The five-year NBC TV series Friday Night Lights was the story of a high school football team in the fictional town of Dillon, a small, close-knit community in rural West Texas.
But this reality actually exists all across America. The sports seasons are a central aspect of the high school experience for most American communities. Especially smaller ones.
For example “Coach” Walz’s role in leading his high school football team to a state championship in Minnesota may be better known than anything he did as governor.
It was with much anticipation then, that last Friday I attended the home football game of the Rensselaer, IN, Central High School versus the visiting West Lafayette team. What I took away was not what I expected.
Here is a photo summary of a warm midwestern autumn evening on a playing field carved from acres of cornfields.
The team’s football schedule is announced in every store window in town, featuring just five seniors.
A senior perk: painting their reserved spaces in the school’s parking lot.
The field of football dreams and past glories- 2014 State Champions.
The team ‘s nickname and mascot: the Bombers.
Warmups. RCHS had about 30 varsity players; Lafayette about twice that number. Many of RCHS’s better athletes play both offense and defense.
It was senior night. The Bombers have only five members from this class. As the coach stated: “I play a lot of underclassmen who only show peach fuzz (not started shaving).” Honoring the five:
Entering the field for the game via the Bomber tunnel:
Stands not quite full.
The band presents their pregame show to the music of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Halftime will be used to honor all sporting seniors.
The Difference from My Era
So far the evening was similar, albeit more modern in technology, to when I was in high school. The special occasion for this game was recognizing every senior who had participated in a varsity sport during their four years of high school.
The halftime program featured each senior’s recorded talk while walking out of the Bomber mascot with their parents. The players’ audio summaries included their sport teams, other school activities (Sunshine Club, FFA, etc) and post high school plans such as college or other career options (eg. lineman , CDL training, or the army).
A picture that captures this entire group of at least 50 athletes escorting their parents shows a major difference from my high school days. Sixty years ago there were just three boys sports and no athletic teams for girls in high school.
If you look closely at the photo below, more than half of the senior athletes are girls. Rensselaer has ten teams for them: Volleyball, basketball, tennis, cross country, track, softball, soccer, swimming, golf and yes, even wrestling.
I guess that helps one understand how both a former football coach and a woman now run as one team for the highest political offices in America.
Change often starts at the grassroots sometimes next to farmers’ fields. From these opportunities we develop our self confidence and aspirations for who we want to be. The Friday Night’s experiences are now open for all of us.
PS: For those interested in the outcome, RCHS lost 34-7. However the players’ intensity and fight never wavered.