"I used to think it too small to spend a life in,
but now I'm not so sure."
-- Mary Kelly
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| First Friday night game of the season 8-30-14 |
"Who you looking for
What was his name
You can prob'ly find him
At the football game
It's a small town
You know what I mean
It's a small town, son
And we all support the team."
-- James McMurtry, "Talking at the Texaco"
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| Home stands under the lights 8-30-14 |
'Round here, on any given Friday night in the fall, my whole town turns out for the high school football game.
Whether it's home or away, the fans 'round here are dedicated and diligent supporters of our home team.
'Round here, we all show up because we believe in our boys, our coaches, our school, our team.
Friday night football is just something we do 'round here.
'Round here, it's not so much about whether our team wins or loses.
It's about everybody being a small part of something larger than themselves. It's about everybody doing their little bit to make the whole thing work, whether it's maintaining the stadium, making sandwiches, printing game day t-shirts, washing the man-funk off practice uniforms, patching up injured players, scheduling volunteers, or, as I did last night, joining the other moms at the post-game team feed serving line.
I filled the water cups.
We fed both teams, our boys and our opponents' boys, all together. Big dogs gotta eat, and 'round here, we don't care whose dogs they are. We just feed them. After the game there's no "us" and "them." No "winners" or "losers." They are all just hungry tired boys and we're just moms who want to make sure they're all well taken care of.
'Round here, we even like our visitors to feel at home.
I filled the water cups.
We fed both teams, our boys and our opponents' boys, all together. Big dogs gotta eat, and 'round here, we don't care whose dogs they are. We just feed them. After the game there's no "us" and "them." No "winners" or "losers." They are all just hungry tired boys and we're just moms who want to make sure they're all well taken care of.
'Round here, we even like our visitors to feel at home.
Football 'round here doesn't just unite our whole community for a night. It happens all week long, all season long.
We're all in it together. We're all in it for our boys.
'Round here, football isn't just a game.
'Round here, football is something good. For everyone.
