaper’s apt moniker: “heavy timber.” Back then, 215 pounds meant something. We may have been light, but we were really slow.
The major reason, however, isn’t to extol former glories. We didn’t even win district that 1950 season; we may have, with a few black kids, but our school was lily-white. Rather, it’s to marvel over today’s technologies and a TV that has presented, in hi-def, a live night game, from Abilene no less, between my beloved Eagles and the three-time state Florida champion, Plant, from Tampa.
Lots of fans must be watching these nationally televised high school games. Otherwise, why would Nike go to the trouble of outfitting both teams for the game in brand-new uniforms?
Needless to say, my team won. How good are they? You may be able to see for yourself when they’re on TV again this fall at night. Check ESPN2, on October 14. But fame, alas, can be fleeting. After their TV win, AHS narrowly lost the next two games. (Update: AHS 49, Odessa 21.)
Nonetheless, excellence in high school football and fan support has remained at fever pitch in West Texas for a long, long time despite TV. It’s the breeding ground for college football stars, too. Only a few miles from Abilene is where former Texas Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy played, for tiny Tuscola High. And ex-AHS quarterback Taylor Potts is now quarterback for Texas Tech.
Fan support? Check this out. Today’s Eagles play to a full house in a modern stadium that seats 15,000. Back in my day, we played home games in an old stadium, full at some 10,000. TV hasn’t cut the attendance. A few years ago, AHS played for the state championship in Dallas, in Texas Stadium. Before the game, its upper deck had to be opened to accommodate the crowd of nearly 35,000. Thousands of Abilene’s fans traveled the 150 miles to see that game.
Having said all that, there’s one more reason for filling this space now with my school’s football lore--a sneaky one. Alas, as anyone can see, age is catching up with this senior. This past summer I finally went to have my eyes checked. The drugstore reading classes were failing. And now I’ve just had an eye operation to close a macula hole in one of them. To recover successfully, I had to hold my head down with eyes constantly down--even in bed and asleep--for five straight days, obviously unable to write. At least, I hope I’m able to read this column when it is published. We’ll (ahem) see. Update: Make that 10 days and hoping the hole is finally closed.
Ben Blankenship is an Aquia Harbour resident and career journalist. Reach him at Benblanken@aol.com
posted by Ben Blankenship at
9:28 AM
