Friday Night Lights...

I like football, but I LOVE high school football! I used to know very little about football. I remember when my boys first began playing I had trouble choosing whether to yell, "Go Defense!" or "Go Big O!" When I first started noticing pro football, I told my sister that I supported the Tennessee Titans because "I liked their outfits". She was chagrined by that one.

I’ve come a long way, baby! Having sat through 11 years of school football games ,watching my boys, I learned a lot and that’s where I came to love the game. Of course, it helped that the varsity coaching staff at our school was all about character and team work, and quality effort...A great group of guys to be role models made it a great experience for our boys. I think, more than any other sport, football requires each person making their contribution, however lowly or unseen, to bring success to the team as a whole...And therefore, every team member is valued, and quality effort is appreciated. It’s a great life lesson, and our boys were schooled in that doing something they loved to do.

High school football seems a lot more honest to me than other levels of the sport. Here you have a group of guys thrown together by location, not because of their calculated contributions by ability, and they must make the most of all their skills to achieve success. They grind it out, literally, every day of the season, practicing giving their all physically and mentally. In good years, they become a unit that enjoys the satisfaction of being more together than the sum of their parts, whether winning or losing. Some years they get the "gravy" of winning...Every year they get the benefit of learning more about life.

So I love to see the effort, the drama, the coaching staff’s leadership under those Friday Night Lights...It’s my favorite! I miss seeing my boys out there, and my love for football has increased to the point where I am looking for college games, and pro games to watch. In fact, the other day I caught myself spouting off to son, Jess, about how I think it unfair that Seneca Wallace, who is just not a quarterback, hasn’t been allowed to develop as a wide receiver. The SeaHawks could have used one of those too... "Get a QB back up who can carry it," I said, "and let Seneca play ball, at least!" When I realized what I had said, I qualified it to Jess with a "but what do I know about football..." and he reassured me that I had come such a long way that my comments were actually valid.

I felt quite proud of myself – and decided to not make any comments about the new lime green out..., I mean jerseys!