(Foot)ball is Life
Here is everything I know about football: quarterbacks, "The Super Bowl", tackling (which usually leads to concussions, and bruises), and touchdowns. I know that British people call soccer "football" and that Toronto has a team called the Argonauts. I've also heard about the NFL which is an acronym for the "National Football League." That being said, I'm practically an expert at football, which makes me the perfect person to be writing this article about the new football team here at Bishop Allen. But, I'll let you in on a little secret, I never really liked football. In fact, I've secretly held a grudge against it since the ninth grade when I was hit by a football in French class. I know that it sounds absolutely ridiculous, but in my defence, it was a truly terrifying experience and I could have died. But these days, I can't possibly escape the talk about football in our school. Granted, it's football season, but add in a brand new junior and senior team with very nice jerseys; football suddenly becomes one of the most talked about sports in school! I don't know about you, but l hear talk about football everywhere. It's like the music playing in the background of an episode of Grey's Anatomy. We hear it on the announcements, from our teachers that coach the teams, and from our friends who either suddenly love football or happen to play on the team.
Now, I was curious. What made football so interesting? Sure, it's our first year of having a football team and I understand the appeal of how new and shiny it was, but why did everyone seem to talk about this particular sport all the time? Well, many say that they are die hard football fans, others simply enjoy watching the sport to support their friends, and some (brutally honest, brave souls) would straight up say that football players are hot. So to see what all the hype was about, I decided to get over my irrational grudge against football, sacrificed five whole caf cookies for a ticket and went to a game with my friends. There I was, sitting on the bleachers in Centennial Stadium on a Thursday night. I was surrounded by parents and friends of our school community, watching the junior team warm up before our game facing Power.
I must say, the field was incredible, the way the lights illuminated the grass, the noisy and pumped environment, seeing everyone, including Mr. Carey, decked out in spirit wear. It was amazing. That is, until it rained and the wind started to pick up. Now, this wasn't a slight drizzle type of rain. It was pouring so hard that I couldn't even hear the old man snoring. Trust me, I would have been the first to run home. It was cold, wet and slightly depressing. But, I looked around and no one left. The boys were still giving it their all out in the rain on a muddy field. Heck, even the cheerleaders were soaked, yet they were still cheering their hearts out with huge smiles on their faces.
Then it hit me (no, the football didn't hit me again, that would have been absolutely horrible). I realized that the football spirit unified us. The game brought all of us together. My body was physically freezing in the rain. My lips even turned blue, but as cheesy as it sounds, I was warm on the inside. Seeing all the spirit and the amount of support made me realize the reason why football is so talked about here at Bishop Allen.
The undying school spirit that we have and the huge amount of support for our fellow students that I saw on that day was truly touching.
After the game, my whole view of football changed. I wanted to know more about our team. I've discovered that having a football team truly takes a lot of dedication and hard work from not only the players, but their fantastic and supportive coaches: Mr. Carey, Dr. Louden, Mr. Massaro and Mr. Warren as well as the volunteer coaches: Coach Tony, Coach Andy and Coach Domenic. Football isn't just getting a jersey and going off to play games. It takes a lot of planning and training. Did you know that their daily practises are usually 21/2 - 3 hours long? They consist of warm up, defence and offence drills, tackling drills, offence versus defence scrimmage, and conditioning! The team has a game every week and there are 6 league games in the season.
In the end, I've discovered that football really is a school sport. It's not just about the team and if we win. It's about the effort that is put in by players and coaches. It's about the massive amount of support and spirit from the students around us.
I know that whether we win or lose, weather we make it to playoffs or not, we are all in this together and that we are all very proud of our team here at Bishop Allen. I look forward to seeing more from the team in the future. Go Cardinals!