The roar returns

Can you feel it?

That twinge of electricity that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up and that sense of unbridled excitement that only happens during one time of the year?

Can you hear it?

The echo of that roar that only comes from one place and rings loud with the sounds of fanaticism and pride.

That twinge and that roar only come from one place and that is the local football stadium on a fall Friday night in Texas. And folks, it is back!

Those proverbial Friday night lights will shine again starting this Friday as all of the fun, flavor and fanaticism of local high school football returns for another year.

It doesn’t matter who your team is, what colors you deck yourself out in, or even what stadium you find yourself, there is just nothing like a Friday night during football season in the Lone Star State.

Local high school football has power. It has the power to bring people together for a common goal of cheering on the players, band, cheerleaders, coaches and whoever else is down on that field.

You can be sitting on the front row of the bleachers, or way up high in the nosebleed section, it just doesn’t matter.

When your high school band plays that first note of the fight song and the players on your team come running out of their tunnel, a real football fan becomes a different person. I have seen the stodgiest lawyer, the most timid librarians, and even little church mice absolutely lose their minds cheering on their football team.

That twinge explodes into a full-blown electric shock when your squad scores a touchdown.

That roar rockets to a deafening crescendo when that final whistle bows and the scoreboard shows your team won.

It is just how we do things here, and we do high school football better here in Texas than anyplace else on the planet. I’ll fight ya over that remark.

High school football, and ya, college too, just means more to us, I think. It is borderline to religion maybe. In fact, maybe if we got as excited about going to church as we do about going to a stadium, we might have a closer walk with God. Just sayin’!

I throw in college ball too for one reason, and let me tread lightly here.

I have rarely seen a more devoted bunch of folks than Texas Longhorn fans or Texas Aggie fans. If you are one or the other, that is a hard line to cross. It is akin to a line you can’t cross or even a bloodline. Ya sure, Baylor has its fans, OU has its share of fans in our parts, even Arkansas, but you just can’t find a stronger bond than if you are a Longhorn or an Aggie.

A very good friend of mine, Gail Davis, said to me recently that it was once said by Joe Mack that you wouldn’t catch him in maroon. But as those around him know, he was swayed by love to do so.

It happens I reckon, and there isn’t much else that could have made that happen other than love.

Football fans are just a different sort of folks. Heck, I have been waiting for nigh on 30 years for the Cowboys to put on another ring. We have a guy here at the WBP that is a devout Buffalo Bills fan despite the hurt the Cowboys have put on them in big games over the years. Ouch Charles!

But seriously, we are all so happy that football has returned for another season. And whether it is a Friday night cheering on our local high school, a Saturday pulling for the Longhorns to beat the Sooners (ya I went there) or a Sunday yelling at the tv when Dak or Josh throw one deep for a TD…we love our football.

You reckon they will have football in Heaven? I mean, Philippians talks about pressing forward toward the mark and 1Corinthians talk about running to get the prize. The mark is the goal line, and the prize is a championship. Right?

I joke, but hey, I am serious about this.

All the concession stands this year need to have lemonade. Winning is always sweetest with lemonade.

Good luck to all the athletes and teams out there. Even the Sooners.