Brushing off the football cobwebs

When the high school fall sports season ends, Friday nights become sort of like an old house.

Cobwebs pop up everywhere. Everything is dipped into an eery silence.

Then there is the triumphant return of high school football. That’s the time of the year we’re in now. High school football is back so we need to dust off those cobwebs and escape the shell of what’s known as summer Friday nights.

Polk County and Landrum are officially off the shelf this weekend with a jamboree in Woodruff and the big daddy Border Showcase Classic II on Saturday nights.
There are a few things we’re going to have to readjust ourselves to with the oncoming season.

First, all of you fans out there that don’t get to walk the sidelines like I do have to reintroduce your backside to the oh so comfortable bleacher.

That’s right. You might want to pet your bleacher creature a couple of times before you sit down, asking it to be nice to your back and rump this season. While it may ignore your pleadings, you may have to just bring a seat cushion or a blanket.
There’s always those donut things the doctor will give you also.

The next thing is the heat. Since we start football so early in the year, there’s the sting of sweat and heat on your skin. I might suggest some really strong deodarant so that the person next to you isn’t miserable. You can only hope that the person next to you is reading this column also.

The next thing is the trashtalking. You have to have your war chants ready early. Look at the schedule and know exactly what you can use to talk trash to the opposing fans. They may be a long ways across the field,but if enough people jump in, they’ll hear you.

In my case, I have to figure out what I’m going to wear to a football game, especially that game on September 8 between Landrum and Polk County.

Last year, for some odd reason I wore a baby blue shirt. The Landrum coaches immediately called me out on it. I was informed that any shade of blue would be a sign of support for Polk County. I was informed that any shade of red, including burgundy, would be a sign of support for Landrum.

This year I was thinking about wearing green. How will that be, coaches? Or maybe I will wear white. You both have some white on your uniforms.

The final and most important tool you need to make your Friday nights complete in the upcoming football season is a toothpick.Why a toothpick, you ask?

Well...who can resist that smell of popcorn through the thick, southern, hot air?
There’s been a few times where I wanted to run up and grab me a bag in the middle of a game.

That’s why it’s important to have you a toothpick handy. Those kernels are a pain.
You can get them with your nails because you’ve bitten them off from the nervousness of the game and your tongue is not a proper substitute.All I can say is, bring a toothpick.

I hope you heed my advice and I’ll see you all on Saturday night at 7 p.m. where we’ll get to watch eight great teams battle it out at the Border Showcase Classic.
Until then, fughettaboutit!

PGL is great for community

I will begin this column by saying that I don’t know how to play golf. It’s not that I’ve never been interested because I have.

It’s just that I’ve never taken the time to get out and learn the sport. To all you avid golfers,I know it’s a shame on my part.

The game has piqued my interest of late though. There’s something going on in Polk County that is a great thing.

The Polk Golf League (PGL), which was created by the Don’s friend, David Price, is a remarkable thing.

For some time now, golf has been considered an elitist sport, available only to those who are members at a country club. That is not the case anymore.

People everywhere are talking about golf. There are blue collar and white collar fans that are enamored by the game.

This is why the Polk Golf League is so special.

The PGL is modeled after the Professional Golf Association (PGA). The league travels around to different courses in the area. The difference is that the PGL is set up for everyone. It works with your handicap and gives everyone a shot at winning the tournament that weekend.

I think the PGL is set up for the love of the game. As Price likes to say, its golf for the “average Joe.”

The concept behind it is a generous one. You don’t have to be the next Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson to play in this league.

You just have to love golf.

That’s the catch nowadays for the game of golf. A lot of people on the outside see the sport as a country club sport or a wealthy sport.

That is not the case.

I’ve got tons of fraternity brothers who play the game. They do it just for fun and they’re not all members of a country club or wealthy.

Golf is a sport for everyone. Sure, the clubs and everything are pretty expensive. Some places actually do sell used clubs.

I may not know how to play golf, but I do like the sport. I generally watch the tournaments on television and I am a big Mickelson fan. I’ve been a Mickelson fan since he could only win at Bayhill.

I love the game of golf. It’s a beautiful, intelligent, and relaxing sport. I will one day take up a club if I can ever learn how to play.

For now, I will enjoy the fact that there are guys out there like David Price and Bart Cole who are helping to spread the game of golf to the masses.

Bravo gentlemen and I hope you keep up the good work. Maybe one day, I will get a chance to play in one of your tournaments.