Thursday night football for the Turpin Spartans at Walnut Hills. TV game on WSTR (64). 7:30 kick-off........ I found this letter online (yappi) the other day and found it so appropos... (Its a bit long, but the last paragraph sums it up nicely.) Read On: The Last Game Ever A tribute to those that do not get to play week eleven I know it’s hard to deal with the cold, wet, and nasty last game of the regular season. It seems like it has been this way for the last 4 or 5 years. It almost seems as a right of passage. We as observers can wine and moan about the seating and parking situation, maybe we didn’t like the play called in a given situation or the way the Coach manages the clock. But we as observers have forgotten how time passes when we are on the field on a Friday night under the lights. Time has a way of slowing to a snail’s pace while you are waiting to fire off the ball on offense on a two count. You hear everything and yet you hear nothing. Each beat of your heart, though rapid enough seems minutes apart as you watch your breath steam through your face mask. After what seems an eternity the Center’s arms tense up and the ball starts to move toward the quarterback’s awaiting hands. One tenth of a second later the explosion starts. The Linemen fire forward, mud flies as their feet try to purchase a little traction. At two tenths of a second the ball reaches the QB’s hands as he is taking his first step backwards towards the halfback. At three tenths of a second contact begins on the line of scrimmage. Not a lot of contact yet, mostly hands coming up to the Defensive Lineman’s shoulder pads. A still picture of this moment would look like a weird dance of sorts beginning to take place. Five tenths of a second and we have contact! Pads crunching, young men grunting, full bodied contact. The QB has now taken two steps back and is approaching the halfback. Meanwhile, the defensive end has blown by the Tight end and heading toward the deep backfield. Six tenths of a second and the line of scrimmage is in a full scale war. A Linebacker is moving toward a gap created by a pulling guard . The pulling Guard is now behind the right tackle and heading toward the defensive end. The QB is raising the football with his arms toward an apparent hand off to the halfback. At one second flat the quarterback has faked a handoff to the halfback. The pulling guard is about to make contact with the defensive end and the line backer occupies the space left by the pulling guard. Yes, this was cumbersome (yet entertaining) to type all this down in sequence, but I felt it was needed to illustrate what goes on every snap of the football. Twenty two young men moving at once in an odd sort of ballet. Four officials vying for position to observe the play to make sure that no team has an unfair advantage. Well over one hundred team mates and coaches on both sides of the field cheering encouragement . Thousands of people in the stands waiting in anticipation for the play to unfold.(several hundred students milling around behind the bleachers in an odd social event that could care less about the outcome of the game and only want to know what the final score is so the can report it to their parents after the game). School teachers, volunteers at the concessions, police, and paramedics all are at the game and yet everybody at one time or another forgets about what is really important about this “The Last” football game of the regular season. For many of these young men, each snap may be the last time they will ever explode off of the snap. For many of the parents, it will be their last time at a High School football game. For most of the players. there is no week eleven. IT IS THE LAST GAME. So tonight, as you are sitting in the stands and complaining about the cold (or rain), remember that there are kids that walked on that field tonight that are walking off that football field for the last time. Regardless of the outcome of the game, take the time to applaud all the young men that lifted weights all summer, survived two a days in 90 degree weather and came home and did homework until midnight after practice. After all, Isn’t this game about the fine young men that did all of the work anyway? Good Luck to ALL!!!!!!
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 13:44:51 +0000
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