Carroll County Bowl

Some people really look forward to Superbowl. Some football fans watch for their college teams. But for sheer rivalry, pure antagonism, and the chance to really immerse yourself in football mania, you need to be in a small town when the high school teams meet for their yearly game to prove who is the best.


Football descended on our little town this week, and with it came a sea of red on one side, purple on the other, and teenagers desperately trying to look cool and aloof on every side.Our team and the "other" team are no longer in the same conference, but this game is taken with more seriousness than any conference game. It pits friend against friend, cousin against cousin, photographer against photographer. (Quit standing in front of me just because you are paid to be there!! I have Photoshop and I am not afraid to use it!!!)

Anyway... we got there on Friday and got all set up. We watched Matt and the rest of his team warming up. It is important for the sophomores to warm up properly so they don't pull a muscle guarding the sidelines. Don't you love how they all have the hnad-on-hip stance?

Matt didn't get to play, but that is normal when you are one of the younger guys on the totem pole. So he and the rest of JV team spent the night walking up and down the sidelines commiserating with their teammates, agonizing over every play and missed opportunity. Last year the Tigers were the champions in the CC Bowl. This year they let the Bobcats have the title. It was a sad night if you were on the red side. The "other" side was altogether too happy about their win. In the end those purple kittens won by two meager points... 17-15.

I picked up Crystal and Alex on the way to the game and brought them along. I had my spirit on with my red shirt and my 48 necklace, but Crystal was very Tigerish. She had spent the afternoon altering her shirt to show her love for the band.
And since her daughter Courtney is in it, I guess I can see why she feels that way. She asked me to take some pictures of Courtney during the half-time show. I have a problem with the band uniforms. Those hats, while cute and fluffy with the feathers, cast very unflattering shadows over their faces. I wanted to stop the music and have them all push them up a bit for me. That might have embarrassed the band director, though. I am going to have Courtney pass a memo around in class instead. I am sure she will go for it.



We hit the field and had our chairs set up, and all of my kids went in different directions. I only saw Faith a time or two, and Kyle and Todd checked in sporadically. That is the beauty of living in little towns, though. Everyone knows everybody and events like this are one big town gathering. Todd and his pal Hayden have been friends since right after we moved here. They always meet up at the games to hang out. (Football games, basketball games, soccer games)

But as fun as Friday was, the real show-down was in our yard on Saturday. My other friend Crystal (I suddenly know a handful of Crystals... doesn't anybody name their girls Jane anymore??) and her hubby Nathan and their little girl Meghan came over for dinner and a game of two-hand touch. Real men don't wear shoes to play football.

Here is Chet showing off his patented scissor-man run. I need to videotape this because it cracks me up. He forms a straight line, and his arms and legs just scissor back and forth.

Every real game needs a referee to make sure everybody plays right. Red took on that role, sitting in the middle of the field and giving himself a personal bath. Thank goodness the high school refs don't do that on the field.

It was time to huddle. The team of dads listened to Quarterback Kyle's gameplan.
Then when the going got tough, the tough called in the preschool squad. Beth and Meghan played on the team with their dads. Meghan knows the proper gear is required in any good football game, so she brought her purse with her and held onto it all through the plays.

In the end, the dads and preschoolers won with a narrow margin of 10-5. The scissor-man team have called for a rematch. The referee dog is still trying to scratch an itch that is bothering him. Check back soon for our next report here on Weird-SPN.