Small towns supporting high school sports

[MNElkNut]

My boys are on the high school football team and we are headed to state tomorrow after a thrilling 99 yard touchdown pass beat the #1 team in the state in Section playoffs late in the 4th quarter. On their way back, the police gave them an escort to the high school. Both police and fire trucks will escort them tomorrow morning to the freeway as well. A local restaurant is donating breakfast to 80 kids plus coaches. Everywhere you go, people are talking about it and wearing Alexandria Cardinal gear. The fever is high. We are a town of 15,000 people. The stands are always packed. We had to ask for more visitor section bleachers at the last game in Moorhead.

When many are people are talking doom and gloom, it sure is a nice change.

One down side? Opening day of our 9 day deer season is tomorrow. I love hunting as much as anyone, but state football is a once in a lifetime thing. I will hunt for 1 hour and 15 minutes in the morning. Hopefully I will text my brother a picture of a buck and tell him he is on guttin' and gillin' duty.

 

[Ben Lamb]

That's awesome. Thank you for sharing, and go Cardinals!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

This sounds awesome!

 

[duckhunt]

Great stuff

 

[noharleyyet]

Good stuff, best of luck...

 

[Dave N]

Good luck on both counts!

 

[Irrelevant]

15k is small?

 

[Sawtooth]

As a high school and middle school teacher and coach, I love hearing stories like this. As college NIL deals are already trickling down to the high school level, I fear that these stories are going to be harder and harder to find. Nike just signed a highschool basketball player to a $4 million NIL deal. Best of luck to your team and Community. @MNElkNut My Dad's side of the family had a farm between Clarissa and Eagle Bend in the 1910's and considered Alexandria "the Big City"

 

[Nameless Range]

Love it. I find a lot of comfort in my small community where we live. It’s where I see human competence and service to others the most.

I know that’s not the case for everyone. One side of the coin is everybody knows your business, which can be a negative. The other side of the coin though, is a large portion of that “everybody” knows you and cares for you.

Go Cardinals!

 

[morley.tyler]

I love hearing stories like this; they make me smile. However, I have to laugh when I hear someone refer to a "small town" of 15K people. That was a F*cking city when I was a kid. I grew up 15 miles north of a town of 4500. Nonetheless, the Elks Club took care of the football team's breakfast.

 

[mtmuley]

We made it to the State championship football game when I was in high school in 1983. Stevensville, Montana had a population of 1200 I think. Most of the town was there. On Friday nights, a lot of the town was closed. mtmuley

 

[Straight Arrow]

Small town sports is not a small thing. Montana PBS has a documentary called Class C Basketball, which is a great illustration of the importance of small school girls' basketball. Some of the teams are even a combination of small school girls from schools which have to unite to form a team. It brings out the whole town and the excitement is palpable. It's all about what really makes America great!

Yeah ... Go Cardinals!

 

[perma]

My town didnt have a football team, barely had enough for basketball. 300 people total.

 

[Dakota79]

Congratulations to them.

I grew up outside of a small town of 300. We play 9 man football and most of the players play both sides. We have won state 2 times and gone several more. Both of my brothers and I were on the teams that went. We live in the very northwest corner of the state and state football is in the very southeast corner of the state. Going from a field that is uneven with rocks and cockle burs to playing on artificial grass in a dome was big stuff. There would be one bus for the players and one for the fans. Great times.

 

[SwaggyD]

Love it. Good luck to your boys and to you!