buckeyebob
10-23-2010, 08:25 AM
I copied this from another site (I do not know the author...it was his 20th post) and it is about Gilmer...however...it is also about a bunch of kids, ones we see on Friday nights & why we enjoy the Game. Long read but it says it all.
Man, don't you just love it? This is the best time in the high school football season. Mid-October, well into district play, and teams are "Making their moves". They're either "Gelling" or "Melting". They're either looking forward to playoff football, or pre-season basketball. It's a time where we're all figuring out if what we thought and hoped back in late August was fact or fiction. The weather is turning, the world is turning, and so are the worms in East Texas Football!
That said, I must tell you that as I watched the clinic these young Buckeyes conducted tonight, I was struck by a serious case of deja vu'. As I left the stadium, I had a flashback to leaving Mt Pleasant on an early fall Saturday afternoon back in 2004...hearing myself ask myself and my buddies, "What just happened? What did we just see? Was that FOR REAL?" Undoubtedly, that victory over Paris during that magical run will be remembered as the "Turning Point" of that whole season. In that game, the 2004 Buckeyes went into the game hoping to survive, and emerged 3 hours later with an identity and a destiny. And although I know I'm going WAY out on a limb here, I believe what we saw tonight was another one of those moments that will ultimately lead to there being football in Tater Town come "Turkey Time" once again.
It's no secret that fans in Gilmer are spoiled rotten, and have grown accustomed to the Buckeyes having success. But they have also learned alot from the past decade, discovering that each high school football season is made up of 3 parts: PRE-SEASON (which really doesn't mean a thing), DISTRICT (which only matters if you make the playoffs), and THE PLAYOFFS (where the only thing that matters is MOVING ON every week). As I watched Buckeye fans last week post-game in Carthage, I realized that they are a mature bunch of fans who realize that the road to a championship season is more of a marathon than a sprint. Coaches (and their families) know inherently how long a 13-16 game season really is, especially when "Playoffs" becomes a decade long tradition. But the fact is, 16-17 year old kids rarely make the connection. Even when they do, they are usually incapable mentally and emotionally of dealing with it...especially when the journey contains severe UPS and DOWNS. You know, the kind that come with being in a number of close games, winning and losing on the last play, dealing with rivalries, streaks, expectations, pressure, being a defending state championship team, etc. Understandably, circumstances like that can drain a teenage kid pretty quickly, and encite reactions that are immature, unwise, irresponsible, even "Crazy". (I mean when you really think about all that this young team has dealt with since August 1st, would you really be surprised if Gilmer's kids reacted that way?) But this is now obviously NOT the case with THESE kids. They somehow "get it". Tonight was touted as the first "Must Win" Gilmer has faced in 10 years. And given the team that showed up last week against Carthage, I would bet Coach Traylor himself would never have dreamed his team would come out and break a scoring record of ANY kind.
So for Buckeye fans, I thought I would take the time to share an observation. Given where this team was a week ago, and seeing what they did tonight to a PLAYOFF CALIBUR TEAM, I will tell you...there are some things that cannot be taught, or coached, or even learned by a bunch of high school kids. They either have "IT", or they don't. "IT" does not come from having one good week of practice. "IT" does not come from having a couple of key players back from injury. "IT" does not come from good coaches with a good game plan. "IT" does not even come from the emotional high that kids get when a big rival comes to town with high aspirations during Yamboree weekend. In this case my friends, "IT" is simply what is there underneath it all when a youg man's core is laid bare by a humiliating loss and a dreadful, embarrasing performance like Gilmer had last week. "IT" is the answer a group of kids gives their town, their coaches, their peers and themselves when adverse circumstances leaves them alone with the most fundamental question any team can ask themselves..."Who are WE?". When it comes down to it, "IT" is what one kid will do for the guy playing next to him. "IT" is what each individual is willing to endure. "IT" is what a young man is and is not willing to accept about himself when he looks in the mirror. And "IT" was what was put on display tonight for all to see. Consider this...
Coming into this season, the Buckeyes had 2 (count'em) TWO kids who had scored varsity TDs on the entire roster. They lost ump-teen starters from last year's State Championship Team. They were not sure who would play where, in what role, or on which side of the ball. What's more, they had lost the leadership of arguably the best football player in school history, who for the past 4 years had been the main, undepleatable source of "IT" whenever the Buckeyes needed. And on top of all the growing pains that inexperience inevitably brings, this team was dessimated by injuries from the very first game on, culminating last week when they went to face their biggest, baddest rival with unprecedented streaks and bragging rights on the line...minus 7 starters. And what happened? Disaster. The Buckeyes committed 5 turnovers, played passively, dissappointed and ultimately beat themselves...which brought "The Program", this team, and these kids to what I think was the most critical game/test/challenge since Coach Traylor's first District Championship contest. I truly believe there was that much at stake tonight in Gilmer...and what ensued was just as important in my opinion.
I have reached a predictive conculsion: Gilmer is still Gilmer. Are they "Young"? Well, I'd say the team we saw tonight has grown up a lot since August 1st. Are they "Banged up"? Well, not as much as they were last week. Are they "Especially Talented"? Well, I'd say you're seeing the emergence of what Buckeye fans have grown accustomed to seeing in #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8,#22, #25, etc, etc. (Tune in on ETEX tomorrow morning and WATCH the plays these kids made...just watch them.) Are they "Dangerous"? Considering they just set a school record for points scored in a half...what do you think (And how do you think Henderson's Defensive Coordinator would answer that question)? Are they "Destined"? Well, we'll see...but I've got to tell you, I've watched a lot of high school football and seen a lot of successful teams come and go...eventually, age provides you with a strange knack for spotting "Tells". And what I see is "IT" starting to emerge.
So I've been asked "What do you expect to see from Gilmer? What do you predict?" Well, here's my answer. I think you'll see Gilmer make a VERY deep playoff run THIS year. I think you'll see a rematch of Carthage vs Gilmer, and I do not think the Buckeyes will lose to the same team twice. Next week against Henderson (who played Carthage to the wire tonight and should have won), I expect Henderson will see the same team Spring Hill saw tonight, and will deal witha Buckeye team "On a Roll". Who knows how much growing up this team could do between now and December, and who knows where the "Big Boys" (Brownwood and Giddings) will be on their respective journey by then. But I'll trust my gut on this and go back to that game in Mt Pleasant, in which another #7 playing QB for the Buckeyes started figuring "IT" out...and who'd a thunk THAT group of kids woulda done what they done?
I know what you're probably thinking about what I'm saying. And I know what I'm saying when I say what I'm saying. And although I'm not saying "Repeat", I'm just saying...don't be surprised by December if YOU're saying (and seeing) "IT" too! You know what I'm saying?
Man, don't you just love it? This is the best time in the high school football season. Mid-October, well into district play, and teams are "Making their moves". They're either "Gelling" or "Melting". They're either looking forward to playoff football, or pre-season basketball. It's a time where we're all figuring out if what we thought and hoped back in late August was fact or fiction. The weather is turning, the world is turning, and so are the worms in East Texas Football!
That said, I must tell you that as I watched the clinic these young Buckeyes conducted tonight, I was struck by a serious case of deja vu'. As I left the stadium, I had a flashback to leaving Mt Pleasant on an early fall Saturday afternoon back in 2004...hearing myself ask myself and my buddies, "What just happened? What did we just see? Was that FOR REAL?" Undoubtedly, that victory over Paris during that magical run will be remembered as the "Turning Point" of that whole season. In that game, the 2004 Buckeyes went into the game hoping to survive, and emerged 3 hours later with an identity and a destiny. And although I know I'm going WAY out on a limb here, I believe what we saw tonight was another one of those moments that will ultimately lead to there being football in Tater Town come "Turkey Time" once again.
It's no secret that fans in Gilmer are spoiled rotten, and have grown accustomed to the Buckeyes having success. But they have also learned alot from the past decade, discovering that each high school football season is made up of 3 parts: PRE-SEASON (which really doesn't mean a thing), DISTRICT (which only matters if you make the playoffs), and THE PLAYOFFS (where the only thing that matters is MOVING ON every week). As I watched Buckeye fans last week post-game in Carthage, I realized that they are a mature bunch of fans who realize that the road to a championship season is more of a marathon than a sprint. Coaches (and their families) know inherently how long a 13-16 game season really is, especially when "Playoffs" becomes a decade long tradition. But the fact is, 16-17 year old kids rarely make the connection. Even when they do, they are usually incapable mentally and emotionally of dealing with it...especially when the journey contains severe UPS and DOWNS. You know, the kind that come with being in a number of close games, winning and losing on the last play, dealing with rivalries, streaks, expectations, pressure, being a defending state championship team, etc. Understandably, circumstances like that can drain a teenage kid pretty quickly, and encite reactions that are immature, unwise, irresponsible, even "Crazy". (I mean when you really think about all that this young team has dealt with since August 1st, would you really be surprised if Gilmer's kids reacted that way?) But this is now obviously NOT the case with THESE kids. They somehow "get it". Tonight was touted as the first "Must Win" Gilmer has faced in 10 years. And given the team that showed up last week against Carthage, I would bet Coach Traylor himself would never have dreamed his team would come out and break a scoring record of ANY kind.
So for Buckeye fans, I thought I would take the time to share an observation. Given where this team was a week ago, and seeing what they did tonight to a PLAYOFF CALIBUR TEAM, I will tell you...there are some things that cannot be taught, or coached, or even learned by a bunch of high school kids. They either have "IT", or they don't. "IT" does not come from having one good week of practice. "IT" does not come from having a couple of key players back from injury. "IT" does not come from good coaches with a good game plan. "IT" does not even come from the emotional high that kids get when a big rival comes to town with high aspirations during Yamboree weekend. In this case my friends, "IT" is simply what is there underneath it all when a youg man's core is laid bare by a humiliating loss and a dreadful, embarrasing performance like Gilmer had last week. "IT" is the answer a group of kids gives their town, their coaches, their peers and themselves when adverse circumstances leaves them alone with the most fundamental question any team can ask themselves..."Who are WE?". When it comes down to it, "IT" is what one kid will do for the guy playing next to him. "IT" is what each individual is willing to endure. "IT" is what a young man is and is not willing to accept about himself when he looks in the mirror. And "IT" was what was put on display tonight for all to see. Consider this...
Coming into this season, the Buckeyes had 2 (count'em) TWO kids who had scored varsity TDs on the entire roster. They lost ump-teen starters from last year's State Championship Team. They were not sure who would play where, in what role, or on which side of the ball. What's more, they had lost the leadership of arguably the best football player in school history, who for the past 4 years had been the main, undepleatable source of "IT" whenever the Buckeyes needed. And on top of all the growing pains that inexperience inevitably brings, this team was dessimated by injuries from the very first game on, culminating last week when they went to face their biggest, baddest rival with unprecedented streaks and bragging rights on the line...minus 7 starters. And what happened? Disaster. The Buckeyes committed 5 turnovers, played passively, dissappointed and ultimately beat themselves...which brought "The Program", this team, and these kids to what I think was the most critical game/test/challenge since Coach Traylor's first District Championship contest. I truly believe there was that much at stake tonight in Gilmer...and what ensued was just as important in my opinion.
I have reached a predictive conculsion: Gilmer is still Gilmer. Are they "Young"? Well, I'd say the team we saw tonight has grown up a lot since August 1st. Are they "Banged up"? Well, not as much as they were last week. Are they "Especially Talented"? Well, I'd say you're seeing the emergence of what Buckeye fans have grown accustomed to seeing in #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8,#22, #25, etc, etc. (Tune in on ETEX tomorrow morning and WATCH the plays these kids made...just watch them.) Are they "Dangerous"? Considering they just set a school record for points scored in a half...what do you think (And how do you think Henderson's Defensive Coordinator would answer that question)? Are they "Destined"? Well, we'll see...but I've got to tell you, I've watched a lot of high school football and seen a lot of successful teams come and go...eventually, age provides you with a strange knack for spotting "Tells". And what I see is "IT" starting to emerge.
So I've been asked "What do you expect to see from Gilmer? What do you predict?" Well, here's my answer. I think you'll see Gilmer make a VERY deep playoff run THIS year. I think you'll see a rematch of Carthage vs Gilmer, and I do not think the Buckeyes will lose to the same team twice. Next week against Henderson (who played Carthage to the wire tonight and should have won), I expect Henderson will see the same team Spring Hill saw tonight, and will deal witha Buckeye team "On a Roll". Who knows how much growing up this team could do between now and December, and who knows where the "Big Boys" (Brownwood and Giddings) will be on their respective journey by then. But I'll trust my gut on this and go back to that game in Mt Pleasant, in which another #7 playing QB for the Buckeyes started figuring "IT" out...and who'd a thunk THAT group of kids woulda done what they done?
I know what you're probably thinking about what I'm saying. And I know what I'm saying when I say what I'm saying. And although I'm not saying "Repeat", I'm just saying...don't be surprised by December if YOU're saying (and seeing) "IT" too! You know what I'm saying?