Ready for Friday Night Lights

Well it’s officially time to get excited about high school football now that a schedule has been officially released. Anyone who knows me knows I bleed red. That would be Cub red! I am your typical Texan who lives for Friday night football games. In particular, Cub football.

It’s hard to quantify all the reasons and passion I have for football, in general and specifically, high school football. I love different levels of football for different reasons. I love high school football most for many reasons. At the top of that list is the purity and passion in which the players play the game and the love and support the community shows for our hometown team.

I love professional football because of all the hype and big showmanship. I believe the purity of the game was lost long ago in professional football for many reasons. Pro Athletes just want to get paid and paid as large a salary as possible and that just gets in the way a lot of times. Another reason is the rules. Throughout the past 20 years the NFL has made so many rules that it’s almost like watching tag football. Back in the heyday, players knew it was almost a certainty they would get hurt and almost always suffer with arthritis because of the injuries later in life. They also got paid a lot of money for this and it justified the damage they would be acquiring while playing pro ball. It was the risk a player took in order to be a pro football player. In today’s game refs are throwing flags if you even look sideways at a quarterback. I am not hoping they get injured but it’s a part of the game.

I watch college football the least, but still love it almost as much. I love the school spirit and the rivalry. In a college game you still get to see a lot of risky and trick plays and the college athlete is at his best playing for the pride of their school and trying to get noticed by the pro teams with dreams of obtaining famedom and a big payday. At this level the rivalries run deep. I have been a Longhorn fan as long as I can remember. Let me tell ya, it is not easy being a Longhorn fan in these parts. One of my older much-loved memories is seeing the Longhorns play at the cotton bowl. That day sealed my love for football.

I played football growing up for city leagues and schools I attended and it cemented my love for the game even further. I always played the position of right or left guard and right or left tackle. I have a special part of my heart carved out for linemen, the workhorses of the game. It’s fun to watch the big splashy plays of wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks, but they would get nowhere without the dedication of the line.

I bleed red and will show it every Friday in support of our Cubs and will always be proud of them as long as they put in maximum effort and leave everything on the field. I fly my Cub flags proudly on my truck during home games and will fill my heart with pride as I root on our Cubs this year!

This is Will b. Saying Fight on Cubs!! Cub Pride forever!