I’d like to introduce the positive side of football.  I’m well aware of the dangers of the sport and the negative press at the professional level; there’s a lot of talk about the bad side, and rightly so.  For our family, football gave my son more than any sport, a sense of community on so many levels both inside and outside the team.  He never wanted to miss a practice or a game.  He wanted his parents to watch him play and we wanted to be there too, Friday Night Lights fans.  After four years of high school football, our sentiments have not changed we still love what the game brought to our lives.

Nine Ways High School Football Fosters Community

1. Being on a team and learning to play as a team, isn’t going to happen unless community is built from within. Surprisingly, just like families, harmless teasing is part of bonding and building camaraderie. Players and coaches call each other things that might make mothers cringe. As my trainer put it, “That’s what guys do. Whatever is unique about you, you are going to get teased. It’s cool.”
2. Every team, freshman, jv and varsity support each other. On Thursday nights, JV and Varsity watch the first quarter of the freshman game. On Fridays, freshmen come in their jerseys to watch the jv and varsity players.  JV players stay through the first half of the varsity games, even away games.
3. Players take ownership of the team finances. All players sell coupon books to support the sport. If they make their goal, they earn a team sweatshirt with their name. Everyone wins because if there are any unsold cards by the end of the week, the team breaks into small groups for an afternoon to finish the job. They hit local neighborhoods or the train station or storefronts, having a blast working together.
4. Coaches teach safety through weight lifting in the off-season. Boys learn physical fitness and goal setting. A fun internal competition motivates players to be their best, the top three get their name listed on the board.
5. Sensitivity to the community outside the team is important too. During Breast Cancer Awareness month the players wear pink socks and pink bracelets. In the last two years, my son’s team added a recognition night for Stand Against Violence and wore purple bracelets.
6. Respect for our country is instilled at each singing of the National Anthem.  All football players, no matter the team, raise their helmets in unison after the words “land of the free.”  I get emotional every time.
7. The players bond over dinner made and served by the parents. Thursday nights are reserved for pasta feeds. Players offer thanks to the moms in the buffet line and as a group from their tables. The coaches express their gratitude too.  Moms get a tiny glimpse into the world of high school football.
8. Senior recognition night is the beginning of the end of the football family. At the last home game, moms wear the player’s away jersey and dads dress in their best team attire. As each player is announced along with his family, the son gives mom a rose and everyone hugs the player, even little brothers. The family walks down the fifty-yard line, flanked by a tunnel of freshman, sophomore and junior football players in uniform. Moms and dads try desperately to hold back the tears.
9. The last game of the season, usually playoffs, nothing expresses the heart and community of football than seeing smelly, giant players hugging their parents with tears streaming down their cheeks. For seniors, it’s an end of an era, a sort of family break-up. For parents, it’s the start of letting go, our fan club membership fading.

To America!