DOWN HOME: You-know-what will break your heart

Posted: 8/31/07

DOWN HOME:
You-know-what will break your heart

Football will break your heart.

There. Now I’ve said it. Be warned.

This is a prophetic utterance for fall. Unless, of course, you cheer for the Southlake Carroll Dragons or the University of Southern California Trojans. Your heart probably won’t be broken. But everybody else, get ready. As sure as linebackers block extra points, runners fumble, receivers muff passes and centers hike the ball over punters’ heads, if you love football, your heart is about to be pummeled, chop-blocked and penalized 15 yards for wanting too much from your favorite gladiators of the gridiron.

Even though Major League Baseball pennant races are heating up (just not in Texas), the local sports pages are overflowing with football.

This is as it should be. You’ve got to respect the basic law of supply-and-demand. The people want football. And since Texans are unencumbered by anything so distracting as a pennant race, the newspapers give us football.

Most of the ink in our section of the bleachers goes to the Dallas Cowboys, who appear to be endeavoring mightily to become America’s Team once again. They’ve got a new coach, Wade Phillips, whose daddy was the best person to ever simultaneously wear a cowboy hat and draw X’s and O’s. They’ve also got a bunch of talent stockpiled by the former coach, who apparently decided life is too short to waste it waiting for a Super Bowl ring. But over at Valley Ranch, they’re dreaming of silver football trophies again. And most of the folks in these parts think football might be fun in January.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what football fans in Houston think, because the newspapers in Dallas-Fort Worth only recall the Texans actually exist if they happen to play in Texas Stadium.

One of my favorite websites also sends me multiple updates on the Texas Longhorns, who are ranked No. 4 in the nation. They’d be more excited, except California hasn’t fallen into the ocean and Vince Young lives in Tennessee.

All that’s fun, but I’ve been paying closest attention to a page in the back of the sports section. That’s where they’ve been counting down the Top 20 football teams in the area. Unfortunately, my beloved Lewisville Fighting Farmers didn’t make the list. After two state championships in the ’90s and a slew of other great seasons, they’ve fallen on hard times.

But one of the things I like about high school football is its random unpredictability. On “any given Friday night” a mouse might whip a lion or, in our fondest dreams, a Farmer might slay a Dragon. High school boys are fun and vitriolic and emotional and entirely unpredictable.

That’s why high school football is a lot like life. Anything can happen. And it usually does. In life, we need God’s grace. In high school football, we need to remember these are boys playing a game. So, give ’em a break.

–Marv Knox