kepdawg
12-20-2007, 10:11 AM
It takes a village: Celina has unmatched community support
Dec 20, 2007 - 00:55:50 CST
By Bill Spinks
Herald Democrat
CELINA — On the surface, it seems that the massive amount of support that Celina’s football team receives is simply a function of hometown fans riding a winning bandwagon.
But the Bobcats’ tradition is supported by a well-oiled organization of moving parts, with different jobs that all go toward keeping the team pointed in a winning direction. “You don’t really understand it until you live here a bit and experience it for what it is,” said Jeff Gravley, who first bought a house in Celina about 10 years ago and has attended every Bobcat state game except its first one in 1974. “You can try to explain it, but you can’t understand it until you live it. It’s different from anything I’ve seen.”
The Celina Quarterback Club was founded in 1953 and is involved in assisting the coaching staff to raise funds for purchasing needed items, such as cameras and audiovisual equipment. The club was recently involved with massive improvements to the school’s facilities, including construction of a new fieldhouse.
The club, however, also gets involved with the players, conducting a mentor program in which each member is assigned an athlete to give encouragement throughout the week.
Club members also carry out necessary duties such as selling programs.
“The coaches have been excellent and the community’s been great,” said Paul Adams, a recent move-in who has a son in the program. “It’s been nice to see everyone support the football team and the whole educational program here together.”
In addition, a great number of fans from Celina have been attending games. An estimated 5,000 fans traveled the three hours to Abilene last Saturday to watch the Bobcats defeat Snyder, 33-7, in the Class 3A Division II state semifinals.
While the Bobcat machine shows no sign of slowing down, there are indications that the community is becoming accustomed to winning — much to the chagrin of some hard-core supporters.
Attendance at Quarterback Club meetings on Thursday mornings has been flat according to some members, and orange-clad crowds at playoff games — particularly in the early rounds — have lagged at times.
“It’s almost sad, but we’re spoiled,” said Gravley, a former Quarterback Club captain and a member of Celina’s radio broadcast crew. “It’s almost expected, and we take it for granted. This is a very special thing we’re seeing and witnessing, and we’re lucky to be a part of it.”
Not everyone is burnt-out on football yet. As Celina grows, new families move in who are new to the experience and keep the thrill level high.
“We’ve enjoyed it,” said Adams, who moved to Celina last November and has a freshman son, Keller, on this year’s junior-varsity team. “We’ve watched a lot of football here over the last couple of years, and we wanted to move to a smaller school and a smaller educational program.”
The numbers do not lie: Celina’s 12-year run of success ranks among the greatest dynasties of all time in Texas high school football history.
The Bobcats (15-0) are favored by virtually every prep expert to win a state-record eighth title on Saturday against China Spring at Texas Stadium.
Between 1995 and 2006, the Bobcats won six state titles and made a seventh final appearance in 12 seasons. In that 12-year span, the Bobcats:
• shattered the state record for most consecutive victories, winning 68 in a row between 1998-2002;
• tied the state mark for most championships (seven), which Celina now shares with Plano, Brownwood and Southlake Carroll;
• set a state playoff record with 25 consecutive wins and tied the state mark for most consecutive state titles (four, from 1998-2001).
“People talk about Southlake Carroll, and Converse Judson, and Plano and all of that,” Gravley said. “Not to take anything away from them; they’re quality programs. But if you talk about the best football in the state of Texas, we’d better be in that conversation.
“I think because we’re a smaller town, some people don’t think what we’re doing is as special. However, it’s probably as hard, if not harder, to do what we’re doing than what (the bigger schools) did.”
LINK (http://www.heralddemocrat.com/articles/2007/12/20/sports/doc476a0f478689d438455421.txt)
Dec 20, 2007 - 00:55:50 CST
By Bill Spinks
Herald Democrat
CELINA — On the surface, it seems that the massive amount of support that Celina’s football team receives is simply a function of hometown fans riding a winning bandwagon.
But the Bobcats’ tradition is supported by a well-oiled organization of moving parts, with different jobs that all go toward keeping the team pointed in a winning direction. “You don’t really understand it until you live here a bit and experience it for what it is,” said Jeff Gravley, who first bought a house in Celina about 10 years ago and has attended every Bobcat state game except its first one in 1974. “You can try to explain it, but you can’t understand it until you live it. It’s different from anything I’ve seen.”
The Celina Quarterback Club was founded in 1953 and is involved in assisting the coaching staff to raise funds for purchasing needed items, such as cameras and audiovisual equipment. The club was recently involved with massive improvements to the school’s facilities, including construction of a new fieldhouse.
The club, however, also gets involved with the players, conducting a mentor program in which each member is assigned an athlete to give encouragement throughout the week.
Club members also carry out necessary duties such as selling programs.
“The coaches have been excellent and the community’s been great,” said Paul Adams, a recent move-in who has a son in the program. “It’s been nice to see everyone support the football team and the whole educational program here together.”
In addition, a great number of fans from Celina have been attending games. An estimated 5,000 fans traveled the three hours to Abilene last Saturday to watch the Bobcats defeat Snyder, 33-7, in the Class 3A Division II state semifinals.
While the Bobcat machine shows no sign of slowing down, there are indications that the community is becoming accustomed to winning — much to the chagrin of some hard-core supporters.
Attendance at Quarterback Club meetings on Thursday mornings has been flat according to some members, and orange-clad crowds at playoff games — particularly in the early rounds — have lagged at times.
“It’s almost sad, but we’re spoiled,” said Gravley, a former Quarterback Club captain and a member of Celina’s radio broadcast crew. “It’s almost expected, and we take it for granted. This is a very special thing we’re seeing and witnessing, and we’re lucky to be a part of it.”
Not everyone is burnt-out on football yet. As Celina grows, new families move in who are new to the experience and keep the thrill level high.
“We’ve enjoyed it,” said Adams, who moved to Celina last November and has a freshman son, Keller, on this year’s junior-varsity team. “We’ve watched a lot of football here over the last couple of years, and we wanted to move to a smaller school and a smaller educational program.”
The numbers do not lie: Celina’s 12-year run of success ranks among the greatest dynasties of all time in Texas high school football history.
The Bobcats (15-0) are favored by virtually every prep expert to win a state-record eighth title on Saturday against China Spring at Texas Stadium.
Between 1995 and 2006, the Bobcats won six state titles and made a seventh final appearance in 12 seasons. In that 12-year span, the Bobcats:
• shattered the state record for most consecutive victories, winning 68 in a row between 1998-2002;
• tied the state mark for most championships (seven), which Celina now shares with Plano, Brownwood and Southlake Carroll;
• set a state playoff record with 25 consecutive wins and tied the state mark for most consecutive state titles (four, from 1998-2001).
“People talk about Southlake Carroll, and Converse Judson, and Plano and all of that,” Gravley said. “Not to take anything away from them; they’re quality programs. But if you talk about the best football in the state of Texas, we’d better be in that conversation.
“I think because we’re a smaller town, some people don’t think what we’re doing is as special. However, it’s probably as hard, if not harder, to do what we’re doing than what (the bigger schools) did.”
LINK (http://www.heralddemocrat.com/articles/2007/12/20/sports/doc476a0f478689d438455421.txt)