The Good Old Days

Saturday afternoon I was watching the ESPN Nationally televised high school football game between Byrnes high school in South Carolina and Belle Glade high school from South Florida. (Why I was watching a high school football game on a summer Saturday afternoon I do not know) I was struck with the thought as I was watching the game that this was all way over the top. The closer I get to sixty, the more I long for the good old days when things were simple. A road trip was a three or four hour bus ride in a school bus, not a flight across country. A pre game meal was what your mom packed for lunch. In those days you had to wash your own uniform (One guy did not all season – he was very offensive). There were no passing leagues in the summer, we just got together and played games. A big coaching staff was three coaches. If you wanted an off season program you met your friends at the YMCA and lifted weights (Heavy all the time and squats three times a week) Ignorance is bliss. The only name on the uniform was of your school. Corporate sponsorship was when you sold an ad in the game to the local car dealer. A guy who was 250 was HUGE! In basketball a guy like me who was 5’11” could jump center against the big guys who were 6’3” or 6’4”. Pitchers threw 300 innings. There were not many pulled hamstrings either because we did not know what a hamstring was or we could not go fast enough to pull them. Choosing a shoe was real tough – Chuck Taylor All Stars high tops or low cut, black or white and were they expensive $9.95. The parents were fans, they did not run the teams, the coaches did. Cheer leaders actually cheered. They also wore the jewelry not the players. I know these are revolutionary thoughts, but those were the good old days.