(Author's note: If you were expecting a thoughtful and possibly even thought-provoking post after last week, this post might not be for you.)
I don't understand high school football. Let me clarify. I understand how the game works. I know the object of the game, the rules, the different positions, all of that. I'd say I understand the joy of competition in general and team sports in particular. I'm pretty sure I understand school spirit and hometown pride and all of that. But I guess I just don't get why high school football is such a big deal. Why does football seem to be so much more important than other sports? And why is it that I generally enjoy pro football and absolutely love college football but just don't feel all that excited about high school football?
Maybe part of the explanation lies in my background. My high school didn't have a football team. It never has, and almost certainly never will. (For that matter, my college has never had a football team either.) The first time I went to a high school football game was this fall. I've now been to two varsity games and one JV game. So I didn't grow up with high school football. Lots of schools around me had it, but I felt pretty indifferent about what other schools did. High school football wasn't part of my culture.
Beyond that, I was a cross country runner all through high school and college. Cross country is much quieter and simpler and more individual than football is. And the thing about cross country runners--at least most of the ones I know--is that we kind of view ourselves as athletic outsiders. For the most part, nobody outside of the cross country program makes a big deal out of cross country. So we runners sort of developed a chip on our shoulder and prided ourselves on being tough enough to compete without all the attention. Could I be bitter about or jealous of the attention that football gets? Maybe.
Maybe I'm just not the right age for high school football. I'm too old to be a high school student, so I don't have the joy of watching my peers. I'm too young to be a parent, so I don't have the joy of watching my kids. Plus, I'm in a new area. I know a few of the kids at West Hancock High School, but maybe I just haven't built up enough affection for the school yet. I don't know, though. I felt pretty engaged when I caught a volleyball match a couple weeks ago.
Maybe I just find high school football to be kind of...well, boring. (Gasp!) I realize this is nearly sacrilegious, but hear me out. The games can take forever, and there's a lot of standing around between plays. The clock seems to always be stopping, the ball often gets lost in a mass of bodies, and it can be really hard to tell from midfield if somebody scored before the officials signal. Plus, West Hancock is really good this year. The couple games I've seen haven't been good games at all. We were up 45-0 at halftime last Friday night. I spent most of the game talking to a five-year-old girl from my church. Honestly, I had more fun with that than watching the game. And even when I watch higher levels of football, I'm often doing something else at the same time. I realize how uncool this makes me, but I spent most of Saturday's Wisconsin-Michigan game reading The Banner between plays.
Finally, maybe high school football just makes me nervous. I've read a decent number of articles on football and concussions. Each time a player is a little slow to get up, I get concerned. I struggle to cheer for a big hit. I just hope the kids make it out okay. When I think about having my own kids, I have serious reservations about letting my own child play tackle football. However, I don't seem to worry quite as much when I watch higher level football; maybe that's becuase college and pro players are older. I don't know. For now, I guess I just don't totally understand high school football. I'll just have to keep trying. Maybe the lightbulb will go on soon. If not, I could always find some cross country.
Grace and peace,
Brian
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