When did winning become the only reality at LSU
August 23, 2013
CL believes new coach brings success to team
August 29, 2013
My dad and I gathered around the TV set a few weekends ago to catch some NFL preseason action.
During the course of the game, a wide receiver jutted over the middle for a pass. Right at the moment the catch was made, a defender came barreling down onto the receiver with a crushing hit – a lick that sent the crowd into a frenzy of excitement.
Until a flag fell onto the field to kill all of the buzz surrounding the play.
A helmet-to-helmet hit was the call on the field, but multiple replays showed the blow was actually levied by the defensive back’s shoulder.
The flag was bogus – another example of why the NFL game has eroded into a watered down product.
“These officials are ruining the game,” my dad yelled at the TV as the replays were shown. “If that’s a penalty, then the NFL isn’t worth watching anymore.”
He’s right.
The sport has become too commercialized and dependent upon its business plan and financial structure.
You know what level of football doesn’t have those worries? That’s an easy answer. It’s the purest form of the sport – high school action.
Prep football isn’t about the money, nor the endorsements – it’s about the love of the sport and school pride.
It’s about showing off in battle before your classmates so that you can hold your head up high in the school’s halls – the badge of honor bestowed upon one in victory.
It’s about giving it your all to earn that extra inch and to gain that crucial first down for your teammates – most of whom you’ve grown up with throughout your life.
These guys are your brothers – sometimes literally. They are people you will never forget for the rest of your lives. They are your fellow soldiers in the gridiron battle, but they are also some of the closest friends you will ever enjoy in life.
Prep football is about playing not for the name on the back of the jersey, but rather the name on the front. Heck, most prep football squads don’t even have names on the backs of their jerseys.
It’s about teenagers getting their first cracks at representing something bigger than themselves.
It’s about fighting for victory in the name of your school, while also fighting for victory in the name of your community.
I know first-hand as a graduate of South Lafourche High School that when my classmates won on a given Friday night, we walked around town that weekend with a little more pride and swagger.
Everyone loves to be a winner. Especially in a small community, having a successful prep football team to rally around is important.
It makes the morale of the entire place better.
Prep football is about unhealthy stadium food (some of the best in the world is served right here in this area) and the sweet sounds of drums, trombones and the rest of the tools that entail a marching band.
It’s about seeing 75 young men standing in front of a goal post – all waiting to run through a decorated sheet of paper.
How does this get thousands of fans into a frenzy? Who knows?
But it works – every, single time.
Prep football is about getting the weekend started off right – getting a victory on Friday night to set an omen for what lies ahead.
In my household, the perfect weekend is one where my alma maters (South Lafourche and LSU) and then my rooting interest (Dallas Cowboys) all obtain victory.
But more important than all, it’s about creating memories that will last a lifetime.
The things that our young men are doing on the gridiron this season will stick with them for the rest of their lives.
I will forever remember the day that my senior class defeated Mighty Ryan Perrilloux and the East St. John Wildcats on Senior Night in Galliano.
We came into the game just 1-8. The Wildcats were a state championship contender.
It didn’t matter.
My classmates played their butts off and we won – 39-36.
As a journalist, I will never forget the night that Mike Williams overcame massive leg cramps to lead Terrebonne past Mandeville in the opening round of the playoffs.
Williams was battered and bruised throughout the game. He lay on the sidelines completely drained following each Terrebonne possession.
But Mike found a new gear each time and kept going in one of the most inspirational performances that I’ve ever seen.
These memories are the lifeblood of the sport and they are why prep football will always remain my favorite form of football.
Williams wasn’t being paid to compete for Terrebonne.
He didn’t have millions of dollars on the line in the game.
He just played out of pure love of the game and love for his teammates.
That’s what it’s all about – young men battling for pride and the sheer love for competition.
I wish the NFL guys remembered that they used to be prep players once.
If they shared that same passion, I think we’d see a much more enjoyable product on Sunday – one that would keep both the interests of myself and the loyal folks who remembered when they played the game for free in high school.
But it’ll never happen – there’s too much money involved.
So I’ll stick to my love for Friday nights.
I’m OK with that.
The Ellender High School football team breaks its huddle following a practice. Sports Editor Casey Gisclair said nothing can compare to the allure of the high school football season, which starts this weekend with jamboree games splattered throughout the area.
