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Blog Captain Tim MacMahon was nice enough to host my first Texas high school football experience last night, at the Plano-Plano West game. Part of the deal, Mac says, is that I put my impressions on paper. So here we are. First, though, a disclaimer. I played my high school football in Massachusetts, in front of less than 1,000 fans for most games and -- except for a big crowd in the state final my senior year -- never more than a couple thousand. Those fans, it goes without saying, were classmates and parents and teachers and no one else. And it's not like we were a small school either (second-largest classification) or not serious about football (two NFL alums, including the No. 4 overall pick in the 1991 NFL draft, former Nebraska LB Mike Croel, and more than a dozen Div. I-A products in the last 20 years). It was just different. Here's five impressions left: 1) The crowd. I think anyone who's from where I'm from would look at Clark Field in Plano and ask what college played there. And if they found out it was a high-school stadium, they'd wonder how in the heck the place was necessary. I think Timmy told me it was 14,000 seats and it was almost full, and the guys up there covering the game were "surprised" it wasn't completely banged out. 2) Halftime. OK, I have my issues with what was going on there. I mean, I understand high school ball's a big deal around here, but it's not the Super Bowl. Yet, halftime took about as long as it will in Phoenix in a few months. It must feel to the kids like they're playing two games, completely independent of one another. For the record, I remember halftime being about 10 minutes during my prep days. This one, unofficially, took about 40 minutes. Ludicrous. 3) The pagentry. This is a good and a bad thing. I can appreciate a big marching band (we had none at my high school) and the drill team (didn't even know what that was) and the cheerleaders (we did have those), etc., etc. My problem with it goes back to halftime. And Tim hit on this on the high schools blog last night. After Plano's band was done with a 20-minute routine -- why are ladders really necessary? -- Plano West came out and planted some weird, tree-looking thing at midfield. Around it danced a group of kids that looked like they were auditioning for a musical, complete with leotards and ribbons. Now, I know these kids are committed to what they do, and there's certainly a place for all of it in secondary education. It's just that where I come from, that place isn't the 50-yard line. Again, I love the atmosphere that Texas high school football produces and I think it would've been really, really cool to play in it. But when halftime's long enough for you to forget the score of, y'know, the game you came to see and some fake tree's a lasting memory, things have gotten out of control. 4) The stadium. This was the most eye-opening thing for me, fake oak and leaves notwithstanding. The size of it was enough to leave impressed. But it was the scoreboard and press box that really put it over the top for me. Unbelievable. To have a video board, with replay capabilities, that can be seen from hundreds of yards away, and a two-level press box ... like I said earlier, it's hard to comprehend for a Northeasterner. And they feed the press, and have an area for scouts, and have suites, at a high school park? I've covered sports at a lot of different levels, and this press box was nicer than those at most colleges I've been too. It's nicer than some of those in the Big Ten, for crissakes. 5) The level of play. I will say this: They can play here. Boil it all down, take away all the pomp and circumstance, and there's little question about that. The biggest difference I think I saw isn't in how good the stars are -- and Rex Burkhead, Kris Lott and Jackson Jeffcoat (especially, Jackson Jeffcoat) were really good -- it's how good the players are around them. It's the ability of these teams to take a star away, and force the other team to beat them with their other players, and the other players' ability to do just that. Trust me, as good as the stars here were, I've seen players that good play high school ball. It was the fact that players, say, 15-20, on each team were really good too, not to mention that it was pretty much completely two-platoon, that I left impressed with. I would say it's about equal to some of the catholic high-school ball I saw in Ohio, while I was in school at Ohio State. The difference is, these were public schools. So take away that stupid tree, and you guys have a pretty good thing going here. |
Comments
Posted by Cole @ 12:55 PM Sat, Oct 27, 2007
Thanks for the interesting post, Albert. It's always cool to hear an outsider's perspective on subjects like this...
Posted by Andrew @ 1:29 PM Sat, Oct 27, 2007
I'm a Californian, and I played high school ball in a stadium that sat MAYbe 2k. My mom (a Dallas native) tells me I've missed out.
Texas football ... it's something else.
Posted by Saint Jimmy @ 1:48 PM Sat, Oct 27, 2007
I'm sure Albert now understands why nearly ever major college has at least a couple of Texans playing for them. California and Florida might have better atheletes but Texas produces the best football players.
Posted by Scott @ 1:49 PM Sat, Oct 27, 2007
Texas is known for good H.S. football, but the breeding grounds for greatnees is Florida.
Take a look around at the talent level in Miami or Central Florida, Sarasota.
You soon will discover how Florida colleges have dominated for the last 20 years.
Posted by Collin Mc. @ 2:32 PM Sat, Oct 27, 2007
Scott, Florida colleges are good because they take Texas high school players.
Posted by Collin Mc. @ 2:32 PM Sat, Oct 27, 2007
Scott, Florida colleges are good because they take Texas high school players.
Posted by Pepi Coca @ 2:54 PM Sat, Oct 27, 2007
High school halftime is a beating. I have actually fallen asleep in the bleachers during a Plano West halftime show.
Albert, if you want to see real Texas football tradition, make your way down to College Station for an Aggie football game.
Posted by db @ 4:15 PM Sat, Oct 27, 2007
Albert...I really enjoyed reading your impressions. I grew up in Texas, played football and drums in the marching band (I was out there for the halftime marathon!), then went to Dartmouth in New Hampshire, where the football stadium was about half the size as the one at my high school, and the "marching" band was a bunch of students who couldn't play their instruments and ran around yukking it up with a guy dressed up like a beer keg. The first Big Green game I went to, I remember thinking, "My high school team could beat these guys!" The culture surrounding Texas high school football is unique, to say the least.
Posted by eagle59 @ 4:40 PM Sat, Oct 27, 2007
try going to an Allen HS football game. While the football won't be any better than what you saw last night the band will be. big and loud with real music and no tree planting on the 50.
Posted by BDD @ 5:13 PM Sat, Oct 27, 2007
Albert,
welcome to Texas!!
I saw that last week. but you missed the real beauty. The Plano West Band Dads win the prize for being the most ingenious around.
If you could have seen that tree from the back side, you would have realized that it has an elaborate structure and platform that allows it to double as a Deer Blind!!
It's a half time prop - It's a deer blind, no it's both! :)
Posted by Joseph A in Midland @ 5:41 PM Sat, Oct 27, 2007
You have not seen a Texas HS football game until you see a Odessa Permian football game. This is the team featured on Friday Night Lights. Two must see games are Odessa High vs. Permian or Midland Lee vs. Permian. Midland games aren't to shabby either. Both cities have the best football stadiums in the state.
Posted by Kevin @ 10:11 PM Sat, Oct 27, 2007
Hahaha yeah, I was at that game also, and I was kinda surprised that the stadium wasn't full too. I spent the 40 minute halftime in line waiting for nachos >_>
Posted by DougO @ 11:04 PM Sat, Oct 27, 2007
I totally agree about the longass halftimes. I know people like to see a good high school band, but...
A. Most of them AREN'T good!
and
B. 29 minutes (I think it is) is just way too freakin' long between halves.
Posted by Sharon @ 12:50 PM Sun, Oct 28, 2007
If you were impressed with the size of Clarke
Stadium, Mesquite Memorial seats 20,000 and when
Mesquite and North Mesquite play they pretty
much so fill it up. They also have a large
screen on the scoreboard for replays. There's an abundance of parking and TVs on the
concourse so you don't miss any of the game when
you go to the snack bar.
Posted by Gary @ 2:39 PM Sun, Oct 28, 2007
I'd be more impressed with Texas high school football if the great football players it turned out mostly played for state schools, as California and Florida stars do. I am left with the impression of a system that breeds mercenaries.
Posted by Matt @ 8:50 AM Mon, Oct 29, 2007
Texas high school football players are much more developed and polished than Florida High School players. No doubt, they have some great individual talent in Florida, but Texas players are always readier to be plugged into the lineup immediately. I listened to an interview with a coach who had coached in both states and he noted how much more money was spent by Texas high school programs and how much more involved the parents and the community were in Texas.