Fall Football
Football is here!
High school ball is two weeks into the season. College ball kicks off this weekend, with the pro ballers doing the same in a week!
Finally, something in the sports page besides Tiger Woods!
In a tribute to football, here is something I wrote many moons ago. Settle in with a bowl of chips and enjoy!!
The familiar sights & sounds of the fall football season remind me of my own playing days at Wapakoneta Senior High.
We were a small school in the middle of farm country yet, we were big on talent. Undefeated our senior year, our team boasted eight men who would play at the college level. One young man would be an All-American and later play in the NFL.
But THIS isn’t about them, the guys whose skillful play made headlines in Saturday’s newspaper. This is about the team I played for…a pack of fearless warriors who–on a daily basis–challenged the number one monster offense in school history.
We were “Squirrel Squad.”
“Squirrel Squad” was the mostly third-string group of defensive misfits reminiscent of the team from “The Longest Yard.”
Our jerseys had no numbers. Coaches knew us only by our last name scrawled on a piece of tape stuck to our helmets.
We were the blocking sled for the first-team offense, explaining why our backsides were dirtier than our fronts!
We were “Squirrel Squad” and we were proud.
We were “Campbell,” our bespeckled middle linebacker. No sports goggles for this legend. His glasses were held together by large amounts of masking tape. So much tape in fact, he had blind spots the size of a fullback!
We were “Truesdale,” our 115 pound safety. His head could swim inside his helmet. After one bruising collision, he was actually looking out his earhole!
We were “Nieter.” We were “Overturf.” We were “Dodds.” We were “Squirrel Squad” and we had guts. We played our hearts out and then we played some more.
No, this isn’t a tribute to the glory boys of Friday nights, but a courageous call of praise to the men of “Squirrel Squad” who got the job done the rest of the week.
The names may be different in your community…”Goof Troop”…”Splinter Squad”…”Bozo Brigade”…or “Boo Crew,” but every school has a team of individuals who play the game because they like it. Check that—they love it!
Here’s to my fellow combatants of “Squirrel Squad.”
It will be a great season.
6 Replies to “Fall Football”
Hi! I have a somewhat unusual last name. How did it end up in your article? I want you to know I enjoy your blog. Humor is how I deal with my ms. I was diagnosed in 1974. Yes I am an old guy. Since you are in to humor I will tell you a quick story. I have a friend who has the license plate on his car which says MSSUKS. He has been stopped on several occasions and asked, “What do you have against Microsoft”. Thank you for your blog!
Bob,
Yes you do have an unusual last name. My friend in high school was an “Overturf.” See, you are not alone!
Diagnosed in ’74?…You ARE an old-timer! Just kidding.
Please keep in touch as your “MS experience” proves to be inspirational to those of us running on “E” on the hope gauge.
Thanks for reading….and laughing (hopefully)
My Odd Sock
C.I.O. (Chief Idiot Officer)
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading.
Obviously he isn’t in OH with that plate. We just tried to get that plate on a NMSS OH custom plate and they will not allow MSSUKS on the plate…even when it showed as available in the database, the state will reject it. 🙁 So, had to come up with something else to put on the NMSS plate. I mean, why can’t people stay out of the gutter…anything with SUKS is rejected. It’s not like we wanted a space in it…and the plate is pretty damn obvious.
Thank you for another excellent post. Keep rocking.
I am very happy to find this blog.Thank you for creating the page! Im sure that it will be extremely popular. NFL is my life and its sunday 🙂