Friday Night Lights

Last Friday night I did something I haven't done in more than 30 years.  I watched my high school team play football.

The J.A. Craig High School Cougars, thoughtfully scheduled a game less than two miles from where I live as they tussled with conference rival Verona.

As I walked in and found my way to the visitor's bleachers... some old thoughts came flooding back.

Will anyone I know be here?  What if no one wants to sit with me?

Given the passage of time, there could have been some people there I would remember, if only I could recognize them.

I saw Coach Suter.  He was one of the P.E. teachers while I was at Craig and coached football and baseball while I was a student.  He later added football to his coaching resume.

Coach Suter hasn't changed.  Have you noticed that if you run into a former teacher (don't call them "old" teachers) that it seems they haven't aged?

I spent part of my time under the Friday night lights wondering how old he was when I was in high school.  Because if he was as old as I thought he was then... it's unlikely he would have been attending a football game.

The game itself was like none I've seen before.

It was either the greatest offensive display of all time or the worst defense ever.  Let's say it was a match of two offensive powerhouses.

Neither team took more than a couple minutes for their first half scoring drives.  It was 28-21 Verona at the end of the first quarter and 42 - 42 at halftime.  Whew, it was like a tennis match out on the field with all the action going back and forth.

Craig played valiantly, but came up on the short end of a 62-49 score.  Usually if you score 49 points you expect to win. 

It was still a winning experience... while I didn't run into any old classmates it was fun cheering for the ol' team again.  Go Cougars!