Championships!


Championships are no strangers to the Small Town High School.  In the late 60s-early '70s it was basketball.  In the late 70s it was football.  We won the state championship in our division all 3 years of my Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Years.  I think they won a couple more between my graduation and when we moved back, which was a span of 20 years.
OS was a sophomore when we moved back.  He was on the football team all 3 years.  The first year:  Championship.  CH told him that winning 1 was great, but don't expect it to happen again.  He kind of had to eat his words, because OS has 3 State Championship Rings.  He & MS were on the team together for 1 year, and MS has 4 rings of his own.  When MS graduated, Small Town had racked up 5 straight championships, and they won 2 more after that.  The last 2 years have been "down years":  they made it as far as the semi's, but ended up getting beat by the eventual champion.
For me, the highlight of the Championship is the morning the players leave for the game.  They start off with a pep rally at the high school, then they make their way down to the middle school, where the student body is on the sidewalk, waiting for them to go through the "receiving line" while giving high fives.
Then it gets crazy:  they get on the bus and ride down the hill to the elementary school.  It is so neat to see those little ones jumping up and down and cheering for their heroes:  the high school football team.  You look in those little eyes, and you can see the admiration.  I know exactly how they feel:  I felt the same way about the basketball players when I was their age.
The kids make banners and decorate the playground:
 Don't let this next picture fool you:  as soon as they saw the bus coming, they jumped up and started yelling and screaming!
 Even if some of the kids have to miss the  send-off, the team can feel the love:
One year when I was in high school, the band went to a state championship for bands.  Up until that year, we didn't know there was such a thing.  The format of the competition went like this:  every band performed, and then the top bands performed again for placement.  When the winners were announced, we ended up in 2nd.  We were dumbfounded...we were used to coming in first.  I remember we all just stood there, looking at each other until the director's wife started clapping, telling us that 2nd place was good.  We didn't buy it.  In the words of Ricky Bobby:  If you're not first, you're last.  Yep, people in the Small Town strive for Championships.

This is one of the nice things about living in a small town:  there is such a sense of community and family here.  Even when things don't go as we would hope!

8 comments:

  1. The four years of DoodleBug's high school career, she was a percussionist in the band. They took first place at state each of those 4 years. Each year, we all expected they would not take first. But, after the first time, we secretly hoped. :) If the band takes first in state this fall, it will be NINE years in a row! It's crazy! I'm so glad I don't have any children in the band anymore. I just couldn't take the pressure. LOL

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  2. This was fun to read...hey, how 'bout that big announcement regarding Phil? Very exciting!!

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  3. Small town girl here loves Championships too.....so far you are batting 3 for 3 as far as my life...and I am loving it.

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  4. I love Championships - my son was on the high school basweball team that won state in 2011. Very exciting !!!! I linked up for this party but my name shows us no where ???

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  5. Yay for Championships. Looking forward to where all you'll be going with the Challenge.

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  6. Very, very awesome!!! You are so blessed to live there!

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  7. I grew up in a really small town -- no band and no football team. BUT WE HAD A BASKETBALL TEAM -- The team kept everyone busy discussing the chances of another STATE Championship over coffee at the Drug Store on Front Street.

    MM

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  8. It is a wonderful feeling to be champions. Of course that calls for the Queen song "We are the champions of the world" LOL.
    I love the sense of community in small towns.
    :-)

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