Tim Crone, a former activities director for Blue Springs High School, writes a weekly column for The Examiner. Reach him at t.crone@comcast.net
Football fans are glad that high school football has started. College football will begin this weekend, and the NFL is under way with the lockout well out of mind now.
Favorites already have surfaced, and most fans follow their teams loyally from opening kickoff until the very last tick of the clock in the final game.
Football has become the most popular of all of the sports. Baseball is a national pastime and basketball is a long season through the coldest part of the year that helps to keep minds occupied. But football has become almost a way of life that most Americans can relate to. Although there has been some movement to make participation in football worldwide, it remains an American sport.
Nothing is better than Friday night high school football games in most all of the communities in the country. And how about the excitement on Saturdays filled with the colorful fanfare of colleges and universities that draws millions of fans? Top that off with NFL Sundays followed by Monday Night Football (which has some of the greatest support week in and week out).
What makes football such an attractive sport is the special combination of strength, skill and dedication. And last, but most importantly, is that it is the ultimate team game.
Legendary coach Vince Lombardi described the game better than anyone: “Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization – an army, a political party or business. The principles are the same. The object is to win – to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don’t think it is. It is a reality of life that men are competitive, and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That’s why they are there – to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules – but to win.”
That, in a nutshell, is exactly why we are all so in love with the game of football.
• Rockhurst looks like a university team. They are loaded for another state championship run. Rockhurst against Lee’s Summit West would be a great matchup.
• The Chiefs – question mark of the day!
• Hopefully Mizzou will live up to the preseason predictions and KU and K State will improve. I am already tired of hearing about Texas teams.
• My quote of the week is another from coach Lombardi: “And in truth, I’ve never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn’t appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head-to-head combat.”
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