The week Texas high school football fans have waited for is here. A cool front is expected to invade the state by mid week and knock temperatures down to the upper 80's and mid 90's, so load up your blankets and thermos of coffee and hot chocolate. It's time for some football!
We received the following from the office of Congressman Ron Poe, who serves in the 2nd congressional district of Texas, which covers Harris, Jefferson and Liberty counties. He shares our passion for Texas high school football, so we thought we would share.
Poe Notes - Aug. 19
By Ted Poe, U.S. Congressman
Friday Night Lights
Well, I am back in Texas this month and the first thing I hear when I turn on the radio in my Jeep is that new Kenny Chesney song, “Boys of Fall.” Now I know I am behind on this one, but Washington doesn’t have a lot of country radio stations. (I can add that to the long list of reasons I love being back in Texas.)
It’s that time of year, a time that folks in Texas and across the South prepare for all year long. Football in Texas is its own religion, where even your preacher cuts the sermon short on Sundays to get you home in time to watch the game. Nowhere else on Earth will you find a culture so wrapped up in football like we are in Texas.
I had my D.C. staff down here last week, and I think next year I might sign them up for two-a-days so they can really appreciate Texas in August. And for those staffers that don’t have the good fortune of being from Texas, I had to impart on them the seriousness of this time of year.
According to football legend Darrel Royal, there are only two sports in Texas: football and spring football. In coffee shops, barber shops and even in the beauty salons all across Texas, the talk is all the same – how’s the team gonna be this year?
Proud Texans naturally believe everything is bigger and better in Texas – because it is. And like most fathers, I am a proud dad. My son Kurt started playing football when he was 8 years old, and I watched him play every game from Humble pee-wee football until he took the field wearing the purple and white of our alma mater, Abilene Christian University.
From the beginning, Kurt played quarterback. Quarterback is one of those positions that is tough on parents – it’s all the fame or all the blame. Every time I saw him take the field, I saw that same little 8-year-old boy full of determination. It was that very determination that led to him walking on at ACU and earning a spot as a safety and becoming an Academic All Conference player.
With this new position, came a new prayer for the Poe family. The word “interception” took on a whole new meaning for us.
I was a judge during that time and I would head out on Friday nights after court and drive all night to towns such as Abilene; Kingsville; Canyon; Wichita Falls; Commerce; Las Cruces, N.M.; and Ada, Okla., to get there for Saturday’s game.
There is nothing more fun than being in a stadium on that first crisp fall weekend and seeing your team, and your son, take the field to thousands chanting: “W-I-L-D-C-A-T-S, purple, white, purple, white, fight, fight, fight!”
Texas football is that of legend and legacy. It has spawned books, movies and TV series. A look into a way of life that is so unique, so Texan. It’s the Junction Boys, the Tyler Rose, the last-minute touchdown run by Texas Longhorn Vince Young in the Rose Bowl for the national championship. (I was there by the way with my son. What a game. What a memory.)
Yes, Texans love their football, right down to the names they choose for their children and the cars they buy. I am sure there is some big executive up in Detroit wondering why they have to send so many maroon cars and pickups to Texas.
We may not have too many fall weddings, but I am willing to bet that you have been to a wedding where the new Mr. and Mrs. took off down the aisle to the “Eyes of Texas” or got a big “Whoop!” after the preacher declared them husband and wife.
Now I am not one to say that we don’t love our Texans and Cowboys. A smile still comes across my face when I think of the Astrodome and those “Luv Ya Blue” days. But professional football today just doesn’t have that same thrill and excitement anymore. Sure, maybe up north it does since they don’t have high school stadiums that hold 15,000 people, field turf, jumbotrons, and the caliber of coaches and players we have in Texas.
But it’s not just the facilities. What makes the game so special is the atmosphere of it all. It’s the band, the drill team, the cheerleaders, the moms selling T-shirts, the school clubs hanging banners – the whole atmosphere is what makes the game great.
So this weekend, grab the family, put on your school colors and head to the game. Grab some hot dogs and a coke and take part in one of Texas’ finest traditions. You will see some of those folks that you went to high school with and some of the same old guys sitting in the same seats they were in 20 to 30, or even 40 to 50 years ago. I wish all the players, the coaches, the trainers, the cheerleaders, the drill team and all those people that volunteer their time to support our kids the very best of luck. Know that you are all part of something special, a Texas religion – Texas football.
Spot the ball; it’s game time. And that’s just the way it is.
Kim Brode
Field Representative
US Representative Congressman Ted Poe TX 02
1801Kingwood Drive Ste 240, Kingwood, Texas 77339
Office 281-446-0242
Fax 281-446-0252
poe.house.gov
No comments:
Post a Comment