Toothpick Culture

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Saturday, October 20, 2012

It is a big day in College Station.

If anyone tells you they knew the Aggies would be 5-1, 2-1 in SEC play, with their only loss coming to what is now the #2 team in the country, they are lying. To your face. The Aggies' offseason was one of change and rebuilding. They fired a coach. They hired a coach. They had to find a replacement for a 1st round NFL quarterback. Gave the job to an 18 year old kid named Johnny. Oh, and they moved to the toughest football conference God ever made.

Excitement was high, but expectations were low.

But this season has been a pleasant surprise thus far. A 5-1 start. Good conference wins. The emergence of Johnny Football.

But now the Tigers come to town, and the cajuns can play. They are the highest ranked one-loss team in the country, and they play big boy SEC defense. It will be interesting to see how Johnny Football handles a defense as speedy as LSU's.

Are the Aggies really as good as they seem, or have victories over inferior and deflated teams created a false confidence. We shall see.

All I know is that it is great to see the purple and gold come to Aggieland.

I could get used to this whole SEC thing.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Week 1

Carthage 38 Lindale 21

This game, on paper, had all the makings of a classic. The Carthage Bulldogs are a bit of a dynasty, having won the 2008, 2009, and 2010 class 3A state championships. The Lindale Eagles (my hometown) were coming off of a 31 - 14 shellacking of last years 3A state champs Chapel Hill. The two teams played an extremely competitive game last season, with the Eagles coming out on top 31-21.

But they don't play the games on paper.

Week Zero

Van 41 Pine Tree 28

First Friday night game of the season, and for me, it was a tough one. Van, Tx. A town for which I have felt nothing but utter disdain since Day 1, Kindergarten, Lindale Primary School. A pointless, unfounded hatred, but a hatred nonetheless. Blame it on geography. According to Googlemaps, Van and Lindale are a mere 14.4 mile stretch of asphalt apart from one another, so, naturally, we hate each other’s guts. Always have, (maybe) always will.

So granted, I had my trepidations when my Friday night cohort suggested we go see Van host the Pirates from Pine Tree for our first game of the season. He, also of Lindaloneon descent, moved to Van about five years ago and has taken quite a liking to the town and its football program. I, a grown man of 27, a man just one year away from the tenth anniversary of his high school graduation, felt I had matured enough to handle such a situation with class and dignity. And I tried. I really, really tried.

Friday Night Lights

This weekend marks the beginning of the South’s most sacred season. A time of trials and tribulations, joys and jubilations. Shouts and cheers, whistles and jeers.

I’m talking High School Football!

There’s nothing quite like a southern Friday night. Between the months of September and November (December, if you’re lucky), entire towns shut down. Sinners and cheaters gather with preachers and teachers, all with one common purpose; Cheer Them Boys Onto Victory! And “Them Boys” aren’t just any boys. They’re the boys that mowed your yard all summer. The boys that sacked your groceries. They’re the boys that date your daughters. They’re the boys you’ve known since they were “this big”.

But on Friday nights, with those brightest of lights shining down upon them, they are gladiators. They fight hard, and fight to win. No million dollar contracts - they all made minimum wage over the summer. No shoe deals - they’re wearing cleats at least three players before them have worn. No sports cars - they more than likely got to the stadium on a bus that spends its weekdays shuttling kindergartners.

But they fight hard, and fight to win. The fight for pride, and the name on the front of their jerseys. My town can whoop your town. Maybe if they’re good enough, they move on to the next level, and if they’re good enough there, the level after that. But for the majority of these Friday Night Titans, these four years will be all they have. And they will love it, and miss it when its gone.

So this season, in honor of this great southern tradition, I will be attending a different game each week. My partner in crime, and one of my best friends since childhood, will be this guy,

and we are going to have a blast. Between the bands, the fans, and the metal stands, nothing compares to an autumn Friday night in the South.

I’ll leave you with this; A 5 minute video recapping the 4th quarter of the greatest high school football game ever played. The John Tyler Lions had a huge lead, but those pesky bag boys and yard mowers from Plano East dug deep, and the rest is history.