<p>I wanted to share this newsletter written by our booster club president about our football season and the ending game. I think it is beautifully written and really expresses what high school sports is all about (or really any activity that your kid is involved in as a teen). I think it also expresses the poignancy and bittersweet feelings of being the parent of a senior. It is kind of long, but I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. (I have taken the identifying info out to keep it anonymous)----</p>
<p>Ive had that sitting up there since Monday morning and Im still not sure. I think my overwhelming emotion has to do with watching a bunch of young men I have watched grow up playing football, a sport near to my heart, play in their last football game, ever, including my own knucklehead. Most of you senior parents share this feeling and get weepy. Lets agree not to think sad thoughts and revel in what has been a fantastic, story-book run.</p>
<p>The game Saturday was an incredible experience, for the boys, their coaches and the legion of ------------- fans. A huge crowd assembled along -------------- with pom poms and signs to see the boys off. That was cool. We packed Reliant. I have heard estimates from 4,000 to 8,000 on our side. We filled the lower section on our side and, from the field, it looked to me about 6-7,000. If every ------------- student and both of their parents attended that would only be about 6,000. We had 2-3 times the crowd of -------------. In spite of holiday vacations, the --------------- and Band were there and did us proud.</p>
<p>Reliant Stadium is cavernous, an engineering marvel, the BIG stage, and playing and performing there an experience our kids will not forget. Ill always remember the echoing sound of our kids taking the field for warm-ups, with the JV players, covering half of the field, how loud they were, clapping and chanting in unison. The locker room, one of many, was spacious. Each player had his own locker with a padded chair. There was a separate coachs locker room and a single locker room labeled Head Coach. Coach ------------- was pretty impressed, He put his stuff in his room, sat down, then figured hed be lonely and moved in with the rest of the coaches. The training room was huge and had a TV tuned to the Florida vs. FSU game. It was all pretty cool, but once we settled into the same pre-game sequence weve had every week the kids got to work and I dont think being in Reliant had any adverse affects.</p>
<p>The game itself, well, you probably were there so you dont need a blow-by-blow. Ill tell you, I have been around high school football most of my life and our game ranks up there with the very best of the hum-dingers. Two evenly matched teams (and believe me, ----------- is good), --------------- gets the edge in size and speed (they have 4 or 5 kids that have already signed with D1 schools), both disciplined and well-coached, both very motivated to win, both committed to leaving everything on the field for forty minutes. Mistakes on both sides, bad calls both ways (Im sorry, but that ineligible man downfield was a) wrong, b) had nothing to do with the outcome of the play and c) happened at a key juncture in the game), ferocious defense, fine execution on offense and incredible, highlight reel plays. We went into halftime with a 20-7 lead and I think most of us were giddy, not because we were going to win, but because we were not getting blown out by an obviously talented team. Man, we really are good!</p>
<p>The danger of a halftime lead is that your opponent has got to figure something out, try something different and you can only guess at what that will be. Hand it to ----------. They came out with some nifty adjustments and worked their way back into a tie and then, all bets were off. The fourth quarter was like the 15th round of a heavy weight bought scored even. Every cliché you have ever heard was applicable. Both teams playing with everything they had through ups and downs, fumbles lost, big stops on 4th and inches, our stands chanting defense!, -------------- tackling with out his helmet, just every awesome thing you could hope to see in a Texas 5A playoff game. The game ended with an interception of a ------------ pass on the goal line, the clock showing 0:00.</p>
<p>I cant begin to describe the scene and the emotions on the field and in the locker room coaches choking back tears, hugs, big tough football players who, only minutes before, had been in mortal combat, openly balling and holding onto each other, the fans and players not wanting to leave the field. I dont think this was about losing the game we dont like to lose and hadnt done so in over ten weeks, but I think the emotion was due to an ending, like finishing a good book, whose characters you have come to love and whose adventures you cherish. Knowing that all things come to an end does not make it any easier. These young men, whom we have all watched grow up, have ached for their missteps, have celebrated their victories, have felt their heartbreaks and cheered them from the sidelines for these good years, this book is done. Most of them we saw take the field of honor for the last time so many cherished lasts. To remember them at 7 or 8, in their gear, all helmet, is almost too much.</p>
<p>Whoever came up with the idea for our fans to gather back at the school to greet and cheer the players as they emerged from the locker room gets my game ball. That was so special and meant a lot to our boys.</p>
<p>In a game full of gutsy, faceless, heroic play where every player on the field was giving everything for his brothers one performance demands recognition. No description of this game, a game that surely will enter into Texas football lore, can be complete without mentioning our quarterback, --------------. He will say (and mean it) that he did nothing special or that his mistakes cost his team and perhaps he does not appreciate his strength and finesse and poise or his savvy and gamey-ness and he probably does not see how his teammates gain strength and courage from his presence. But anyone in attendance walked away thinking first, what an incredible football game we just saw and second, that ------------- quarterback is something special.</p>
<p>So, join me on the road to recovery. 2006, the year --------------- Football came back. Proof that a small school with above average athletes, with full community support, a killer drill team, a boisterous band, great coaches, a crazy student section, cute cheerleaders, supportive, yet demanding faculty and a bunch of young men who love and trust one another and are committed to a common goal, can go undefeated in District and make it to the second round of the post season where they learn more about themselves and life in losing one of the best games in recent memory. Sounds like a good book. I recommend it to my friends.</p>
<p>And so starts the 2007 season Those juniors on Varsity, God bless them respectful and deferential to the seniors, happy to be there, scared to not carry their weight and carry their weight they did. I didnt really see any big delineation between the classes on this team which is rare and I credit both juniors and seniors. I think the juniors really felt for the seniors, especially for those that played in their last game and the tears crossed classes. Hopefully the juniors will get a sense of just how precious every day is for the next year. Ill guarantee you this, however upset the juniors were Saturday afternoon, by Saturday night they were already talking about how they go farther next year, how much harder they are going to work in the off-season just as it should be. Thats how you build a top program; one class builds on the success of the ones before them. I like our chances next year.</p>
<p>My take we are so blessed, with a great school, special kids, wonderful neighbors. Being human we tend to focus on the day-to-day negatives. This wonderful fall, the success of X-Country, Volleyball and Football has pulled us back together and reminded us of our blessings. </p>
<p>-----I just want to add that I feel so blessed that my son has been a part of something bigger than himself and that he will take what he has learned through athletics and apply it to everything he does for the rest of his life.</p>
you’ll even see parent entered/parent rider floats in the parade