what happened after the D-field@ Greenwood game

[sprinklerman]

I heard there was some kind of rukus?

[audasmom7]

They are a bunch of low class thugs, It takes alot to shock me. And I was totally shocked

[eagles_11]

what happened

[Da Mules]

I for one don't call the entire defensive line attacking the QB and then having the rest of the low-class trash team come off the bench onto the field a "ruckus"--1) serious consideration for assault and battery charges are in order here, and 2) the UIL needs to ban the most flagrant players (if you can possibly sort them out; it was more of a real team effort) from UIL competition in any sport for 1 year.

[Atl_Rabb_Fan]

Hey man it was a sad thing to see and something I hope to never see again. But it was not the whole team that was doing the attacking. Some of the tigers were out there trying to pull there team mates back. So don't make it out to be the whole team and community of Daingerfield. Cause trust me, I live in Daingerfield now and have a sister who is a senior there and there is a lot of people who were just as shocked as you. They thought is was an embarrassment to their town. As for the ones who did it I hope they will realize what they did and learn something valuable from it. But I just don't want the whole town looked down on for the actions of others. Good luck Rangers next week.

[TarponFanInNorthTexas]

I was at the game on the Midland side. I saw the whole thing very clearly. The brawl was started initially by Daingerfield's #52. Then, when the linemen for Greenwood tried to get #52 off their QB, the rest of Daingerfield's defensive linemen, and a few of their linebackers joined in the attack. It really seemed like it was all planned out by Daingerfield's defense as revenge for being beaten fair and square. Regardless, what the Tigers did was absolutely pathetic.

I'm sure if the brawl was caught on tape, and the UIL gets their hands on it, don't be surprised if the UIL hands the Daingerfield athletic program their butts for this.

[Take State Tigers]

It was not Daingerfields entire team nor there entire bench causing the brawl. It was about 5-7 players who are tarnishing the reputation of the entire team. What happened at the game was inexcusable, but to blame the whole team, coaching staff, or community is also inexcusable. The players involved should be punished, but the innocent should not be punished. I was at the game and I was appalled, as were most of our fans, coaches, administrators, and many players.

The film clearly shows many of our players and all of our coaches trying to pull the players away from fighting. For the record, you are giving #52 a bad rap. Not only did he not start the fight, but he was one of the ones trying to sepearate the fighters. Maybe it's just because he is huge that you thought he was causing the problem. Slow motion doesn't leave much room for error. I'm sure that the players who made such of a unwise choice will be dealt with.

BTW, I haven't missed a D'field game in over 10 years and this is the first brawl that I have witnessed, so don't let rival teams insinuate that fights occur on a regular basis-because that is far from true.

It is our sincere hope that no one was seriously injured in the fight. Our community regrets that it happened and if we could have only predicted the future, it never would have happened. Good luck to Greenwood next week, ya'll have a great team with a tremendous amount of heart. TAKE STATE RANGERS!!!!

[vet93]

I have remained silent on the issue so far because I didn't want to be a homer and since I wasn't there at the game I didn't want to comment on something that I didn't see for myself until I had read all of the facts. From every person that I have read comments on about this issue, there has not been one person who has been able to justify the actions of the Daingerfield players. Starting from the actions of the kids who started the fight and progressing to the kids who joined in on the melee. The actions of the Daingerfield players who were involved in the assault have gone beyond the framework of poor sportsmanship and have entered the realm of thuggery. Some of the actions even border on the criminal. Many of us have lost games before, even games that we felt that we should have won, but did you respond in this manner? I think not. For those who might try to justify the actions as "in the heat of the moment etc...", I would remind you that the game was over and that the Rangers were simply running the clock out. They were not trying to "throw the bomb" to "run up the score" on the Tigers. There could have been some words uttered by both teams at the end, but it doesn't justify what happened. I understand what the poster was trying to say about not judging the whole town by a few rotten apples. However, I have to disagree with his conclusions. It does reflect poorly upon the team, the coaching staff and the community. This incident went beyond some kids or fans talking a little trash. Incidents like this happen because the coaching staff and the community have allowed an environment of thuggery to smolder under the surface. Just ask other teams who regularly play the Tigers. Many will recount incident after incident of behaviour that was unacceptable. These incidents may not have led to a fight but the mindset is the same. To the coaches, and players who were trying to pull their players out and to the fans who have condemned the actions of their team I say...good for you. My response to you would be...why didn't you stand up for creating an environment for good sportsmanship before an issue like this had to come up. If I had acted like some of the Daingerfield kids when I was playing I would never have set foot on the football field again. My Dad would have kicked my tail and made sure of that. My head coach would have kicked me off of the team and my community would have let me know under no uncertain terms what a poor decision that I made. If I were the UIL I would sanction the whole team. Football is a "team" sport. It may not be fair that many of the kids had nothing to do with the fight, but life isn't fair. Someone has to take a strong stand against this type of behavior or we will just be waiting for the next powderkeg to go off on some other football field.

<small>[ December 16, 2002, 11:28 PM: Message edited by: vet93 ]</small>

[Atl_Rabb_Fan]

Vet93 how in the heck can you sit there and down the whole town saying that they allow thuggery and stuff like that. Have you ever been to Daingerfield. Do you even know anyone from Daingerfield. there are a lot of good people in the community. I have yet to find anyone who agrees with what happened. I have even spoke with a few that says they aint sure if they would want to see another Tiger game again. So you have no right to judge a whole town for the actions of a few idiots. Cause if that is the case then their isn't a good town in the country. As for those you say that have played against the Tigers and that they seen things happen also. Well, let me ask you this how many of them got beat when that was supposed to happen. So until you know the town yourself then don't make anymore comments. As for Saturday there has been many Daingerfield fans apologizing for what happened and that agrees that something needs to be done. But only to those involved not everyone. Just go and look at the Xtra board you will see. Good luck Greenwood win the big one.

[vet93]

Atl Rab...you missed my point...I did not say that everyone in Daingerfield was a thug or even everyone on the team for that matter. I am quite sure that there are some wonderful people in Daingerfield. I said that the actions of what happened reflected poorly on the coaches, town and community (guilt by association). To say differently is sticking your head in the sand. Each year there are thousands of football games played around the state...in every game somebody is going to lose. How many times does something like last saturday happen...not very often. There are many many schools that have just as good a winning percentage as the Tigers, but you don't here there opponents calling all of them poor sports all of the time. You can't chalk up all of the other people recounting incidents involving Daingerfield as sour grapes. I witnessed two Daingerfield games back in the early eighties. The team talked alot of trash as did the fans. I was not on the opposing team (I sat on the daingerfield side) so nothing was directed towards me. The opposing teams were beaten so badly in each case that the other team did little but take their beating. Neither of those teams tried to pick a fight with the Tigers. Incidents like last saturday don't just happen by chance. Every team has kids who are on the "edge" in terms of sportsmanship. However, these kids' natural tendencies are kept in check by the culture of sportsmanship provided by the coaching staff, team and community. I know that there are alot of good people in Daingerfield...it is time for those people to take a stand and say that we are not only going to win football games, but we are going to win with class and good sportsmanship...if you can't play that way...then you can't play period. You don't have to strut around like a rooster to play with emotion and intensity...Greenwood is an example of that. By the way...my team lost to Greenwood twice this year by a larger margin than the Tigers. In regards to sanctions against the Tigers, I think that it should be like an NCAA violation. They don't go after the individual boosters or players...they go after the institution because it was the institution that is responsible for and held accountable for its players and supporters. It may not be fair to the kids who are not involved but it provides the only kind of accountability that keeps bad behavior in check around the country. The sanctions have to have some "teeth" or the actions will be repeated again.

[pero chato]

I hear what you're saying Vet93. Certainly the vast majority of Daingerfield players and community do not condone this activity. 5-7 players involved is a lot more than one or two troublemakers, though. There has to be an attitude instilled in every player that they are playing for something bigger than themselves. And that they are also representing something bigger than themselves--their school and community. The silent majority of "good folks" needs to quit being silent and ensure this doesn't happen again. This isn't necessarily directed to Daingerfield, this is just my opinion on "team" philosophy.

[vet93]

I agree Pero Chato...I don't hate Daingerfield, nor do I think that they are the only school who has played in an unsportsmanlike manner. I think that this incident is a wake-up call for all of us. If we don't expect our kids to act appropriately as parents, coaches, fans and players, then this type of behavior will run rampant. Unfortunately this incident happened in Daingerfield, the response of the school, fans etc...along with the UIL response will go a long way in curbing this type of activity in the future. Good luck to all!

[Take State Tigers]

Vet, I stand behind my earlier comments. Our team has a lot of good kids on it that are being overshadowed by the few trouble makers. If there had been another fight, I could understand how this was foreseeable. There has not been another fight like this for years(at least in over 10). I have read many post on xtra also. I have seen that Greenwood has not always been referred to nicely by everyone. When you win, people seem to take it out on you by trashing you and making acusations that many times are not founded. I have witnessed our coaches nipping the mouthing in the bud, they do not just turn the other cheek as some of our opponents would like for you to think. They are sick about what happened, our superintendent is sick about what happened, our community is sick about what happened, I am sick about what happened, but it happened and now all that is left is to deal with the perpetrators and try to move forward. This has left a black eye on our community and it will take years for us to over come it. Senseless! It should have never happened and we are mad as He -double hockey sticks about it. Our boys worked hard this year and it is a shame that a few fools have ruined it for the majority. As far as UIL goes and being sanctioned just like the NCAA where the whole program is penalized... consider this, they actively recruit players and are able to give college educations to those good enough to play at that level. We are in the business of public school education. We do not have the luxury of choosing who attends our school- so why should we be treated the same as a NCAA school? Sorry for venting, I agree with the Rabbit- don't condemn us all for the actions of the few. Daingerfield wishes the Rangers luck on Saturday. We will be rooting for you.

<small>[ December 17, 2002, 09:35 PM: Message edited by: Take State Tigers ]</small>

[vet93]

Fair enough Take State Tigers...I see your points...while I may not agree with you concerning what punishment may be considered...I truly believe that you and others like you were sincerely upset about what happened and you seem to be willing to take steps to see that it doesn't happen again. This whole scenario really struck a nerve with me because I seem to be seeing a trend of more and more poor sportsmanship (my team included). I just don't think that it has to be this way. People don't have to assault, downgrade, ridicule and be disrespectful to others just to prove that you are the dominant team. I guess I come from the old school where it is important for the other team to respect me as a football player, but it is just as important to respect me for the character that I show on the football field either win or lose.

[Ranger Mom]

I just read a post on another forum where one of the players involved in this incident apologized. He said they are talking a 3 game suspension on next years season. While this whole incident upset me, I do have to admire this young man getting on there and apologizing. Was he sincere?? who knows. I for one am going to assume he was if only for my own peace of mind!!

<small>[ December 17, 2002, 10:57 PM: Message edited by: Ranger Mom ]</small>

[Take State Tigers]

I agree with you Vet. Daingerfield will have to work to rebuild the respect of others, it will take time, but I think it will eventually happen. Respect is somethink that is difficult to achieve, but can be destroyed with the blink of an eye. We are a strong community and I hope that the parents of those envolved levy some kind of punishment also. I know I would if it had been mine.

To Mom7, I sincerely hope that Jenkins was sincere and I have no reason to believe that he wasn't. I wish the others involved would also make ammends. Good luck to ya'll Saturday.

[Da Mules]

Well, here we are several months later. And the UIL's penalty/disciplinary action for this was.....?

<small>[ March 26, 2003, 08:53 PM: Message edited by: Da Mules ]</small>

[spaniard]

probly nothing