I grew up a “Greenie” and played football for the West Point Greenwave.
Well, maybe I should clarify that. I practiced a lot more football at ole West Point High than I ever played.
There were about 80 boys on our team in 1976 and 1977 and I was the third smallest. That means there were 77 of my teammates who were bigger than me. I had a little speed and what I lacked in athletic ability in the 40-yard dash was made up by fear when one of those bigger guys chased me!
Playing football was all there was to do in the Point City in the 1970s. Again, I didn't play much and the coach only called my name when we were up 48-points.
But my best high school friends to this very day pulled on a green jersey with white letters every Friday night in the fall.
I will be the first to say I didn't like football. I was a catcher in baseball, ran the hurdles in track and I couldn't jump, so I didn't play basketball.
But of all the games I ever played, only football satisfied. Unless you have pushed your helmet into the air on a cool crisp fall night in victory, you have not lived.
Local football
I hope you have made the effort to attend a local football game this fall.
Yes, it’s still hot and the mosquitoes can be tough, but it will cool off in a week or two and Friday night football will be a lot more fun.
Clarksdale is undefeated, Lee is beginning to find some success, Coahoma Community College starts next month with the most pomp and pageantry around.
I’ve seen some hints of talent in the first few weeks.
Lee Academy has a good running back who can also catch a pass. The Colts have modest linebackers. Clarksdale has a fullback and tailback that are the proverbial thunder and lightning that can pound you up the middle or burn the corners.
I’m not ready to make any predictions at this point about how the season will turn out for anybody. We’ve got a lot of football to play.
At the college level, Ole Miss plays Florida and State plays LSU next week. I think COVID-19 are the least of the Rebels and Bulldogs’ concerns.
And my Cowboys lost to the Rams in a brand new $5 billion (yes, that is with a B!) in Los Angeles.
Winning
Winning is not everything, but it sure is a lot more fun than losing.
In a day and age when we protect our children and give them more than we ever had, teaching them how it feels when they fail is not a bad thing.
I have learned more from failure than I have ever learned from victory.
But here me out – this world sometimes teaches our kids it is OK to fail. Failure should never be an option, a goal or something good people accept with a casual toss of the head.
When we fail we need to spit out the nasty taste, look around and see what we did wrong and work harder, practice longer, listen closer and learn so it doesn't happen again.
Playing the game
Football is a game most of us put down our senior year in high school.
Lean, taunt bodies have been replaced by – well, look at me!
I think that is why I love that game so much! There was a day when I would stick my head in a meat grinder. There was a day when I could run wind-sprints at the end of a long hard practice. There was a day when tackling my best friend on the practice field and getting that tingle in my shoulders felt good.
It's something my Green Wave buddies still talk about. It's a memory I live every weekend in the fall when I hear the referee blow that long whistle to start The Game.
Floyd Ingram is the Editor of your Clarksdale Press Register. He is a fan of the Bulldogs and Cowboys and can be reached for gridiron prognostications at 662-627-2201.
