ONE FAN’S OPINION

Football fever spans the generations

by ROD ICE
Gazette Newspapers

Football fever is here again.
Let a cheer go up from across the Northcoast – hoorah!
There is literally nothing like high school football. It remains the most pure form of the game we love.
The pros have long since lost much of that ‘authentic’ feel for our beloved sport - the sort of dedication and spartanism that Vince Lombardi used to speak of in team meetings. Or that Paul Brown evoked from his men.
Their outlook on football has inspired every generation that followed. What a pity to consider that they have sometimes been eclipsed by stardom and fortune.
The spirit of such early league pioneers was incredible. They labored without the glory of baseball stars in the early era of American sports. Their accommodations were not lavish. Many had to mend their own uniforms while traveling on the franchise bus. They played brutish, hard-edged matches in dirt and mud. Their cooperative fervor won trophies without complicated offensive schemes. They were selfless, and united.
Truly, their ‘team’ identity was everything.
And their faith created icons like Lombardi and Brown, who gave us football as it developed in the golden era.
Today, many professional athletes have become a different breed. Yet the spirit of those bygone warriors has not disappeared. The gridiron philosophy of our forebears has only strengthened over time. Their concepts have been proven, and tested, by fire.
The ‘fever’ lives today, on local football fields across the nation.
For this writer, such thoughts appeared last week, while reflecting on high my own scholastic experiences.
At Valley High School, in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, I felt the ‘fever’ rise with each fall sports season.
Though I was a transplanted ‘Buckeye’ the thrilling nature of local competition could not be denied. We debated the virtue of Browns vs. Steelers match-ups with colorful adjectives. But our passion for the school knew no division.
We were all Valley Vikings.
In my junior year, the varsity football team distinguished itself as being one of the state’s worst. By the final weeks of that season, the Vikings record stood at a humiliating total of 0-8.
Playing Connelsville in week nine seemed like a pointless chore. But the team rallied around their coach. A defiant, but losing effort ensued, into the fourth quarter. Our opponents had ruled the field on both sides of the ball. They were able to run at will on the Vikings defense, and amassed a lead of multiple touchdowns in front of their home crowd.
Then, a bit of football magic touched the field. Connelsville fumbled near the twenty-yard line.
The Vikings scored immediately. This gift-touchdown provided a shot of adrenaline, and a whisper of yonder days:
“Winners never quit, and quitters never win.”
There is no animal more hungry than a team without a victory. So the Vikings suddenly found themselves burning up with the ‘fever.’ They held their opposition to a four-and-out series, followed by an aerial explosion. Another score went into the visitors column.
The game announcer was nearly hoarse with irritation. “Touchdown New Kensington!”
Connelsville was completely befuddled.
Fans who had already headed for the parking lot spun around, and raced back to the stands. Swirls of old gold and black began to fly.
A chant thundered from the seats. “Let’s go, Vikings! Let’s go, Vikings!”
Feet stomped, hands clapped, and fists jabbed the air.
The Valley gridmasters were rabid from a long, unsuccessful season. They literally had no reason to hold anything in reserve. Sheer inertia and will carried them thus far.
They had arrived at a defining moment for the program.
With under a minute to go, the Vikings scored again. They were up by one point as the seconds elapsed. The defensive squad took over with a chilling mood of determination in their eyes.
No longer was it a game of points scored or allowed – it had become a moment to experience ‘football fever’ in all its glory.
The Vikings formed a human wall of defensive bodies that smothered Connelsville where they stood.
It was done.
The team finished that year at 2-8. It sounded like a losing campaign to those who were unaware. But for the Vikings, it provided a pivotal experience that brought focus and direction.
In the seasons to come, Valley rose to levels of state competition. That experience was made possible by a fumble in the mud… and a bit of old-fashioned teamwork.
Though my recollection was of a distant, Pennsylvania school, the team might well have been Harvey, Grand Valley, Madison or Lakeside.
What we experienced was the magic created by hometown competition. In any sport, this exuberance is the same. When young performers are driven to test their own physical limitations, the results demonstrate excellence in action. They indicate our capabilities, and shortcomings, with clarity.
Many find that their capacity for endurance is greater than anyone might have imagined. Typical rules and norms of humanity may seem to be suspended in the midst of athletic exhibition.
In that moment, we are greater than ourselves. As a team, we become more powerful than the sum of our membership.
Special things can happen when you’ve got the ‘fever.’