Friday Night (Under the) Lights

Tonight was my annual trek to a high school football game, where I tend to go see my two largest schools play each other (all in the name of efficiency, of course; I get to see the majority of my high-schoolers march in a single trip). While trying not to repeat my observations from last year, here's a primer on the game from my viewpoint:

• The weather was really weird tonight; I can't remember the last game that I attended that had both a nice chill in the air and crickets flying around everywhere. The attire in the stands ranged from shorts and flip-flops to hoodies and jackets. I got by just fine with rarely-used long sleeves on the shirt underneath my polo (in nice neutral colors, since I spent part of the game on each side).


• Both of my schools' bands did well at halftime; I think they'll be fine at their big competition next week. It was a little hard to hear, especially during the visiting band; if some of the non-musicially inclined football fans realized how much work went into perfecting a marching show, I wonder if they'd show the band some courtesy by, if not actually listening, at least keeping the loud talking down for the benefit of those who do want to listen.


• That being said, the football itself this time was...meh. I found myself talking to directors, students, alumni and parents most of the time instead of paying much attention to the game. I remarked to one of the directors that, if football were a huge factor, I'd try to teach somewhere like Southlake Carroll. And I'd definitely go to more than one game a year, if that were the case.


• Actually, the most exciting thing about the game was seeing not one, not two, but five players get ejected in the closing minutes of the game (though the last one would subsequently be unejected moments later). The crosstown rivalry between the two schools was surely a factor, as the ejections took place on three separate plays. I don't know that I'd ever seen even one player get thrown out of a game before, so seeing that many was rather surreal.


• I've mentioned before that, while marching band has changed a lot since I was in high school, drill team has changed very little. Tonight, the two squads did use some unusual props, though I have to point out to the one school that used giant pairs of eighth-notes for that purpose that, while the notes made for some clever dancing...umm, they were backwards. (Ask the band directors before you build next time, perhaps?)

I don't know that I'll ever have season tickets until I actually have kids, but it's always nice to experience at least one Friday night high school football game every fall; it's a big part of the social fabric of Texas.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I hate high school football. No matter how many rock 'n' roll songs we play, our team never seems to score any more touchdowns."--One of the directors at the school that lost tonight.