[illiNOISE]

I know this is off topic, but I found this simply revolting.:censor::thumbsdown:

http://www.illinoishighschoolsports....t=41498&page=3

[Mud Packer]

Originally Posted by illiNOISE I know this is off topic, but I found this simply revolting.:censor::thumbsdown: http://www.illinoishighschoolsports....t=41498&page=3

I read the article in the local rag today and the kicker is that the winning team now wants to forfeit the game to save face.:thumbsdown: The whole ordeal is shameful and absolutely no one can feel good about this. Another kick to the old sportsmanship and fair play that kids derive from high school athletics.:loser::headbang

[Texan]

Here is the article from the Dallas Morning News:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...t.40d72ee.html

[Texan]

Oh, and just to show you that not all Texans are like that, you need to read this story from another Dallas-Ft Worth City...


http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/st...ine&id=3789373

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.

It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.

Did you hear that? The other team's fans?

They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions.

"I WOULDN'T EXPECT ANOTHER PARENT TO TELL SOMEBODY TO HIT THEIR KIDS. BUT THEY WANTED US TO!"

It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.

"I never in my life thought I'd hear people cheering for us to hit their kids," recalls Gainesville's QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. "I wouldn't expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!"

And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he'd just won state. Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.

But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That's because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.

This all started when Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth."

Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan's office and asked, "Coach, why are we doing this?"

And Hogan said, "Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you."

Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders!

"I thought maybe they were confused," said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). "They started yelling 'DEE-fense!' when their team had the ball. I said, 'What? Why they cheerin' for us?'"

It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. "We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games," says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. "You can see it in their eyes. They're lookin' at us like we're criminals. But these people, they were yellin' for us! By our names!"

Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game's last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still.

After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us."

And it was a good thing everybody's heads were bowed because they might've seen Hogan wiping away tears.

As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home—a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player.

The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, "You'll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You'll never, ever know."

And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they'd never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.

Anyway, with the economy six feet under and Christmas running on about three and a half reindeer, it's nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.

[Onlydirt]

Great story, the second one!

[AERO410SCJA]

Ty, you better send Fred your money so we can whoop up on you like that.

I can see making the other team have to score but to press when your up by 59 points is wrong:loser:.You would think the Refs would have said some thing at half time:icon_smile_blackeye

[illiNOISE]

Originally Posted by AERO410SCJA I can see making the other team have to score but to press when your up by 59 points is wrong:loser:.You would think the Refs would have said some thing at half time:icon_smile_blackeye

If there's no mercy rule, or running clock rule, I'm not sure what the officials could have done.

But while I don't like to blame 17 and 18 year old kids, and the coach shoulders the ultimate responsibillity for this disgusting travesty, you do have to wonder why the team captains didn't just get together and agree among themselves to take their foot off the throttle a bit.

[skids59]

Some "coaches" no longer care what they are teaching the kids in America. The only thing of concern to them is the resume they are building. We have experienced this, first hand, here in Illinois, in the baseball venue. When the " coach is a member of the good ole boys club";:headbang with AD's and some board members in their corner its next to impossible to reign in.:thumbsdown:

[safetyworker]

Besides being a racing safety person, I officiate high school basketball here in Indiana. There is not much an official can do in this situation "by the rules." There are things that can be done un-officially though to encourage sportsmanship. The responsibility lies with the coaches, not the refs.

I do recall a middle-school game...huge lead at halftime and the leading team continued full court press at end of first half...my partner expressed frustration with the situation during the halftime break...I told him I thought we could deal with it...I casually chatted with leading coach at the end of the break and asked if he planned to press in the second half, he said yes...waited a minute, re-asked the same question, he paused and asked if that were illegal...I replied that it was not illegal, but that being legal did not make it a good idea...he paused thoughtfully, and declared his intention not to press. My partner breathed a sigh of relief and asked me what I had intended to do if he did press...I explained that our hearing could get awfully good under those conditions and any sort of comment from anywhere near their bench might draw our undesired attention. One of the rare times when a more "liberal" rule interpretation worked out for all involved.

[Mud Packer]

Originally Posted by AERO410SCJA Ty, you better send Fred your money so we can whoop up on you like that. I can see making the other team have to score but to press when your up by 59 points is wrong:loser:.You would think the Refs would have said some thing at half time:icon_smile_blackeye

Aero,


Being an IHSAA official myself there is nothing as an official they could have done "officially". If the game was played under National Federation High School rules, there is no mercy rule and no running clock.

As an official I would try to discuss the situation with both coaches but if the "winning":loser: coach didn't have enough decency to "call off the dogs" then I am sure my conversation would have fallen on deaf ears.:doh:

I would have hated to be an official calling that game. How anyone could feel good about the actions of that coach is beyond me.:headbang As a parent of a player on the "winning" team, I would be appalled. I got angry just reading the article.